Chapter 8 - THE DAY I STOPPED BEING HIS VICTIM
Olivia hired Allison Grant, a financial litigation attorney with a reputation for being almost impossible to intimidate.
Allison was fifty-one, wore dark suits, and spoke with the precision of someone who charged by the minute.
Their first meeting lasted three hours.
At the end, Allison closed the file.
“Your ex-husband appears to have built an elaborate paper trail.”
Olivia stared at her.
“Against me?”
“Potentially.”
“Why?”
“Because if you become the apparent source of suspicious transactions, attention shifts away from him.”
Olivia pressed her hands together.
“Can we prove I didn't authorize them?”
“We can investigate the signatures, device records, login history, and bank communications. But we need to preserve everything.”
Olivia nodded.
Allison continued.
“Don't contact Richard. Don't delete messages. Don't discuss the investigation publicly.”
“Understood.”
“And one more thing.”
Olivia looked up.
“Don't let Gabriel Moretti become your legal strategy.”
She blinked.
“What?”
Allison leaned forward.
“Mr. Moretti has resources. He also has complicated business interests. You need independent representation.”
Olivia nodded slowly.
“I agree.”
“Good.”
For the first time that day, Allison smiled.
“Then we have a chance.”
The next two weeks were exhausting.
Olivia met with investigators.
Provided financial records.
Reviewed old contracts.
Answered questions about accounts she'd never opened.
Meanwhile, Hayes Events continued operating under severe financial pressure.
Maya stayed late every night.
Ben worked weekends.
Sofia personally called vendors to reassure them.
Olivia sold her second car.
She canceled her own salary.
She negotiated payment extensions.
And when she couldn't sleep, she made spreadsheets.
Numbers were something she could control.
One Thursday evening, she found Gabriel waiting outside her office.
He held two paper bags.
Olivia looked at them.
“What's that?”
“Dinner.”
“I didn't order dinner.”
“I know.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Are you bribing me?”
“With chicken soup?”
“It's possible.”
Gabriel smiled.
“May I come in?”
She stepped aside.
They ate at the conference table.
Olivia had never imagined sharing takeout soup with Gabriel Moretti beneath a flickering fluorescent light.
He looked completely out of place.
And somehow perfectly comfortable.
“You're staring,” he said.
“I'm trying to imagine you eating from a paper container.”
“I've done worse.”
“I believe that.”
He smiled.
For a while, they ate in silence.
Then Olivia asked, “Why do you keep showing up?”
Gabriel set down his spoon.
“Would you prefer I didn't?”
“No.”
The answer surprised them both.
She looked away.
“I just don't understand.”
He considered her.
“Three years ago, my younger sister died.”
Olivia went still.
“I didn't know you had a sister.”
“Isabella.”
His voice changed when he said the name.
“She was thirty-one.”
“What happened?”
Gabriel looked toward the dark window.
“She was married to a man who made her believe she couldn't survive without him.”
Olivia's heart tightened.
“He controlled her money. Her friends. Her decisions. By the time she finally left, she barely recognized herself.”
Olivia swallowed.
“Did he hurt her?”
“Yes.”
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
“She died in a car accident six months after the divorce. The investigation found no evidence that her former husband caused it.”
Olivia watched him.
“But you blamed yourself.”
Gabriel nodded.
“I kept thinking I should have noticed sooner.”
She reached across the table.
Touched his hand.
“You couldn't make her choices for her.”
“I know.”
“Knowing and believing are different.”
He looked at her.
For a moment, the powerful man disappeared.
In his place was a grieving brother.
Olivia squeezed his hand.
“I'm sorry.”
Gabriel turned his palm upward.
Their fingers intertwined.
Neither spoke.
Then Olivia smiled faintly.
“Is this why you kissed my forehead?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Partly.”
“And the other part?”
His gaze softened.
“Because you asked me to.”
She laughed quietly.
“That's annoyingly simple.”
“Most honest things are.”
Her phone vibrated.
A message from Maya.
Olivia opened it.
Her smile vanished.
“What happened?” Gabriel asked.
She showed him.
Maya had forwarded an email from the Halston Grand.
The Carter wedding had been canceled.
Not postponed.
Canceled.
The bride's family had been told Hayes Events was under investigation for fraud.
Olivia stared at the screen.
Then she stood.
“No.”
Gabriel watched her.
“Olivia?”
“No.”
She grabbed her coat.
“I'm not letting him do this.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the Halston.”
“Why?”
“Because I have a bride who thinks I stole her money, and I'm going to tell her the truth.”
Gabriel stood.
“Would you like company?”
Olivia looked at him.
For a moment, she remembered the gala.
The forehead kiss.
The way she'd asked a stranger to help her survive thirty seconds.
Then she smiled.
“Yes.”
May you like
Gabriel reached for his coat.
“Then let's go.”
