Chapter 8: Olivia's Secret
Chapter 8: Olivia's Secret
"What?"
The word escaped my lips before I could stop it.
"Olivia?"
Michael looked at his phone again, rereading the message.
"That can't be right."
He immediately called Agent Mills.
She answered on the first ring.
"Lawson."
"What happened?"
He listened in silence.
I watched his expression shift from confusion to disbelief.
Finally, he ended the call.
"It wasn't exactly an escape."
"What do you mean?"
"Olivia ran after her father."
I let out a slow breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
"Thank God."
"But..."
Michael continued carefully.
"...she was carrying something."
"What?"
"A laptop."
My stomach tightened.
"The agents stopped her before she reached the parking garage."
"Whose laptop?"
"They don't know yet."
I had a feeling I did.
Richard Bennett hadn't run because he thought he could escape forever.
He had run because there was still something worth protecting.
Evidence.
We took the elevator back to the ballroom.
The elegant reception no longer resembled a wedding.
Half the guests had already left.
The remaining ones stood in small groups, whispering.
Hotel security had closed the main entrance.
Several uniformed officers were speaking with members of the Whitmore family.
My mother sat alone near the dance floor.
She looked completely numb.
Olivia stood twenty feet away.
Her wedding dress was wrinkled.
Her veil had been removed.
An FBI agent held a black leather laptop case in his hands.
Richard was nowhere to be seen.
"They've taken him downstairs," Michael explained.
"He'll be transported from there."
Olivia noticed me.
She walked over slowly.
There was no anger left in her face.
Only exhaustion.
"You knew."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I suspected."
"You should have told me."
"I didn't know enough."
She laughed bitterly.
"I married someone today."
"I don't even know if I'm still married."
I didn't know how to answer.
Instead, I asked the question that mattered.
"Why did you take the laptop?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Dad told me to."
"What exactly did he say?"
"He grabbed my arm after the agents arrived."
She closed her eyes, remembering.
"He said..."
Her voice trembled.
"'Go to my office. Take the black laptop. Don't let anyone else touch it.'"
Michael exchanged a glance with me.
"Did he tell you why?"
"No."
"I thought..."
She swallowed.
"I thought it had family photos."
Michael asked quietly,
"Did you open it?"
Olivia nodded.
"For about thirty seconds."
"And?"
"I wish I hadn't."
She sat down at an empty table.
Her hands were shaking.
"I recognized names."
"What names?" I asked.
"My name."
"Mom's."
"Yours."
She looked directly at me.
"There was a folder called..."
She struggled to say the words.
"'Emergency Exit Plan.'"
A chill ran through me.
"What was inside?"
"I didn't have time to read everything."
"But I saw subfolders."
She counted them on her fingers.
"'Assets.'"
"'Fake Contracts.'"
"'Offshore.'"
Then she stopped.
"There was one more."
She looked at me with horror.
"'Maya.'"
Neither Michael nor I spoke.
"I clicked on it."
"What did you see?"
She began crying.
"Your driver's license."
"My passport."
"My college transcripts."
"My signature."
She covered her mouth.
"There were hundreds of files."
Michael's face hardened.
"Identity package."
Olivia looked at him.
"What?"
"Fraudsters create complete identity files."
"They're used to open accounts."
"Sign documents."
"Transfer money."
"Create companies."
He paused.
"If Richard kept one for Maya..."
He didn't finish.
He didn't have to.
An FBI technician approached carrying the laptop.
"Mr. Lawson?"
Michael stood.
"Yes?"
"We've completed the initial forensic image."
"So quickly?"
"The drive wasn't encrypted."
Michael actually looked surprised.
"Richard didn't encrypt it?"
The technician gave a humorless smile.
"He probably didn't think anyone would ever see it."
"What did you find?"
The technician glanced toward me.
"Quite a bit."
He lowered his voice.
"There are more than three hundred forged documents using Ms. Bennett's identity."
Three hundred.
The number echoed inside my head.
Three hundred times.
Three hundred lies.
Three hundred chances to destroy my life.
I felt suddenly unsteady.
Olivia grabbed my arm before I lost my balance.
"I'm sorry."
The words came out between sobs.
"I never knew."
I looked at her.
For years, I had blamed her for everything.
The favoritism.
The manipulation.
The constant comparisons.
She had benefited from it.
But maybe...
She hadn't created it.
"You signed documents."
"I know."
"I didn't read them."
"I trusted Dad."
She laughed bitterly.
"I signed whatever he put in front of me."
Michael nodded.
"That's common."
"In family fraud cases?"
"In manipulation cases."
Across the ballroom, Daniel quietly approached.
He looked exhausted.
He stopped beside Olivia.
"I spoke to my attorneys."
She stared at the floor.
"I understand if you want an annulment."
He was silent for several moments.
Then he said something none of us expected.
"I don't."
Everyone looked at him.
"I believe you."
Olivia looked up in disbelief.
"What?"
"I think your father lied to you too."
Fresh tears rolled down her face.
"But..."
"My family's business relationship with Richard is over."
He took a slow breath.
"Our marriage doesn't have to be."
For the first time that day...
A tiny spark of hope appeared in Olivia's eyes.
Then a uniformed officer hurried into the ballroom.
He walked directly toward Agent Mills.
She listened carefully.
Her expression immediately changed.
"What happened?" Michael asked.
The officer answered loudly enough for all of us to hear.
"We searched Richard Bennett's office."
"And?"
"We found a hidden safe."
"What was inside?"
The officer looked directly at me.
"A second passport."
"Five million dollars in bearer bonds."
"And a sealed envelope addressed to Maya Bennett."
The room fell silent.
Agent Mills frowned.
"When was the envelope written?"
The officer held it up.
"The date on the seal says..."
He checked the handwriting.
"...six years ago."
Six years.
Long before tonight.
Long before the investigation.
Long before anyone suspected fraud.
Michael slowly turned toward me.
"If Richard wrote you a letter six years ago..."
May you like
He paused.
"...he knew this day was coming long before anyone else did."
