Chapter 7 - Olivia’s ExplanationOlivia requested one supervised meeting before entering her plea.
She said Bright Horizon began as an honest business. Her brother struggled after losing a major client, and she redirected one foundation contract to keep his employees working.
The first false invoice covered a temporary shortage.
Each later payment protected the lie before it.
When Miriam’s letter appeared, Olivia feared Ethan would see her not as a wife but as another person using his family. Destroying the records felt easier than admitting what she had done.
“And Noah?” Ethan asked.
Olivia looked at the table.
“He kept finding things.”
“He was eight.”
“I only wanted him to stop.”
She insisted the flame never touched him, as though distance erased intention.
Grace had arrived before the threat became an injury.
That did not make the terror accidental.
Olivia understood exactly what the lighter meant to a child already blamed for fires he did not start.
May you like
Fear was not a side effect of her plan.
Fear was how she expected the plan to work.
Related Stories
