Chapter 14 - THE LAST TIME RICHARD TRIED TO HURT ME
Richard's trial began eleven months after his arrest.
Olivia attended with Allison Grant.
She wore a navy suit.
Her hair was pulled back.
She carried a folder containing documents she had spent months reviewing.
Richard looked older.
His hair was thinner.
His face had lost the polished confidence she'd once mistaken for strength.
When he saw her, he smiled.
The same smile.
The one he'd worn when he told her nobody else would want her.
Olivia felt nothing.
That surprised her.
She had imagined rage.
Fear.
Satisfaction.
Instead, she felt the mild discomfort of seeing someone she'd once known intimately and no longer recognized.
The proceedings focused on financial records, unauthorized transactions, forged documents, and communications recovered during the investigation.
Olivia testified about her company.
Her banking access.
Her signature.
The contracts she'd never approved.
Richard's attorney questioned her carefully.
At one point, he asked, “Ms. Hayes, isn't it true that your company was struggling financially?”
“Yes.”
“And you were under considerable stress?”
“Yes.”
“Isn't it possible you approved certain transactions and later forgot?”
Olivia looked directly at him.
“No.”
“People make mistakes, Ms. Hayes.”
“They do.”
She paused.
“But I didn't authorize those transactions.”
The attorney continued.
Olivia answered calmly.
She didn't apologize.
Didn't overexplain.
Didn't allow the questions to pull her into old habits.
When she left the witness stand, Gabriel was waiting outside the courtroom.
He had not entered during her testimony.
He had wanted her to know she could do it without him.
Olivia approached.
“How did it go?” he asked.
She smiled.
“I told the truth.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Then you did everything you needed to do.”
She took his hand.
The legal process continued over the following weeks.
Richard was convicted of several financial offenses supported by the evidence presented.
Other allegations remained subject to separate proceedings or investigation.
Olivia didn't celebrate the verdict.
She went home.
Made tea.
And sat beside Gabriel on the sofa.
For a while, they said nothing.
Then Olivia whispered, “It's over.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Some of it.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
The investigation into her father's death had produced new evidence of threats and possible interference, but not every question had been answered.
Arthur Bellini faced separate legal proceedings.
The Mercer Project's victims began receiving assistance through restitution efforts and civil settlements.
Gabriel continued restructuring his family's businesses.
He sold certain assets.
Ended relationships with people who refused to operate lawfully.
And accepted that changing an organization meant losing some of the power that had once defined him.
One evening, he told Olivia, “I used to think being feared made me untouchable.”
She looked at him.
“And now?”
He smiled faintly.
“Now I think it mostly made me lonely.”
Olivia reached for his hand.
“You're not lonely anymore.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“No.”
Months later, Olivia received another award nomination.
This time, Hayes Events was nominated for Regional Event Firm of the Year.
The same award she'd lost the night she met Gabriel.
She stared at the email.
Then she laughed.
Gabriel looked up from his book.
“What?”
She showed him.
His smile widened.
“Full circle.”
“Apparently.”
“Are you going?”
Olivia nodded.
“Absolutely.”
He closed the book.
“Would you like a date?”
She pretended to consider it.
“Are you good at behaving yourself at formal events?”
“Not historically.”
She laughed.
“Then I suppose I'll have to supervise you.”
Gabriel stood.
He crossed the room.
Wrapped his arms around her waist.
And kissed her forehead.
Olivia closed her eyes.
For a moment, she remembered the frightened woman at the Halston Grand.
The woman who had needed thirty seconds of borrowed courage.
She opened her eyes.
“Gabriel?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
He smiled.
“For what?”
“For never making me feel small.”
His expression softened.
May you like
He kissed her again.
And Olivia knew she was ready for whatever came next.
