Chapter 18
Olivia’s face crumpled.
“I didn’t know how long he would stay.”
“You didn’t tell him.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because when you called, I thought…” She swallowed. “I thought if I told him, he would go to you and never come back.”
Alexander stared at her.
“You let me believe Emily was calling about the party.”
“I told you she was upset.”
“You said she was trying to make me feel guilty.”
“I was afraid.”
“Stop saying that,” I said.
Olivia looked at me.
“Fear explains what you felt,” I continued. “It doesn’t excuse what you chose.”
She nodded slowly.
“I know.”
The same words.
The same helplessness.
But unlike Alexander, Olivia had made a deliberate choice after learning the truth. She had not forgotten. She had known and remained silent.
I picked up the letter.
“Why write this now?”
“Because I found the key.”
My fingers went cold.
“What key?”
“The one for the storage room.”
I pulled it from my pocket.
Olivia’s eyes fixed on it.
“Where did you find it?” I asked.
“In the study.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Why were you in the study?”
“I went to return the necklace.”
“You went there alone.”
“Yes.”
“What did you see?”
She hesitated.
“Olivia.”
“There was another envelope.”
Alexander stepped forward. “Where?”
“Behind the cabinet.”
“What envelope?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t open it.”
“Where is it now?”
Her gaze shifted to the key in my hand.
“I left it there.”
Alexander turned to Daniel. “Go to the study.”
Daniel opened the door.
“Behind the cabinet near the west wall,” Olivia said. “It’s loose at the bottom.”
“Bring it here,” Alexander ordered.
Daniel left.
I faced Olivia. “How does the key fit into this?”
“I found it inside the envelope.”
“Why was it there?”
“I don’t know.”
“You wrote that you had already given Grace the key.”
“I did.”
“When?”
“Two days before the accident. Alexander asked me to help him prepare the surprise.”
I looked at Alexander.
“You asked her?”
“I asked whether she knew where to order a child’s piano bench,” he said. “That was all.”
“And she knew about the key?”
“She was at the house when I showed Grace the storage room.”
Olivia lowered her eyes.
“Grace was so excited,” she said. “She told me she had a surprise for her father too.”
“What surprise?”
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask?”
“I asked. She said it was something she had found in the old room.”