Chapter 5
Olivia was booked and released on bail the next morning.
Her lawyer was the best money could buy.
Of course it was.
She’d used my money to pay him.
The judge ordered her to stay at least five hundred feet away from me, from Lila, from Tom, and from the estate.
But I didn’t feel safe.
I knew Olivia.
She didn’t follow rules.
Marcus moved two of his men into the guest house.
They patrolled the property 24/7.
I spent most of my days at Mrs. Hale’s, checking on Lila.
Her mom worked two jobs out of state.
She’d been staying with her grandma, who was in the hospital with pneumonia.
Mrs. Hale had taken her in temporarily.
Lila was quieter now.
She jumped at every loud noise.
She had nightmares every night.
Mrs. Hale said she’d heard her screaming in her sleep.
Screaming about vans and men in black.
It broke my heart.
She’d saved my life.
And now she was the one who was suffering.
I decided to do something about it.
I called the best child therapist in Boston.
I paid for her to come to the house every day.
I bought Lila a new bike, with a bright pink helmet and a basket on the front.
I took her out for ice cream every Saturday.
Slowly, she started to smile again.
But the peace didn’t last.
Three weeks later, Mrs. Hale called me, panicking.
“Ethan! He’s here! Rick! He’s trying to break in the back door!”
I was in my car before she finished talking.
I called Marcus on the way.
He was five minutes behind me.
I skidded to a stop in front of Mrs. Hale’s house three minutes later.
I jumped out and ran around the back.
Rick was there.
The fake driver.
He was big, with a tattoo of a snake curling up his neck.
He was trying to kick the back door in.
Lila was pressed up against the kitchen window, screaming.
“Hey!” I roared.
Rick turned.
He smiled when he saw me.
“Carter,” he said. “Perfect. I was just gonna grab the kid. Now I can take care of both of you.”
He pulled a knife from his pocket.
It glinted in the sun.
I didn’t have a weapon.
But I didn’t care.
I charged him.
We crashed into the side of the house.
The knife went flying.
We rolled on the ground, punching and grunting.
Rick was stronger than me.
He got on top and wrapped his hands around my throat.
Black spots danced in front of my eyes.
I couldn’t breathe.
Then I heard a shout.
Marcus.
He ran up and ripped Rick off me.
He threw him against the fence like he was a rag doll.
Rick hit the ground and didn’t move.
Two police cars pulled up seconds later.
They cuffed Rick and dragged him away.
I lay on the grass, gasping for air.
Lila ran out of the house and threw herself on top of me.
She was crying so hard she could barely breathe.
“I thought he was gonna kill you!” she sobbed.
I wrapped my arms around her.
“I’m okay,” I croaked. “I’m okay. I promise.”
Mrs. Hale knelt down next to us.
She was holding a baseball bat.
“Next time,” she said, “I’m gonna hit him first.”
I managed a weak laugh.
That night, the police called.
Rick had talked.
He’d made a deal.
Full immunity on the kidnapping charge in exchange for testifying against Olivia.
He’d told them everything.
How Olivia had planned the murder for six months.
How she’d paid him fifty thousand dollars to kill me.
How she’d ordered him to kidnap Lila if anything went wrong.
It was all the prosecution needed.
They rearrested Olivia that night.
No bail this time.
She was locked up, awaiting trial.
I sat on the porch of Mrs. Hale’s house, watching Lila sleep on the couch through the window.
Marcus sat down next to me.
“It’s over, Ethan,” he said.
I nodded.
But I didn’t feel like it was over.
Not really.
Olivia was gone.
But the damage she’d done was still there.
In Lila’s nightmares.
In Tom’s broken ribs.
In the empty spaces in my house where her things used to be.
I didn’t know if I’d ever feel normal again.
May you like
But as I watched Lila sleep, I knew I had to try.
For her.
