Episode 5 - The Lawyer's Office
655 Words
She waits. The message doesn't come.
She puts the phone down. Stares at the ceiling.
Tomorrow, she marries a Logan. Tomorrow, she becomes the enemy.
But tonight, she is still Olivia Hughes. Still her parent's child. Still fighting.
She closes her eyes.
Sleep doesn't come.
Sebastian Logan stands by his penthouse window, watching the sun rise over Los Angeles. He hasn't slept. He doesn't need sleep. Sleep is for people who can afford to be weak.
His phone buzzes. A text from his security team: "No movement from the Hughes apartment. Subject did not leave overnight."
He reads it twice. Then he deletes it.
Olivia Hughes stayed home. She didn't run. She didn't go to the police. That could mean she knows nothing. Or it could mean she knows everything and is smart enough to hide it.
He thinks about the accident. Robbin's car, flipped on its side, smoke rising from the engine. A purple car with no plates. Someone hit him deliberately. Someone saved her.
Who?
He picks up his phone again. Calls the hospital.
"Robbin Jonathan," he says. "What's his condition?"
The nurse hesitates. "He's stable, but still unconscious. The doctors say it could be days before he wakes up. He suffered significant head trauma."
Sebastian hangs up.
Robbin is useless. Whatever he told Olivia…whatever she knows….he can't confirm it. Can't stop her. He can't do anything except lie in a hospital bed and dream.
But Sebastian has never relied on other people to do his work. If Olivia Hughes knows the truth, she needs to be handled. Personally.
He dials another number.
"I need someone followed. A young woman. She'll be at a lawyer's office this morning." He pauses. "If she doesn't show up, come to me directly. We'll handle it another way."
He hangs up. Stares at his reflection in the dark glass.
If Olivia comes to sign the contract, she's either innocent or playing a dangerous game. If she doesn't come, she knows everything….and she becomes a problem that needs to disappear.
Either way, Sebastian is ready.
Olivia arrives at the lawyer's office at 9:57 AM.
She didn't sleep last night. Couldn't. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her father's face. The pills. The woman in black. The car crashing behind her.
She told Chloe everything again this morning. Whispered it in the kitchen while their mother slept.
"If anything happens to me…." Olivia started.
Chloe cut her off. "Nothing is going to happen to you. You're going to sign that paper, marry that Logan, and come back to me. End of story."
Olivia wanted to believe her. She still wants to believe her.
Now she stands outside the lawyer's office, staring at the dark wood door. Her hands are shaking. Her heart is pounding so hard she can hear it in her ears.
She pushes the door open.
The room is cold. Too cold. Air conditioning humming, windows sealed shut, gray light filtering through the blinds. A long table sits in the center, two chairs on each side. The contract lies in the middle, thick pages, small print, waiting.
And standing by the window, back to her, is a man.
He turns when she enters.
Aiden Logan is taller than she imagined. Six feet four, maybe more. Platinum blonde hair, perfectly cut. A face carved from stone….sharp jaw, straight nose, lips pressed into a thin line. His suit is black, expensive, flawless. His eyes are the color of winter. Ice. Cold enough to freeze the ocean.
He looks at her like she's a stain on his expensive shoes.
She looks back with the same expression.
No one speaks. No one moves. The silence stretches between them, thick and suffocating.
A lawyer she doesn't recognize clears his throat. "Please, sit."
Olivia walks to the table. Each step feels like walking through water. She keeps her chin up, her back straight. She will not let him see her shake.
- Writer
