Chapter 3 - THE OTHER WOMAN CAME BEGGING
Vanessa Clark looked nothing like the woman Olivia had seen at the gala.
Her blonde hair was pulled into a messy ponytail.
Her mascara had smeared beneath both eyes.
She wore jeans, sneakers, and an oversized beige sweater.
One sleeve was torn.
She stood in Hayes Events' reception area with both hands wrapped around a paper coffee cup.
When Olivia appeared, Vanessa flinched.
“Please don't make me leave.”
Olivia stopped several feet away.
“Why are you here?”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“Richard told me you were the only person who could help.”
Olivia laughed once.
“That's interesting. Richard usually tells people I'm useless.”
Vanessa looked down.
“I know.”
The admission surprised Olivia.
Gabriel stood quietly beside the office door.
Vanessa noticed him.
Her face drained of color.
“Oh, God.”
Gabriel's voice was calm.
“Ms. Clark.”
She stepped backward.
“I didn't know he'd be here.”
Olivia crossed her arms.
“What happened?”
Vanessa looked toward the windows.
“Can we talk somewhere private?”
Olivia hesitated.
Then she led them into the conference room.
Maya closed the blinds.
Vanessa sat at the table.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Finally, she whispered, “Richard lied to me.”
Olivia stared at her.
“You'll have to narrow that down.”
Vanessa winced.
“I thought he was divorcing you because you were controlling.”
Olivia said nothing.
“He told me you were jealous. That you checked his phone. That you made him feel trapped.”
Olivia remembered the nights she'd sat awake waiting for Richard to come home.
The perfume on his shirts.
The hotel receipts.
The way he'd called her paranoid whenever she asked questions.
“And you believed him.”
Vanessa nodded.
“I wanted to.”
Olivia felt the old wound open.
Not because Vanessa had believed Richard.
Because she'd known he was married and had chosen him anyway.
“What do you want from me?”
Vanessa reached into her purse.
Gabriel moved slightly.
She froze.
“It's just a flash drive.”
He nodded.
“Put it on the table.”
She did.
“Richard keeps copies of everything,” Vanessa whispered. “Contracts, recordings, messages. He says information is insurance.”
Olivia stared at the drive.
“What is this?”
“Files he told me to delete.”
“Why didn't you?”
Vanessa began crying.
“Because I realized I might be next.”
Gabriel sat opposite her.
“Tell us what happened.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“Richard met someone at a private club three months ago.”
“Victor Salerno?” Gabriel asked.
Her eyes widened.
“You know?”
Gabriel said nothing.
Vanessa nodded.
“After that, everything changed. Richard started carrying cash. He stopped sleeping. He got angry whenever I asked questions.”
Olivia watched her carefully.
“What did he say about me?”
Vanessa looked ashamed.
“He said your company was the last obstacle.”
“Obstacle to what?”
“A deal.”
Gabriel leaned forward.
“What deal?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“He said Hayes Events had access to vendor records from some of Chicago's most expensive hotels.”
Olivia frowned.
“We do.”
“Richard wanted those records.”
“Why?”
Vanessa looked toward Gabriel.
“Because Salerno wanted to know which companies supplied security, catering, maintenance, and transportation to Moretti properties.”
The room went silent.
Gabriel's expression became terrifyingly still.
Olivia understood enough to feel sick.
Richard hadn't merely targeted her company for money.
He wanted access.
To buildings.
To employees.
To schedules.
To people.
Gabriel stood.
“Matteo.”
The security chief appeared immediately.
“Sir?”
“Have our security department review every vendor relationship associated with Hayes Consulting. Coordinate with counsel and the authorities.”
Matteo nodded.
Vanessa began trembling.
“He'll know I came here.”
Olivia looked at her.
“Why didn't you go to the police?”
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
“Richard found out.”
She pulled back her sleeve.
A dark bruise circled her wrist.
Olivia's stomach tightened.
Richard had never hit her.
He'd done something harder to explain.
He'd made her doubt every thought until she no longer trusted herself.
Seeing Vanessa's bruise didn't erase the betrayal.
But it made one thing painfully clear.
Richard had found another woman to control.
Olivia sat across from her.
“Listen carefully. You need to speak with a lawyer and the police. I'm not going to hide evidence for you.”
Vanessa nodded.
“I know.”
“And I'm not promising to forgive you.”
Vanessa began crying harder.
“I don't deserve it.”
Olivia looked away.
For years, she had imagined confronting Vanessa.
She had rehearsed speeches.
Cruel ones.
Brilliant ones.
Speeches that would finally make the woman who helped destroy her marriage understand the pain she'd caused.
Now Vanessa sat in front of her looking frightened and exhausted.
And Olivia realized revenge would not give her back the years she'd lost.
“Did Richard tell you where he was going?” Gabriel asked.
Vanessa wiped her face.
“No.”
“Did he contact you this morning?”
She nodded.
“He sent a message.”
“What did it say?”
Vanessa handed him her phone.
Gabriel read it.
His expression hardened.
Olivia leaned closer.
The message contained six words.
Tell Olivia the game has started.
Then another message arrived.
This one included a photograph.
Olivia's apartment building.
Taken from across the street.
May you like
Beneath it, Richard had written:
Let's see who protects you now.
