Chapter 6 - The People Who Betrayed Me
The lights went out.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
Three seconds was enough time for fear to reveal itself.
Sienna gasped.
Julian immediately stood.
Marcus reached for his phone.
And I stayed completely still.
Because I had learned something over the past year.
Panic was exactly what people expected from me.
They expected Olivia Carter to break.
They expected tears.
Confusion.
Desperation.
But they forgot something.
I had already lost everything once.
There was nothing left to take from me.
The emergency lights slowly turned on.
A soft red glow filled the consultation room.
The hospital alarm continued in the distance.
Dr. Vance looked toward the door.
"Nobody leaves."
Marcus nodded.
Then he looked at me.
"Olivia, stay here."
I almost smiled.
Not because it was funny.
Because a year ago, everyone kept telling me what to do.
Julian.
The board.
The lawyers.
The people who claimed they were protecting me.
But they were never protecting me.
They were controlling the story.
And now, for the first time, I was the person asking questions.
I looked at Julian.
"Who was protecting the secret?"
He didn't answer.
His silence was enough.
Because the message had not said my father disappeared because of Julian.
It said something worse.
Your father didn't disappear because of Julian.
That meant Julian was not the person who caused it.
Someone else was.
Someone closer.
Someone more dangerous.
Dr. Vance picked up Julian's phone.
"The message came from an encrypted number."
Marcus looked at the screen.
"They wanted us to see it."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Marcus looked at me.
"This wasn't a warning."
He paused.
"It was an invitation."
The words made the room colder.
An invitation.
Someone wanted me to follow the truth.
Someone wanted me to find them.
But why?
If they had spent years hiding everything, why reveal it now?
Unless something had changed.
Unless they were afraid.
Julian finally spoke.
"My father."
Everyone looked at him.
I felt my chest tighten.
"What about your father?"
Julian looked exhausted.
"My father knew about the records."
I stared at him.
"What?"
He looked down.
"When the divorce happened, he told me to let everything move quickly."
"Move quickly?"
I could barely believe what I was hearing.
"My life was destroyed, and your father wanted things to move quickly?"
Julian closed his eyes.
"I didn't know the records were fake."
"But you knew something was wrong."
He didn't respond.
That was the answer.
And somehow, it hurt more than anything else.
Because betrayal was not always someone holding a knife.
Sometimes it was someone standing nearby while someone else stabbed you.
"You watched me believe I was the problem."
My voice was quiet.
Julian looked at me.
"I was wrong."
The words were simple.
Too simple.
After everything.
After twelve months of pain.
After losing my company.
After losing my reputation.
After losing the future I thought I had.
"I'm sorry" felt too small.
But I noticed something.
For the first time, Julian wasn't defending himself.
He wasn't explaining.
He wasn't blaming.
He was finally looking at what he had done.
Sienna suddenly spoke.
"Julian."
Everyone turned.
Her face was pale.
"There is something you need to know."
Julian looked at her.
"What?"
She looked at me.
Then at Dr. Vance.
Then at the floor.
"The person who changed Olivia's records..."
She stopped.
Like saying the name would make everything real.
"Who?" Julian asked.
Sienna swallowed.
"It wasn't your brother."
Silence.
Marcus immediately looked up.
"What?"
Sienna continued.
"Everyone thinks Ethan wanted control of the company."
She shook her head.
"But Ethan was only a distraction."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Then who was behind it?"
Sienna looked at me.
And I saw regret in her eyes.
Real regret.
Not fear.
Not guilt.
Regret.
"The person who planned everything was someone who already had access to your life."
Nobody spoke.
Because we all understood what that meant.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Someone who didn't need to break into my world.
Because they were already inside.
Dr. Vance slowly placed a photograph on the table.
It was old.
A family photo.
My family.
My father.
Me.
And another person standing beside us.
My heart stopped.
Because I recognized that face immediately.
"No."
The word escaped before I could stop it.
Julian looked at me.
"Who is that?"
I couldn't answer.
Because that person had been part of my life since childhood.
Someone I trusted.
Someone my father trusted.
Someone who had comforted me after my father disappeared.
Someone who told me not to search too hard.
Because they said the truth would only hurt me.
My hands started shaking.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I finally understood.
The person who helped me survive the loss...
was the person who knew exactly what happened.
"Olivia," Dr. Vance said carefully.
"Who is it?"
I looked at the photograph.
Then whispered the name I never expected to say.
"My father's closest friend."
The room became silent.
Julian looked confused.
"Your father's friend?"
I nodded slowly.
"The man who took care of my family after he disappeared."
Marcus looked at the photograph.
"Where is he now?"
I didn't answer.
Because I already knew.
He was still around.
Still respected.
Still trusted.
Still pretending to care.
Dr. Vance looked at the photograph again.
"There is something else."
He turned it over.
Written on the back was a date.
And a sentence.
My father's handwriting.
My breathing stopped.
Because I knew that handwriting.
I had seen it on birthday cards.
On notes left on my desk.
On letters he wrote when I went away to college.
The message was short.
Only six words.
"Do not trust the man beside her."
I looked up.
"Beside who?"
Nobody answered.
Then Marcus received a notification on his phone.
He read it.
His expression changed immediately.
"What is it?" Julian asked.
Marcus slowly turned the phone around.
There was a photograph.
A recent one.
Taken outside the hospital.
The person in the picture was standing near the entrance.
Watching.
Waiting.
And in the corner of the image was a timestamp.
Five minutes ago.
My blood ran cold.
Because the person watching us was not a stranger.
It was someone I knew.
Someone who had been pretending to help me find the truth.
Someone who had been in this investigation from the beginning.
Marcus whispered:
"Olivia..."
He zoomed in on the image.
"The person who sent us the message is not the person you think."
May you like
Then the hospital room door slowly opened.
And the person standing outside said my name.
