Chapter 8 - A Sister's Silence
I called Olivia from Samuel's office.
She answered on the first ring.
"Please don't yell," she said.
"Then tell me the truth."
For a long moment I heard only breathing.
"I was at the hospital," she finally said. "Mom wanted me to witness a paper. I refused."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Derek said I'd lose my job if I made trouble. His company had just bought the clinic where I handled billing."
Her voice broke.
"I kept telling myself Dad would get better and fix it."
"He was dying, Liv."
"I know that now."
I wanted to say silence had consequences.
I also remembered being eighteen, watching Olivia freeze while Mom threw me out.
Fear had trained every person in that house differently.
"Do you still have that photograph?" Samuel asked.
"The original. The phone that took it. Everything."
"Then don't forward it around. We'll arrange a proper evidence copy."
Olivia lowered her voice.
"There's another reason I called."
She'd once worked part-time for Derek, reconciling invoices after her clinic shifts.
Last week she'd seen a draft announcement about Harbor House.
Derek intended to tell donors the veterans' facility would open in three months.
"But it's not being renovated," I said.
"I know."
"Then where did the money go?"
She swallowed.
"I saw payments for a yacht, a vacation condo, and something labeled 'Caroline Barker advancement.'"
My name.
On a ledger I'd never touched.
"Derek is preparing to blame you," she whispered.
May you like
"For what?"
"For the missing money."
