Chapter 8 - Preston’s Bride Changed Sides
Olivia arrived at my temporary apartment the next morning without her wedding ring.
She looked nothing like the bride from the night before.
Her hair was tied back.
Her face had no makeup.
She wore jeans and an oversized gray sweater.
In one hand she carried a suitcase.
In the other she carried a flash drive.
Rachel was with me.
So was Detective Ortiz.
Olivia stared at the detective.
“You said this would be private.”
Ortiz shook her head.
“I said we would protect your cooperation as much as the law allows.”
Olivia looked at me.
“I don’t want Preston to know where I am.”
“He won’t hear it from me.”
Her eyes dropped.
“I deserve you hating me.”
“This isn’t about what you deserve.”
I pointed toward a chair.
“It’s about what you know.”
Olivia sat down.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she placed the flash drive on the table.
“I copied Preston’s laptop.”
Rachel raised an eyebrow.
“All of it?”
“As much as I could before the police took the room.”
“Why?”
Olivia gave a broken laugh.
“Because I finally realized I married a stranger.”
She rubbed her bare ring finger.
“Three weeks before the wedding, Preston asked me to help him create a story about Sophie.”
My stomach tightened.
“What kind of story?”
“He said Sophie had been stealing things.”
“That was a lie.”
“I know.”
“When did you know?”
Olivia looked at me.
“I knew there was no proof.”
I felt anger rise.
“But you went along with it.”
“He told me it was about leverage.”
Rachel leaned forward.
“Leverage for what?”
“Your voting shares.”
Olivia looked at me.
“Preston said you were emotional where Sophie was concerned.”
My laugh was bitter.
“He said that like it was a weakness.”
“He said if Sophie was accused of taking something valuable, you would panic.”
“And then?”
“Daniel would convince you to sign the proxy before the family made the accusation public.”
I stared at her.
“They intended to blackmail me.”
Olivia nodded.
“Yes.”
The word sat between us.
Ugly.
Simple.
True.
“What were you supposed to do?”
Olivia swallowed.
“My bracelet.”
“What bracelet?”
“A diamond bracelet my grandmother gave me.”
She looked ashamed.
“I was supposed to claim Sophie took it.”
The room became silent.
“The phone was only the first accusation?”
“Yes.”
My heart pounded.
Olivia continued.
“Preston was going to find the phone.”
“Then what?”
“Later, during dessert, I was supposed to say my bracelet was missing.”
Rachel asked, “Where was the bracelet?”
Olivia closed her eyes.
“In Daniel’s jacket.”
I stared at her.
“He was going to plant it too.”
“Yes.”
Sophie would have been accused twice in one evening.
The first accusation would make the second one believable.
Two hundred guests would remember the same story.
The difficult sister.
The dishonest child.
The devastated groom.
The innocent bride.
And somewhere away from the ballroom, Daniel would put a contract in front of me.
Sign this.
Protect Sophie.
Save the family.
Make it disappear.
I stood and walked toward the window because sitting had become impossible.
“What changed?”
Olivia’s voice shook.
“Preston.”
I turned.
“He got angry when you said no.”
She wiped her eyes.
“He wasn’t supposed to hit Sophie.”
“That does not make the rest acceptable.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
For the first time, she met my eyes.
“I watched a child bleed because I was afraid of losing a wedding.”
Her voice cracked.
“I will live with that forever.”
I believed her.
That did not mean I forgave her.
Rachel tapped the flash drive.
“What’s on this?”
“Emails.”
“Between whom?”
“Preston and Daniel.”
My heart sank.
“Anything else?”
Olivia nodded.
“Messages with Richard.”
My father.
“And one file Preston kept password-protected.”
“Did you open it?”
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
Her face changed.
“It was called Eleanor.”
My grandmother’s name.
Rachel and I exchanged a look.
“What was inside?”
May you like
Olivia pushed the flash drive toward us.
“Proof that your grandmother knew what they were doing before she died.”
