PART 5
Olivia stared at the frozen image on her laptop.
Chloe.
Five years earlier.
Standing outside the conference room where Marcus and Elliot Crane had discussed the company that carried Olivia’s name.
It made no sense.
Chloe had been twenty-one then.
She hadn’t worked for Marcus.
She hadn’t even known Olivia existed.
Or at least, that was what Olivia had believed.
She replayed the video.
Again.
And again.
Each time, she watched the same moment.
Marcus and Elliot were speaking inside the conference room.
The camera angle remained fixed.
Then, for less than two seconds, the reflection appeared.
A young woman standing in the hallway.
Chloe.
Olivia grabbed her phone.
She called Rachel.
“Rachel, I need you to come back.”
“What happened?”
“I found something.”
“What?”
“Chloe was involved before she ever worked for Marcus.”
There was silence.
“Are you certain?”
“I saw her.”
“Send me the video.”
“I will.”
Olivia sent the file.
Rachel called back less than a minute later.
“Olivia, don’t contact Marcus.”
“Why?”
“Because if this is what I think it is, you need to preserve everything exactly as it is.”
“What do you think it is?”
“I think Chloe may not have entered Marcus’s life by accident.”
Olivia looked at the photograph on her desk.
The woman who had sent her that picture suddenly seemed very different.
“Then why would she expose herself?”
“Maybe she didn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
Rachel’s voice became quieter.
“Maybe someone wanted you to see the photograph.”
Olivia’s eyes moved toward the USB drive.
“So the affair was meant to become public?”
“Possibly.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Olivia looked around the apartment.
For the first time, she realized she no longer felt safe there.
“Rachel?”
“Yes?”
“I think someone has been inside my apartment.”
“Don’t touch anything else.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re going to document everything.”
Olivia hung up.
She walked to the front door.
The lock was intact.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
But when she looked more carefully, she noticed a tiny scratch near the bottom of the doorframe.
Someone had tried to force it.
Not enough to break in.
Just enough to test it.
Olivia stepped away.
Then her phone buzzed.
A new message.
No number.
You finally understand.
TO BE CONTINUED IN THE FINAL PART…
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