Chapter 5
Arthur was right.
Thirty-two days later, the judge threw Karen’s lawsuit out.
He called it “frivolous, without merit, and a transparent attempt to harass and extort a grieving young woman.” He ordered Karen to pay all my legal fees—more than $40,000—and warned her that any further legal action against me would result in sanctions.
I read the order three times, sitting at dad’s desk, then I printed it out and taped it to the fridge.
It was over.
Or so I thought.
Two days later, I was going through the back of dad’s study closet, looking for his old tax files Arthur had asked for, when I found it.
A hidden safe.
It was built into the wall behind a row of old leather-bound law books, so well hidden I’d never noticed it in 18 years of living in the house.
There was a small keypad on the front, and a sticky note taped to the top.
For Olivia. Combination is the day your mom and I got married. You know it.
I did know it.
Dad had told me a hundred times, when I was little, that it was the best day of his life. October 14, 1998.
I punched in 101498.
The safe clicked open.
My heart was racing as I pulled the door open.
Inside, there were three things.
A thick manila folder labeled KAREN - EVIDENCE.
A smaller folder labeled ETHAN.
And a USB drive, with a handwritten label: FOR OLIVIA ONLY. WATCH WHEN YOU’RE READY.
I sat down on the floor right there, my back against the bookshelf, and opened the first folder.
It was full of bank records, emails, screenshots of text messages.
Proof that Karen had stolen more than $2.1 million from dad’s company and personal accounts over seven years.
She’d opened fake vendor accounts, paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars, then transferred the money to her own secret bank accounts in the Cayman Islands.
She’d bought a second house in Aspen, in her sister’s name, with dad’s money.
She’d been having an affair with dad’s business partner for five years, and they’d been planning to take over the company and leave dad with nothing once he got too sick to fight.
The emails were brutal.
She called dad a weak, stupid old man.
She called me a little brat who needed to be put in her place.
She laughed about how easy it was to manipulate him, how he’d believe anything she said.
I felt sick to my stomach reading it.
I’d known she was cruel. I’d known she was greedy.
But I’d never imagined how deep the lies went.
How long she’d been planning to destroy him.
I closed that folder and opened Ethan’s.
My blood ran cold.
Inside was a police report from 18 months earlier.
Ethan had been driving drunk, going 80 in a 35, when he’d hit a 22-year-old college student named Lila Martinez who was crossing the street.
She’d broken both legs, her pelvis, and suffered a traumatic brain injury. She’d spent three months in the hospital, and would never walk without a cane again.
Dad had paid her $500,000 in hush money, made her sign an NDA, and used his connections with the local police to make the entire report disappear.
Ethan had never gotten a ticket. Never spent a night in jail. He’d gone back to his fraternity, his parties, his fancy car, like nothing had ever happened.
The folder had copies of Lila’s medical bills, the check dad had written, the NDA.
And a handwritten note from dad, tucked in the back.
Olivia,
If Ethan ever hurts you, or threatens you, or comes near you again? Send all of this to the DA. And to Lila Martinez. Tell her I’m sorry. Tell her I was a coward for not making him take responsibility. I let her down. I let a lot of people down.
Don’t be like me.
Do the right thing.
Dad
I stared at the note for a long time.
Then I picked up the USB drive, plugged it into dad’s old laptop on the desk.
It was another video.
This one was recorded only a week before dad died.
He looked so much worse. Thin, pale, his skin yellow from the liver failure. He was propped up in his hospital bed, an IV in his arm.
He smiled when he saw the camera.
“Hi, baby,” he said, his voice weak, but clear. “If you found the safe, that means you’re looking for answers. And I’m so sorry I have to give you these. I wish none of this existed. I wish I’d been a better man. A better husband to your mom. A better dad to you.
“But I wasn’t. I made so many mistakes. And now you have to clean up my messes.
“The stuff in Karen’s folder? Use it if you have to. She owes you that money. She owes a lot of people a lot of things. Don’t feel bad for her. She never felt bad for any of us.
“The stuff in Ethan’s folder? That’s harder. I know he’s your brother. Half-brother, anyway. And I know you have a good heart. You’ll want to forgive him. To give him another chance.
“Don’t.
“Not until he pays for what he did. That girl, Lila? She’ll never be the same. And Ethan never even said he was sorry. I asked him. Once. He said it was her fault for crossing the street in the dark.
“That’s not the kind of man you want in your life, Olivia. People who don’t take responsibility for their actions? They never change. Not really.
“You have a good heart. That’s your greatest strength. But don’t let people use it against you. Don’t let them walk all over you because you’re too kind to stop them.
“Be kind. But be strong, too.
“I love you. I’m so proud of you. Whatever you decide to do, I’ll support you. Always.”
The video ended.
I sat there for a long time, staring at the black screen.
I thought about Lila Martinez. 22 years old. The same age I was now. Her whole life changed forever because of Ethan. And dad had let him get away with it.
I thought about all the money Karen had stolen. All the lies she’d told. All the years she’d made me miserable.
I thought about dad’s words. Do the right thing.
I picked up my phone and called Arthur.
“Olivia?” he said. “Everything okay?”
“I found the safe,” I said. “I have everything. All the proof of Karen’s embezzlement. And the police report about Ethan. The hit and run.”
There was a long silence on the other end.
“Daniel told me about it,” he said quietly. “He asked me to help him cover it up. I told him it was wrong. I told him Ethan needed to face the consequences. But he begged me. Said Ethan was just a kid, that a felony record would ruin his life. I was weak, too. I helped him. I’ve regretted it every day since.”
“I want to do something,” I said. “I don’t know what yet. But I can’t just let this sit. Lila deserves justice. And Karen can’t get away with stealing all that money.”
“Whatever you want to do,” Arthur said, “I’m with you. 100%. We can press criminal charges against Karen for embezzlement. We can contact the DA’s office about Ethan’s case. We can reach out to Lila, give her the proof, help her if she wants to file a civil suit. It’s all up to you, Olivia. Whatever you decide is the right thing, we’ll do it.”
I looked at the folders spread out on the floor in front of me.
I thought about how scared I’d been my whole life. Scared of Karen. Scared of Ethan. Scared of rocking the boat.
Not anymore.
“I want to do it all,” I said. My voice was steady. Sure. “Press charges against Karen. Give the DA everything on Ethan. And find Lila Martinez. I want to talk to her. Apologize. Help her any way I can.”
“Consider it done,” Arthur said. “I’ll start first thing tomorrow morning.”
I hung up the phone.
I looked at the safe, at the folders, at the laptop.
For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like a little girl hiding in the corner.
I felt powerful.
I felt like I could fix things.
May you like
Not just for me.
For everyone Karen and Ethan had hurt.
