51. Olivia

Chapter fifty-one

Olivia

I swallow and hope the plan for Donovan is putting him six feet under.

“Before we get into what we’re going to do about Donovan, can someone please tell me who Donovan is?” Bailey asks, glancing at everyone around the table.

My heart rate increases as I try to smile. How am I going to do this?

Victor leans close. “You can do this, treasure.” His voice is soothing and calms my racing heart. “But I’m right here to step in if you need me.” I nod once and take a calming breath.

“Donovan is my stepfather,” I say, scowling at the thought that I have to claim him at all. “He killed my mother.” Might as well get it all out there because I don’t know how long I’m going to last. Bec sits forward and places her hand on my forearm. But other than that, I don’t look at anyone else. I can’t.

“Oh, my god. Liv, I’m so sorry!” Ansley exclaims.

The calm I experienced for that brief moment leaves just like that and my muscles tense up. I start thrumming my fingers on the table and look at Victor, shaking my head. My eyes burn and my face heats up. He takes my hand in his to stop my nervous thrumming, flips my hand, and rubs his thumb along the lines of my palm. My muscles relax slightly and I focus on the relief he brings my frayed nerves.

“I know you think Donovan was my best friend, but he wasn’t,” he says to Connor. “I was best friends with Olivia’s real dad. When he died, I checked in on Margaret, Olivia’s mother, as often as possible.” Victor takes a sip from his drink and I think back to those days before my mom died. I miss her so much.

“Margaret started dating Donovan, and she seemed truly happy. I was building my business and had met someone myself. So, I stepped back, thinking Donovan would take on the role I had been playing. I knew he wouldn’t replace Olivia’s father, but I thought he would treat her and Margaret well.”

What is everyone thinking about this story? I can’t bring myself to look up from the table, not wanting to see the looks on their faces. Someone sniffs, probably Caroline, but I still refuse to look up.

“I couldn’t have been more wrong. I got married and checked in every month or so, then Margaret died in a car accident. My ex-wife and I were going through a rough patch when it happened. So, I started spending more time with Donovan and would check on Olivia. Everything he showed me was an act.”

By more time, he means we would go to lunch once a month in this town. I swallow.

I’m so stupid. What was I thinking moving to one of the towns he was using for his illegal activities? Of course he was going to find me.

“Look, you don’t have to tell us any more,” Connor interrupts him.

I shake myself out of my daze and look at Bec. “I know what Donovan was doing around this town. He didn’t hide it from me.” Inhaling deeply, trying to get rid of the tension in my chest, but it doesn’t work. “I overheard him one night. He had plans for someone in town that was causing him problems.”

That night plays on repeat in my mind. I knew I had to get out of that house no matter what. Trying to conceal a shudder, as the memories assault me, I remind myself there wasn’t another choice. Bec’s hand covers her mouth and Bass runs a hand through his hair. He and Connor share a look.

Lincoln leans forward. “Who?”

“That would be me,” Connor says. Lincoln leans back, pulling Ansley with him. She must have climbed into his lap at some point. It’s like he’s trying to connect pieces.

“I’ve lived in this town my whole life. How did I not know this was going on?” he asks.

“You lived in the rich neighborhood,” I tell him. “A lot of the people in that neighborhood were accomplices of Donovan, or willingly ignorant. But I think you were away at college during the worst part of Donovan’s reign.”

“Do you think our parents knew?” Ansley and Lincoln share a look as her face pales.

Lincoln scoffs. “I honestly wouldn’t put it past them.” I keep my thoughts to myself, but more than likely, they did.

Victor leans forward. “Why do you say that?”

Lincoln looks at Ansley like he’s asking for permission for something, and she gestures for him to go ahead. “Ans and I grew up next to each other. My dad and her dad were lawyers. My dad was determined I was going to be a lawyer, but I refused. He treated me terribly my whole childhood, and there was no way I was taking over the practice.” Lincoln inhales deeply, and Ansley places her hand over his.

“Dylan, Ansley’s brother, was also being groomed to be a lawyer too. He probably would have gone through with it, but they all went on a retreat. On their way home from the airport, they got into a car accident and died on impact,” Lincoln says. Becca and Bailey put their hands over their mouth, but Caroline and I know this. This time, though, I listen in a different light. What if their parents were involved somehow and wanted to get out or something?

Caroline shifts, grimacing and grabbing her stomach, breaking me from that train of thought. Bass comforts her, and she tries to settle into his side as she winces. I study her. Is she that uncomfortable?

“Our parents were not good people, so we did not shed any tears over their deaths. That’s why we wouldn’t be surprised if they knew about Donovan and didn’t do anything about it.” Ansley comes across as nonchalant, but even in their death, her parents hurt her. In their will, they left her nothing and gave everything to Dylan.

Bec leans forward and glances around the table. “Don’t you think it’s odd that Liv’s mom died in a car accident, and your parents did too?”

Julian has been extremely quiet this entire time shifts and shares a look with Victor. I’m not sure if anyone else notices.

“My mom’s brake lines were cut. She ran into a tree,” I say.

“An eighteen-wheeler sideswiped our parents, and they went into oncoming traffic, causing them to flip,” Ansley explains.

I glance up at Victor as he runs his hand over his beard. “When did that happen?”

“A little over seven years ago now,” Lincoln replies.

I watch Victor. He and Julian share another look. I narrow my eyes. I know Julian is not going to be a professor any longer and he’s starting his own private detective company. Are they working on something together and Victor hasn’t told me? I told him that was a hard limit for me if it involves Donovan.

Victor glances down at me like he feels my eyes on his. He sees the question in my eyes. He tips one side of his mouth up and his eyes tell me he will talk to me later.

Does that mean he wasn’t hiding anything from me? Maybe Julian told him something today?

Lincoln pats my hand, bringing me back to the conversation at hand. “Now you have a table full of men that will do what they can to protect you,” he says.

My eyes widen, and I smile at him. I wasn’t expecting something like that to come from him. He’s been my boss for a while, but he’s never struck me as the sentimental type. Victor runs his finger along the shell of my ear, causing goosebumps to break out along my arms and neck. I look up at him and the promise in his eyes tells me everything will be okay. I choose to trust him.

He turns back to Lincoln. “There’s no way to know for sure if your parents were involved unless we got a confession from Donovan.” Victor pauses, and I swear he’s fighting the urge to look at Julian again. Is that what they’re working on? “This brings me to the point of all this. Donovan controlled Olivia her whole life. She couldn’t go anywhere or do anything without him being present. She was only allowed out of the house when he’d let her come eat with us.”

Victor takes a deep breath and grips my hand. He beats himself up over that. I wish he would stop. “That’s just touching the surface.” He looks at Ansley and Lincoln. “Your parents may have been horrible, but Donovan is a monster. And the things Olivia had to endure were horrific.”

Caroline wipes at a stray tear and sniffs. I have to get this over with. I’m sick of talking about it. As I lean forward, every muscle in my body tense.

“So, I ran away. I was twenty-one. It shouldn’t have been looked at as me running away, but that’s exactly what it was to him. I changed my name to Liv, which is not original. I know that now. But I also changed my last name to my mom’s maiden name before she married my real dad.” I shift in my chair. If I only knew then what I know now.

“I didn’t go far. I’ve been right under his nose this entire time. But we didn’t live in this town. We lived an hour or so away. He’s such a narcissist he would never have thought to look in the very place he warned me against my entire childhood.” I wipe at my cheek, my leg bouncing. He always told me the only reason he let me come up here was because this was where Victor lived, so this is where we would come to see him and have lunch with him. “But he found me,” I whisper.

“He’s the one who sent you the flowers,” Caroline says. I nod.

“What flowers?” Ansley asks, her eyes darting between Caroline and me.

I feel bad for not telling Ansley, but this week has been hellish, and I could only talk about this once. Caroline looks at me, and I nod. We already talked about this and I told her I wasn’t talking to anyone else about it.

Caroline shifts around in her seat, trying to find a comfortable position. “Last week, Liv got a bouquet of Forget Me Nots. They were delivered in the middle of a meeting. She got distraught—”

“I think you had some kind of special radar,” Lincoln interrupts her. “Because I honestly had no idea what was happening until you told me later.”

Trying to play off how upset I was that day, I snort. “I’ve gotten better at holding myself together, but Caroline got me to the bathroom before I had a complete panic attack.” I avoid Victor’s eyes, knowing he’s not going to like I didn’t tell him this. Although I may not have had to tell him, I wasn’t completely put together when I called him. After I was able to be around people, Caroline quickly got me to my office so I could call Victor.

“How do you know they were from Donovan?” Connor asks me.

I run my fingers over the table and Victor squeezes my other hand as I take a steadying breath. “He used to get me Forget Me Nots, but they were always purple because that’s my favorite color. I knew they were from him even before I saw the card.” I stare at the table, unable to look at anyone.

“What did the card say?” Ansley asks.

I run a hand through my hair and inhale deeply. These words I burned into my brain. “Found you, and before you least expect, I will get you. You belong to me, after all.” Bile rises in my throat, but I swallow it down.

Julian sits forward, gritting his teeth. His muscles are so tight his shirt is straining against his chest and biceps. “How do you know he killed your mother?”

He had to ask that, didn’t he? “I overheard him talking to the sheriff. There’s this dumbwaiter in his house that I used to sneak in, and I’d use it to spy on him secretly.”

“He told the sheriff, and the sheriff didn’t do anything about it?” Bailey asks.

I glance at Bailey, not sure what to tell her. Bass and Connor share a look.

“Donovan had everyone in his pocket, even the sheriff. That’s why Connor worked so hard to get an election started,” Bass replies. “We were all surprised Donovan didn’t come after him when that happened.”

“I ran away. That’s why he didn’t. He was probably trying to look for me,” I say. I didn’t plan it that way. It was a happy coincidence.

“This is crazy,” Caroline whispers. “I remember parts of town were not in the best shape, but I didn’t think much of it. I just assumed every town had its bad apples. You know?”

“What exactly was Donovan the boss of?” Bailey asks.

“Drug and human trafficking,” Bec answers. “That’s what Connor and Bass saved me from.” I share a look with Bec. Everyone has their secrets.