Something had certainly changed in Alexander over the past few weeks that they had been apart. Olivia had never heard him mention wanting kids before. She was excited about the prospect of starting a family with him, but there were still some unresolved issues between them…issues that she had no desire to address at the moment. “How about both?”

“That’s my girl.”

Alexander watched Olivia walk away from the building and into the SUV, his heart racing as her hips swayed in that way that always turned him on. Then he climbed into the backseat of the second SUV.

A few minutes later, he entered the vacant reception area of his company’s headquarters, making his way down the corridor and into his office. Once he was sure the door was locked behind him, he returned to the bathroom and was soon down in the large safe room once more.

He began digging through the boxes again, knowing that he would eventually have to give Olivia some information about her past. He was also secretly hoping that he would find the infamous evidence box. He knew it was a long shot, but maybe it was there and his father never found it.

As he sorted through box after box, he came across items from Olivia’s childhood…and his own. Family photos. Stuffed animals. Toys. Some boxes were full of documents…deeds to various property holdings, bank statements. As he dug through everything, he stumbled upon his father’s handwriting on a piece of paper amongst years’ worth of financial records. Numbers and letters were scratched on several sheets of legal paper. It was obvious that he was onto something, but what was it?

Alexander grabbed the box and brought it to a desk to sort through, on a mission to determine what it was that his father had figured out. None of the records made any sense. All the numbers seemed to run together. He recalled his mother saying that his father had grown rather paranoid during the last few months of his life. Maybe this was just a result of that paranoia. Still, he needed some advice and he knew there was only one person he could turn to.

“Hey, sis. It’s me,” he said into his cell phone. “Are you working today?”

“No. I’m off. I was about to go to the hospital to see how Kiera was doing. Why? What’s up?”

“Think you could swing by my office on the way? There’s something I need to show you.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING about, Simon?!” Donovan shouted into the phone, unable to even believe what he was saying. “You better not be having second thoughts. This whole plan rests on you following through!”

“I just didn’t think anyone would get seriously hurt,” Simon explained. “That bastard raped her. It was horrific.”

“Hey. Buck the fuck up. I hope you’re not getting soft on me now. You wanted to pull the trigger anyway. We’re giving you your goddamn wish. Need I remind you that if you fail, we’ll kill both you and the girl? Either way, the girl will die. It’s just a matter of whether you go down the same path.”

Simon began to shake with apprehension. What else could he do? He was in too deep and the only way to save his own life was to throw Olivia to the proverbial wolves. “I got it. I won’t let you down. I promise.”

Fuming, Donovan slammed his phone,

“Trouble in paradise?” a voice called out, walking into his office.

Donovan looked up. He recognized that voice, but had never actually met the man before. All of their business was conducted solely over the phone. After looking into the man’s cold hard stare, Donovan finally answered, rather confused, “Nothing I can’t handle, sir. This is why you pay me.”

“I understand that, but it seems like your golden boy, Simon, has grown a bit of a heart. Are you sure he’ll follow through when the time comes? Can you be sure the girl will even lead him to those documents?”

“It’s a risk we all have to take. That’s the reason we left that note at her friend’s house…to draw her out, hoping that she’ll come forward in order to prevent further harm to anybody else she’s close to. That is, unless you have a better plan.”

“I pay you to come up with the plan. Now, the second you know where the box is, you better fucking call me.”

“Yes, sir.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“LIVVY, I’M SO GLAD that you’re here,” Mo said when he saw her walk through the sliding glass doors of the hospital and into the waiting area, Carter close behind her.

She made her way over to him and gave him a hug. “Of course. How’s she doing today?”

“Good, actually,” he responded with a hopeful look on his face. “The doctors say the swelling in her brain is going down and if she stays on track, they may be able to bring her out of the coma tomorrow.”

“That’s fantastic news, Mo! Thank god.” Olivia looked around the empty waiting room. “Is anyone else here?”

“Her parents are sitting with her right now.”

“Good.”

“Can I ask you a question?” His eyes narrowed and suddenly became rather serious.

She had a feeling what that question would be, and she wasn’t sure how she should answer it. “Sure, Mo. Anything,” she replied nervously.

Carter took a few steps back, giving the two friends a bit of privacy.

Mo took Olivia’s hand and walked her over to a lounge chair, never releasing his hold on her as they both sat down. “I need to know, Livvy. No one is telling me anything and that leads me to suspect something more than just a physical attack occurred yesterday.”

Olivia stared at him, swallowing hard at what she knew was about to come.

“What did you see when you got to her house yesterday?” he asked with a shaky voice.

She looked down at her hand as Mo ran his fingers over it.

“Please, Livvy. I need to know,” he pleaded with her. “Was she…?”

His voice trailed off and Olivia’s eyes met his. All she could see was Kiera’s lifeless body covered in blood, her skirt hiked up around her waist with more blood trailing down her thighs. She briefly closed her eyes, trying to muster the strength to say the words. He seemed so much stronger than he had been the day before, and telling him may send him back to the dark place he had just returned from.

But if she withheld all that from him, she would be no better than Alexander keeping all those secrets from her, and she knew how badly that hurt. She couldn’t do that to her friend, as well. Making her decision, Olivia slowly opened her eyes, meeting Mo’s gaze.