CHAP 18 — THE FALSE VICTORY
Three weeks before Olivia's due date, prosecutors offered Sebastian a deal.
Reduced charges.
Cooperation.
No trial.
Olivia hated it.
Evelyn reminded her the decision was not hers.
Sebastian accepted.
The headlines called it anticlimactic.
Daniel also pleaded guilty to financial crimes and conspiracy connected to evidence destruction.
Reeves faced separate charges related to Eleanor's death and falsified records.
The corporate crisis stabilized.
Briarwood became quiet.
Olivia prepared the nursery.
For the first time, she imagined peace.
Then Sebastian appeared at the gate.
Security called.
Olivia almost refused.
Then she saw him through the camera.
He looked thinner.
Older.
No suit.
No driver.
She met him in the glass conservatory.
He placed an envelope on the table.
“What is it?”
“Divorce settlement.”
This time, fair.
No waivers.
No hidden rights.
He had transferred his remaining personal interest in several marital assets into a trust for the child.
Olivia read silently.
“I don't want your money.”
“It isn't for you.”
“You think this fixes anything?”
“No.”
He looked toward the garden.
“I came to say something without negotiating.”
Olivia waited.
“I knew who you were before you knew me.”
“I know.”
“I wanted access to your family.”
“I know.”
“I didn't expect to love you.”
Olivia closed her eyes.
“Sebastian.”
“I know it doesn't matter.”
“It matters.”
He looked at her.
Olivia's eyes filled.
“That is the worst part.”
He nodded.
They sat in silence.
Finally Sebastian asked, “Will you tell our child I loved them?”
Olivia answered carefully.
“I'll tell our child the truth appropriate for their age.”
Pain crossed his face.
“You don't get to write the story anymore,” she said.
He nodded.
Then left.
For several days Olivia believed the war was over.
It was not.
Evelyn called the following Monday.
Sebastian's plea agreement had been rejected.
New evidence had emerged.
A hidden account showed Sebastian ordered the threatening surveillance of Marcus's daughter.
More serious charges were coming.
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And one email suggested he had known Reeves was connected to Eleanor's death years earlier.
Sebastian had sat across from Olivia and still withheld one final truth.
