CHAPTER 0112
CHAPTER 0112
JULIAN’S POV
I turned the knob of the heavy steel door and stepped into the dim basement. The thick air clung to the walls, stale and silent except for the soft hum of the overhead bulbs. The two bastards I’d been keeping down here sat restrained at their own separate metal tables, hands cuffed to anchors drilled into the steel. A single, harsh bulb dangled over each of them, casting a cold, flickering glow across their anxious faces.
Olivia followed closely behind me, the sound of her footsteps echoing faintly on the cement floor. As soon as the two saw her, I noticed the subtle but immediate shift in their expressions. Panic overtook surprise. Their eyes widened like they’d seen a ghost rise from the grave.
“Surprised to see me?” Olivia asked, her voice sharp and low, laced with something dark–vengeance.
I didn’t say a word. I simply pulled out a chair and took a seat between them, leaning back as I prepared to enjoy the scene that was about to unfold. Whatever reaction Olivia’s presence triggered, it wasn’t just shock. It was fear. Real, bone–deep fear. And that said a lot more than words ever could.
I watched as the driver–one of the scumbags Adrian hired–gulped audibly, struggling to speak. “How did you… But…” he stammered, voice cracking under the weight of disbelief.
“But what?” I asked, my tone cold and direct, slicing through the silence.
Before he could respond, he suddenly’slammed his hands on the table with such force that the metal clanged through the room, startling even me. His handcuffs jerked against the restraint bolts.
“That bastard played us!” he shouted, whipping his head toward the woman next to him. His face twisted with betrayal and rage. “He said we wouldn’t have to deal with her again!”
The woman, still silent, let out a small breath of resignation. She buried her face in her palms, visibly shaken and unable–or unwilling–to meet Olivia’s eyes. That reaction spoke volumes.
I looked over at Olivia, who had folded her arms and stepped forward until she was just a few feet away from the driver. The light caught her features in a way that made her look more powerful than ever, like someone reborn from pain.
“You see this place?” she said, voice cool and deadly. “No one knows you’re down here. And we plan to keep it that way until you give us what we want. I’m sure my brother already told you exactly what that is. So unless you’re looking to rot down here for a few more weeks–or worse–you’d start talking.”
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CHAPTER 0112
The room went dead silent again. I felt a chill crawl down my spine, and I wasn’t even the one being threatened. Olivia was different now. Stronger. Sharper. There was no hesitation in her voice, no mercy in her eyes.
But I still couldn’t ignore that something had shaken them before she even said a word.
“What was that reaction about?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
The driver looked up at me, jaw clenched, fury burning behind his exhausted gaze.
“Adrian,” he spat. “He promised us that she’d never be a problem again. Said he was going to take care of her, so we wouldn’t have to look over our shoulders. Told us he’d make sure she disappeared, either locked away or… or worse. He lied. He damn well lied to all three of us.”
And his accomplice, the reporter seated beside him, shot him a sharp, disappointed look, clearly annoyed that he had let that information slip so easily. She hadn’t spoken since we entered, maintaining a tight–lipped composure like she still thought she could get out of this unscathed. I didn’t blame the driver, though. He’d already spilled plenty to my private investigators, including the fact that Adrian had hired him. So at this point, what more did he really have to lose?
She, on the other hand, was one of the missing pieces we needed. Her confession would tie everything together. Without it, our case was incomplete.
Olivia took a step forward, her heels echoing softly against the concrete floor of the basement. Her arms were crossed tightly against her chest, her voice cold and direct as she addressed them.
“Well, for me to be standing here, it’s clear that Adrian played you two,” she said. Her eyes locked on theirs with icy precision. “And let me let you in on a little secret–while I was with him these past weeks, I overheard more than he realized. I know what he planned for the three of you.”
That got their attention.
They glanced at each other in surprise–genuine surprise. Panic flickered across the reporter’s face for the first time, and the driver leaned forward as if hanging onto Olivia‘ s every word.
“Yes, you heard me right,” Olivia continued, now pacing slowly between them. “Even though you got paid and pulled off a clean setup, Adrian didn’t plan to let you live long after that. You were just loose ends to him. He figured that just like you got paid to frame me, someone else might pay you to tell the truth.”
The air in the room thickened. The reporter’s face paled slightly.
“So, his brilliant solution?” Olivia’s tone dipped, now deadly. “He planned to eliminate all of you quietly. No questions asked.”
She turned toward the driver. “You should be thanking my brother that he brought you here. Otherwise, you’d probably be dead already. And I’m willing to bet Adrian has
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already taken care of the third person who helped you.”
Even I was caught off guard by her words. She had never told me any of this before.
She then walked closer to the reporter, leaning down slightly so they were at eye level.” So, think hard. It doesn’t matter if you keep pretending you don’t know anything. Adrian will come for you eventually. But there’s a way you can protect yourself.”
The tension in the room was getting palpable. The driver looked sick to his stomach, and the reporter visibly tensed, still trying to maintain control, though the cracks in her mask were beginning to show.
That was when I decided to intervene.
Clearing my throat, I tilted my head toward the door. “Can we talk outside?” I asked Olivia quietly.
She nodded wordlessly and followed me out.
As soon as the door closed behind us, I lowered my voice and said, “What’s all this I’m hearing? You never told me Adrian was planning to kill them.”
Olivia waved her hand dismissively. “He’s not. I made that up. I’m just trying to get into their heads, make them panic. If they think their lives are on the line, they’re more likely to cooperate. It’s basic psychology. Trust me–I know what I’m doing.”
1 blinked at her. “Since when did you become an investigator?”
She smirked. “Maybe I’ve watched too many crime dramas.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking my head in disbelief.
“Everything I say in there, just go along with it, okay?” Olivia said.
“Alright. I’ll follow your lead. Let’s see how this plays out.”
With that, we turned and reentered the basement. Olivia’s face returned to that cold, calculating expression as she stepped back into the light.
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