CHAPTER NINETEEN

Olivia has barely ended her call, with Monica, but she picked the call anyway. “Richard, now isn't a good time”, Olivia said, her voice strained.

“Olivia , I don't care , we’ve been sitting in this exposé for too long, it's time to publish”, Richard said leaving no room for argument.

Olivia closed her eyes feeling the weight of the decision pressing down on her, “Richard, things are complicated”.

“Complicated, how? You have everything you need to bring Lucas down. We can't wait any longer”, Richard insisted.

“Richard, listen to me , if I publish this exposé , It's not just Lucas who is at risk. My friend Monica was nearly killed all because of me. I….I don't know if I can do it”. Olivia confessed her voice breaking.

There was a pause on the other end of the line, “Olivia, this is what we do. We expose the truth, no matter how hard it is”.

Olivia felt tears welling up in her eyes, She looked around the room,feeling the weight of Lucas' presence even in his absence. She thought about the moment, they had shared, the glimpses of vulnerability he had shown her, and the complexity of his words.

*Richard, I….I can't”, she said aud finally, her voice trembling.

“Olivia, you have to”, Richard urged, his voice growling more desperate, “Think about all the people who are suffering because of him. This is your chance to make a difference”.

She knew he was right, But as she sat on her bed, torn between her duty as a journalist and her strange, confusing feelings she had developed for Lucas, she realized that she couldn't make the decision lightly.

“Give me more time”, Olivia pleaded, “Just a little more time”.

……🌵

Meanwhile, in Lucas office, Lucas sat back on his chair, spinning it slowly, his hands tapping on the desk as he listened to every word of Olivia's conversation.

He had connected her phone to his system, enabling him to hear,any call she made.

Back in Olivia's room, the call ended, leaving Olivia standing in the middle of her room, feeling stterky lost. She sank into her bed, burying her face in her hands. She was trapped between two worlds.

After her heart - wrenching conversation with Richard, Olivia felt a splitting headache taking hold. She realized she couldn’t ignore the pain any longer , so she went to find Lucy for some relief.

She walked down the mansion's long corridor, her footsteps echoing softly on the polished marbled floors. She finally reached Lucy's quarters, a modestly decorated room, compared to the rest of the mansion.

Lucy was in the middle of folding fresh laundry when Olivia approached. The room smelled of clean linen,and lavender , her kind eyes meeting Olivia with concern.

“Olivia, are you alright?”Lucy asked , stringing down a neatly folded towel.

Olivia nodded weakly, but her pake face and the tension in her shoulders told another story, “I have a terrible headache Lucy , Do you have anything for pain relief?”

Lucy nodded, quickly moved to a small cabinet, rummaging through it's contents. She pulled out a bottle of pills and handed it to Olivia, along with a glass of water. “Here, take these, they should help”.

“Thank you”, Olivia said, taking the pills and gulping down the water.

After thanking Lucy again, Olivia made her way back to her room, She turned on the shower letting the warm water wash away the tension in her muscles.

As she stood under the shower, her mind raced with thoughts of Lucas, Marco, and the dangerous world she was now entangled in.

After her bath , she changed into a soft , comfortable pair of pajamas . She climbed her bed, pulling the covers to her chin , and allowed herself to drift into a deep , much needed sleep.


…….🌵

The next morning at the penthouse,Monica stirred awake, feeling disoriented for a moment before the memories of the previous night came rushing back.

“Mmmmmmmh” Monica stretched her hands, she glanced around the luxurious room, She checked her face in the standing mirror, she blinked remembering that she had nothing to sleep on the previous night, and had to borrow Vincent shirt. The shirt was bigger than her body and reached her mid-thighs.

Monica sniffed the shirt as she stood in front of the mirror, “It smells like him ,clean” She muttered. She straightened her scattered hair, with her palms and stepped out of the room.

As she made her way to the kitchen, she found Vincent sitting at the counter, sipping coffee.

“Hey”, Monica greeted, trying to shake off remnants of sleep.

Vincent looked up, his expression, as stoic as ever, “Good morning to you too, Olivia”, "There's coffee if you want some.”

Monica poured herself a cup and joined him at the counter , They sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally Vincent broke the silence, “I need to head back to the mansion today”.

Monica's eyes widened in shock, “What? You're just going to leave me here with the guards?”

Vincent raised an eyebrow, “The guards are more than capable of keeping you safe”.

Monica huffed, crossing her arms, “That's not the point, I don't know these people, I don't even know you that well”.

Vincent smirked, “Well considering you tried to bite off my neck last night, I’d say we’re getting to know each other pretty quickly”.

Monica glared at him, “You touched my butt!”.

“It was an accident”, Vincent replied,holding up his hands defensively “I didn't mean to”.

“Accident my ass”, Monica muttered taking a sip from her coffee, “You’ve got some nerve”.

Vincent chuckled, a rare sound from him, “Trust me, If I wanted to touch you butts, you’d know it”.

Monica's face turned bright red, and she sputtered on her coffee, “You’re impossible”.

She turned to face Vincent, with a raised brow, “Hold on, what am I supposed to do here alone all day?, stare at the walls?”

“There's plenty to do”, Vincent said, gesturing around the kitchen, “There's a library, a gym, a private cinema, take your pick”.

Monica sighed, feeling frustrated, and trapped, “This isn't exactly how I envisioned spending my day, I have designs I need to create”.

Vincent's expression softened slightly, “I understand this is difficult but it's for you safety. Marco is still out there, and we can't risk him getting you”.

Monica looked at him noticing the sincerity in his eyes, “Fine, I understand”.

Vincent nodded, “I need to report back to Lucas at the mansion ”.

Monica felt a pang of panic, “But what about your shirt?”

Vincent glanced at her,a small smile playing at the corners of his lips, “You can keep it”

Monica's face turned red, “You expect me to just walk around in this?”

Vincent smile widened slightly , “Well , it looks better on you anyway”.

Monica’s eyes narrowed, “Very funny, Seriously , though , what am I supposed to do?”

Vincent shrugged, “If you had checked your closet this morning, you wouldn't be asking me this,there are clothes there, you’ll find something to wear, Some clothes were brought in this morning”.

With that Vincent walked through the door.

Monica huffed, “You could have mentioned that sooner”, she yelled, even though Vincent could not hear.

Back at the mansion,Olivia was still deep in sleep,the sun relief from the previous night having worked their magic.

Suddenly the sound of her phone ringing, disturbed her sleep, She groggily reached for it on the nightstand, blinking against the harsh light of the screen. The caller's ID read “Detective Harris”.