Chapter 13

His arms tightened around her. "Open the envelope and see what's inside."

Olivia tore it open. Inside was a thick stack of documents. The first thing on top was a photo. In it, a man stood shoulder to shoulder with William while the two of them talked in low voices.

But Alex's eyes froze over in an instant. "Charles Quinn."

Olivia looked up. "You know him?"

Alex flipped the photo over. There was a line written on the back in William's handwriting: "Charles Quinn, Horizon Holdings' heir, the real mastermind who set the Nathan Hill case in motion five years ago."

Olivia felt her blood turn cold. Horizon Holdings. The company where she had interned in grad school. So none of it had been a coincidence.

Alex slid the photo back into the envelope. A storm of rage rolled in his eyes, but his voice was terrifyingly calm. "Horizon has been the Walker family's nemesis for twenty years. Charles is their sharpest blade.

"He used your past against you, fed William's ambition, and laid out a trap that lasted five years.

"He only had one goal.

"To destroy me."

Alex took Olivia's hand. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

A cold smile touched Alex's lips. "To Horizon. Let's go pay Mr. Quinn a visit.

"He dared lay a hand on my woman.

"I won't even leave him the chance to regret it."

Horizon Tower, top floor. The elevator doors opened, and Alex walked out holding Olivia's hand. The receptionist stood up. "Sir, you..." Alex didn't stop.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried through the whole hallway. "Tell Charles, Alex Walker is here."

The door to the CEO's office was half-open. Alex pushed it open. In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows stood a man with his back to the door, a glass of red wine in hand.

Tall, lean, and dressed in a custom dark gray suit, he carried himself with easy elegance.

At the sound of the door, he slowly turned around.

Young, handsome, smiling eyes, every bit the polished elite.

Exactly the same man from the photo.

"Mr. Walker. I've heard a lot about you." Charles raised his glass as if welcoming an old friend. "Please, sit."

Alex didn't sit down.

He stayed by the door, keeping Olivia protected at his side. "Charles, five years ago you used Olivia's internship at Horizon to frame her as a corporate spy. Then you worked with William to set up her brother Nathan. True or false?"

Charles took a sip of wine, his smile unchanged. "Mr. Walker, you come in asking questions that serious without even having a cup of tea first?"

"Answer me."

Charles set down his wineglass, walked behind the desk, and sat with his hands folded on top of it. "True."

He admitted it cleanly, without a trace of hesitation.

Olivia tightened her hold on Alex's hand.

Charles looked at her, and there was even a trace of admiration in his eyes. "Ms. Hill, I've actually always admired you. Carrying all of this alone for five years? Most people would've broken long ago."

Olivia ground her teeth together. "Why?"

Charles leaned back in his chair. "Because your brother saw something he shouldn't have.

"Three years ago, on his way to find you, he passed the back gate of Walker Manor and saw me with William.

"That day, we were discussing how to use Mrs. Walker to force you away from Alex."

"Your brother overheard us and ran off to warn you. Sadly..." he spread his hands. "We moved faster."

Olivia was shaking all over. Nathan hadn't gotten dragged into this for no reason. He had done it for her. Trying to warn her was what got him thrown in prison by Charles and William.

"What did you do to him?" Olivia said.

Charles's expression didn't change at all. "We made him keep his mouth shut. Assault. Evidence airtight. Seven years. I wanted to make it uglier, but William said that would attract too much attention and raise suspicion.

"As for him getting beaten in prison..."

He let out a sigh, like he was talking about something completely trivial. "That was because he didn't know when to shut up. Once he got inside, he kept telling people he was innocent, that he'd been framed. We had no choice but to teach him a lesson."

Olivia's nails dug so deep into her palm that blood started to bead out.