Chapter 2: The Recording
Olivia plugged the USB into her laptop.
Security camera footage filled the screen.
Date:
Two weeks earlier.
Location:
Claire's living room.
Daniel sat across from Claire.
Neither looked romantic.
Neither smiled.
Instead...
They looked terrified.
Claire spoke first.
"I can't keep lying to her."
Daniel buried his face in his hands.
"We don't have a choice."
Then another voice entered the room.
Their mother.
Margaret.
She closed the front door behind her.
"If Olivia discovers the insurance policy before everything is finished, none of us gets a dollar."
Olivia froze.
Margaret continued calmly.
"Daniel, you stay close to her."
"Claire..."
"You keep distracting her."
"When the policy pays out, we'll split everything."
Daniel looked sick.
"I never agreed to hurt Olivia."
Margaret laughed.
"You already forged her signature."
"You're involved whether you like it or not."
Olivia felt her stomach turn.
The affair...
It wasn't simply an affair.
It had been a distraction.
A weapon.
Someone wanted her isolated.
Confused.
Heartbroken.
Easy to manipulate.
The recording continued.
Claire suddenly stood up.
"No."
"I'm done."
"I won't help you anymore."
Margaret's expression hardened.
"You think you're backing out now?"
"You owe me."
Daniel stood as well.
"We're telling Olivia everything."
The video ended.
Olivia sat frozen.
For several minutes she couldn't breathe.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A woman's voice whispered only six words.
May you like
"They know you found the box."
The line went dead.
