The Betrayal
Page 23
“You should stay in your bedroom. If you feel the slightest bit weird, call 9-1-1 and tell them you have a domestic disturbance.
“Okay,” Olivia said.
Although they expected his arrival, both Denny and Olivia jumped when David pounded on the door.
“Oh, my God. He’s furious. I can tell by the knock.” Denny fiddled with her wedding ring.
“Denny, whatever you do, don’t sit down until David does. I don’t want to give your husband the opportunity to stand over you,” Claire said.
Denny nodded and gave Olivia a wan smile.
“It’ll be okay,” Olivia lied. She was quickly finding Claire’s methods more than a little unorthodox.
Claire waited until Olivia was back in her bedroom until she opened the door. When she said, “You must be David Grayson,” Olivia hit record. The camera worked like a dream.
“Where’s my wife?” David demanded. “And who the hell are you?”
“I’m Denny’s lawyer, Mr. Grayson. We’re going to negotiate a fair divorce settlement, including child support for your unborn child today.”
They were in the dining room now. Olivia watched as Claire wedged herself between David and Denny. “Sit down, Mr. Grayson.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” David said. “Denny, go pack. You’re coming home.”
“No, I’m not,” Denny said. Her voice was strong and sure and full of conviction. “I’m tired of your moral-compass bullshit. You’re a liar and cheat. I’m divorcing you, and if you don’t play nice, I’ll keep this baby from you.”
“This is ridiculous, Denny. You’re my wife. I want you with me. We’ll work this out. Just come home.” David wiped his eyes, as though he were crying, but Olivia didn’t see any tears. “I love you, Den. I know I haven’t been a good husband, but I’ve been working a lot for our baby. For us.”
Amazed at how quickly David changed his tactic, Olivia muttered under her breath, “Don’t fall for it, Den. Don’t fall for it.”
Denny nodded at Claire, who pushed an envelope towards David. “I wonder what your parents and their clients would say if those pictures were to make their way onto the Internet?”
David stuffed the pictures back in the envelope and pushed them back to the center of the table. “What do you want?”
“Child support, alimony for five years, so Denny can rebuild her business and start working. You’ll get standard visitation, as long as you don’t take the baby out of state without Denny’s permission. You even think about not returning that child from visitation, these pictures go live and I report a kidnapping.”
My God, she’s committing blackmail. Olivia resisted the urge to call the deal off, not wanting her daughter to be part of such underhanded tactics.
David pushed away from the chair and moved towards Claire, his hands clenched into fists. Olivia pushed 9-1-1 and held her finger over the call button.
“Listen, you bitch, that’s blackmail. You don’t know who you’re messing with.”
Heart pounding, Olivia watched the situation play out.
Claire didn’t back down. Olivia was surprised when Claire stepped close to David. “I’m messing with a manipulative sociopath who thinks the rules don’t apply to him. I’m giving you an opportunity to act like a decent human being, to keep up pretenses for your family and your career.” Claire sidestepped around David, took the paperwork and put it in an envelope. “But that’s okay, David. You don’t have to sign.” She pulled a sheet of paper out of her purse. “Here’s a summons. You’ve been served. I’ll schedule an emergency hearing—”
“Okay, okay.” David held up his hands. “I’ll sign the paperwork.” He turned towards Denny. “I’ll do what you want. I’m asking you to keep those pictures to yourself.”
Glad that Denny wouldn’t have to suffer a long and drawn-out custody battle, Olivia breathed a sigh of relief. Being privy to blackmail was a small price to pay for her daughter’s wellbeing.
While David read the marital settlement agreement, Denny sat still, her entire demeanor one of calm and poise. Olivia knew she was dying inside. David took his time and read every page. Finally he pushed the paper away and spoke to Claire. “I’ll agree to this.”
“Thank God,” Olivia whispered as she let out a sigh of relief.
“Fine. I’m going to call my secretary. She’s a notary and can be here in ten minutes,” Claire said.
Olivia kept the camera running while Claire’s secretary – who had been waiting at the coffee bar down the street – witnessed and notarized the signatures.
David was about to walk out the door when Denny called to him.
“Wait,” Denny said.
“What?” David snapped at her.
“You owe me an apology. I’ve been faithful to you, been a good wife. Yet you always made me feel as though I was never enough.”
David shook his head. “You won, Denny. Let it go. I’m not apologizing to anyone. I signed your paperwork, gave you what you wanted without a fight. Be glad for that.” And with that, David walked out of the house and out of Denny’s life.
Olivia joined them just as Claire shut and locked the door behind him. “That went well.”
“Thanks, Claire,” Denny said. “For the good lawyering and for the solid advice.”
“I’m starving,” Claire said. “How about a celebratory lunch? My treat.”
“Sounds good,” Denny said.
“Claire, you just blackmailed David,” Olivia said.
“Not really. Based on what Denny told me, I feared he would become violent. I filmed our proceedings for our safety. I like to think of it as showing him our discovery.” She winked at Olivia. “I won’t mention the pictures again. I don’t think I’ll have to.”
They made arrangements to meet and finalize the paperwork. When Denny excused herself, and Olivia and Claire were alone, Claire whispered, “I’ll bet you $100 that David Grayson remarries within the year and immediately gets his new wife pregnant.”
“Could be,” Olivia said. And with any luck, he won’t want anything to do with Denny’s child.
Chapter 37
Richard arrived on a warm spring day while Olivia was mulching her vegetable garden. He came around the side of the house, down the path. Olivia didn’t notice him until his shadow, made large by a trick of light, loomed over her. She turned with her trowel in hand, ready to use it as a weapon.
“Richard?”
“I tried the front door, rang the bell. Guess you didn’t hear me.”
The past few months had taken their toll on him. He’d lost weight and his cheeks had a gaunt look to them.
“You could have called,” Olivia said.
“I’ve been calling, as you well know,” Richard said.
Olivia sighed.
“I heard you’re going to volunteer for the Truth Project?” When Olivia didn’t respond, Richard plowed forward, trying to fill the silence. “That’s a step down, Liv. The money’s not nearly as good, and you could find yourself in a dangerous situation. I know their mission is noble, trying to help the wrongly convicted. But you won’t like it. Trust me. You should consider—”
Olivia held up her hand. “Don’t you presume to tell me what I should or should not do. I’m not interested in your opinion. Are you going to sign the divorce papers?”
“We’re going to have a grandchild. I came here to apologize.”
Olivia exhaled and forced the tension out of her body. She tossed her trowel to the ground and took off her hat. “I don’t want to fight you, Richard. All I’m asking is that you let me keep this house. Sign the papers. Move on. Find yourself a nice young wife who will stroke your ego and put up with your relentless bullshit.”
When he held her eyes and met her gaze, Olivia saw the cold edge there. Why hadn’t she seen that before? Because I was blind with love and full of optimism. Never again would Olivia make that mistake.
He nodded. “Okay. I’ll sign.”
“Good. Monday? We co
uld meet at the bank and use their notary.” She put her hat back on, ready for Richard to go so she could get back to work. But he didn’t leave.
“I’m moving to DC. Going to work as a consultant. Denny will know how to reach me.” He turned to go, but changed his mind at the last minute. “You know, Olivia, I never meant to hurt you. I always loved you and always put you first. I did make you happy, didn’t I? You never even suspected there were others.”
“Don’t try to paint yourself as noble and considerate of my feelings, Richard. While you were screwing other women since the beginning of our marriage, you weren’t thinking of me at all.” She turned her back on him, finished with him, finished with their relationship. She sensed him walking away as she took off her gardening gloves and sunk her hands into the dark loamy soil, letting it ground her.
Hours later, she stood, arms aching, happy with her efforts in the garden. For the first time in her life, she had no grand plan, had no idea what her future held. Her life lay before her, a blank canvas ready for her to paint. She tipped her face up to the afternoon sun, knowing in her heart she was ready for whatever the future held. For now, she was content to just be.
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Acknowledgements
Many people have been generous with their time and resources as I wrote this book. Thanks to John Prentice, not only for his knowledge of the law, but for the help regarding the murder investigation. Kasey Corbit, attorney at law, double-checked my courtroom scenes, often taking away from her busy schedule to answer last-minute questions.
Kris Waldherr, Angela Baxter, Janet Robinson, Gloria Bagwell-Rowland, Kim Laird, and Peter Anderson beta read this book and gave me on-point constructive feedback. Big thanks to Abigail Fenton, my fabulous editor at HQ Digital. I had a vision for a novel featuring an older attorney on the brink of retirement. Abi pushed me to develop Olivia and the people in her life, all with an eye towards giving my readers a great story. She’s a master at seeing my weak spots and pushing me to grow as an author. Also thanks to Helena Newton for her superior copyediting and all the team at HQ for their continued support. My husband, Doug, has supported me with his continual encouragement since 2006, when I decided I wanted to take myself seriously as a writer. Since then, I’ve published seven books, and have never looked back.
Finally, I want to thank my readers, whose kind words, reviews, and emails always make me smile.
#ReaderLove
Terry
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading The Betrayal, the first book in the Olivia Sinclair series. If you are so inclined, a review on Amazon, BookBub, and/or Goodreads would be very much appreciated.
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Thank you again for taking the time to read my books.
Happy Reading,
Terry
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