Chapter 6 - The Woman Behind the Diamond Necklace
Three days after the threat, Olivia Hayes arrived at my house carrying the diamond necklace in a brown paper bag.
Not a jewelry case.
Not a velvet box.
A grocery-store bag.
She stood beneath the security camera wearing jeans, a gray sweater, and no makeup.
Without the expensive clothes and calculated smile, she looked younger.
And frightened.
I almost refused to see her.
Then she spoke through the intercom.
“Claire, Victor knows where you are.”
I let her inside.
Daniel was already present, along with two security officers.
Olivia glanced at them nervously.
“Can we speak privately?”
“No,” I said.
She nodded.
“Fair enough.”
She placed the bag on the dining table.
Inside lay the necklace.
Three hundred thousand dollars in diamonds.
The object that had destroyed my marriage.
“I don't want it,” I said.
“I know.”
“Then why bring it?”
“Because it was never really mine.”
I stared at her.
Olivia swallowed.
“Victor told me Alexander had to give it to me publicly.”
“Why?”
“He said it would prove Alexander trusted me. That it would convince certain people I was under his protection.”
“Certain people?”
“People who knew about Ethan.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Who specifically?”
Olivia shook her head.
“I don't know all their names.”
“Start with Victor.”
She looked down.
“Yes.”
I folded my arms.
“Did Alexander know Victor was directing you?”
“No. Alexander believed I was receiving threats from someone outside the family.”
“And were you?”
“Yes. But Victor was behind them.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I heard him arranging one.”
Silence filled the room.
Olivia continued.
“I thought if Alexander publicly acknowledged me, Victor would leave Ethan alone. That's what Victor promised.”
“You knew the necklace was supposed to be mine.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Yes.”
“And you still let him give it to you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Her voice broke.
“Because I was terrified.”
I studied her.
Fear could explain a decision.
It could not erase the damage.
“You could have told me.”
“I know.”
“You could have warned Alexander.”
“I tried. Victor threatened Ethan.”
Daniel spoke.
“What does Victor want?”
Olivia looked toward the windows.
“He wants the company. And he needs Ethan to stay hidden until his eighteenth birthday.”
“Then why target my baby?” I asked.
Olivia's expression changed.
“I don't know.”
“Don't lie to me.”
“I'm not.”
I stepped closer.
“Someone attempted to obtain my prenatal medical records. Somebody threatened my unborn daughter. If you know anything, tell me now.”
Olivia began crying.
“I know Victor has been financing research connected to Ethan's illness. I know he used Alexander's concern for Ethan to move money through Halcyon.”
“Why?”
“Because Halcyon wasn't just a medical company.”
Daniel straightened.
“What was it?”
“A way to move money out of Moretti Global without triggering the usual audits.”
He looked at me.
“Money laundering through false invoices.”
Olivia nodded.
“Some of the research was legitimate. Some wasn't. Victor used the company to hide transfers.”
I sat down slowly.
“And the forged signature?”
Olivia hesitated.
Then whispered, “I saw the document.”
My heart pounded.
“Who signed it?”
“I don't know who physically forged it. But Victor brought it to Alexander's office and said legal had already approved it.”
“Alexander signed off on the transaction?”
“Yes.”
The words hurt.
Even if Alexander hadn't forged my name, he had approved a transaction involving my assets without checking with me.
Again.
Trusting everyone except his wife.
Daniel asked Olivia whether she would give a formal statement.
She nodded.
“If Ethan is protected.”
“We can help you contact law enforcement,” he said. “But we can't promise an outcome.”
Olivia wiped her eyes.
“I understand.”
Before she left, she turned toward me.
“Claire, I need you to know something.”
I waited.
“Alexander never slept with me.”
I looked at her.
“That's between you and him.”
“No. It matters.”
“Not anymore.”
Her face crumpled.
“He loved you.”
I felt a sharp, unexpected pain.
“Then he had a terrible way of showing it.”
After Olivia left, Daniel began organizing her statement.
I walked into the nursery.
For the first time in days, I allowed myself to cry.
Not because I wanted Alexander back.
Because I missed the man I had believed he was.
That evening, Daniel called.
“Claire, Olivia's statement gave us enough to seek emergency preservation of several financial records.”
“Good.”
“There's something else.”
His voice sounded different.
“We found the original authorization request for your prenatal information.”
I gripped the phone.
“Who signed it?”
A long pause.
Then Daniel said, “The request carries Alexander's electronic authorization.”
I closed my eyes.
“Are you sure?”
“The credential belongs to him. Whether he actually used it is another question.”
I looked down at my stomach.
May you like
My daughter kicked.
And for the first time, I wondered whether the man I had loved was hiding something far worse than betrayal.
