Chapter 5 - The Wrong Villain
Olivia stared at Victor.
For forty-eight hours, she had suspected him.
Now he was standing between her and an armed man.
Pierce laughed.
“You always were sentimental, Victor.”
“Drop it.”
Pierce didn't.
The gunshot was deafening.
Ethan pulled Olivia down.
Victor fired.
Pierce collapsed.
His weapon slid across the floor.
Police arrived seconds later.
Detective Brooks had tracked Ethan's phone despite his objections.
Madison was rushed upstairs for treatment.
Pierce survived.
Victor surrendered his weapon immediately.
Then he looked at Olivia.
“You thought it was me.”
She couldn't deny it.
“I didn't know.”
“I did authorize the garage contractor.”
“Why?”
“Because someone had been accessing your vehicle.”
Olivia stared.
“I was investigating it privately.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because every time anyone tells Olivia Hart she's in danger, she works later.”
Despite herself, Olivia almost smiled.
Almost.
Victor's expression hardened.
“Pierce wasn't working alone.”
The conspiracy was larger than any of them expected.
St. Haven was one of several hospitals testing Sentinel's healthcare security module.
Meridian Crest had quietly accumulated financial interests in companies that would benefit if Sentinel failed.
Pierce had accepted payments.
Someone inside Hart Tech had supplied confidential access.
But it wasn't Victor.
Evidence pointed toward CFO Nathan Cole.
Nathan disappeared before police could question him.
Olivia returned to Ethan's apartment after sunrise.
Grace was asleep at a neighbor's.
For the first time since the accident, Ethan and Olivia were alone.
“You could have died tonight,” Ethan said.
“So could you.”
“That's different.”
“Why?”
He had no answer.
Olivia stepped closer.
“Why is your life worth less than mine?”
“I didn't say that.”
“You act like it.”
Ethan looked away.
She touched his arm.
“Sarah died five years ago.”
His body stiffened.
“You're allowed to still be alive.”
He looked at her.
The space between them disappeared.
Ethan kissed her.
It was brief.
Uncertain.
Then he pulled back.
“I shouldn't have done that.”
Olivia's eyes narrowed.
“That's an incredibly annoying thing to say after kissing someone.”
“You're recovering.”
“My ribs are broken. My judgment isn't.”
“You're a billionaire.”
“And?”
“I'm a security guard.”
“You were good enough to save my life but apparently not good enough to kiss me?”
“That isn't what I meant.”
“Then stop deciding what I mean.”
She kissed him this time.
When they separated, Ethan actually smiled.
Olivia had never seen that expression on him.
Then Grace's voice came from the doorway.
“I knew it.”
They jumped apart.
Grace stood wearing pajamas and holding a cereal box.
“My neighbor brought me back.”
Ethan rubbed his face.
“Grace.”
“I said she liked you.”
Olivia began laughing.
Ethan pointed toward the kitchen.
“Breakfast.”
Grace grinned.
“Are billionaires allowed to eat cereal?”
Olivia followed her.
“This one is.”
For a few hours, danger felt far away.
Then Olivia's phone rang.
Detective Brooks.
Nathan Cole had been found.
Dead.
His car was parked beneath Downtown Bridge.
The same bridge where Olivia had crashed.
Police initially suspected suicide.
Then they found something inside his pocket.
A photograph.
It showed Ethan leaving his military base eight years earlier.
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On the back were six handwritten words:
THE MEDIC WAS ALWAYS THE REAL TARGET.
