“Those documents were still out there, Alex. Those were the days before the internet. You had one copy and that was it. I had the only proof of what was going on, and they weren’t going to stop until my entire family was dead. If I destroyed it myself, these people would never be brought to justice. Then, just before the accident, we picked up chatter to the effect that they would kidnap Livvy and make her lead them to the documents. They knew so much, right down to the fact that everything was locked in a box somewhere.” He let out a quiet sob.

“How could she lead them to something that she didn’t know the location of?” Alexander looked at him suspiciously.

Nathan stayed silent, his eyes meeting Alexander’s, a guilty look spreading across his face.

“She knows?!” Alexander exclaimed. “Were you fucking crazy?!” His eyes grew wide with fury. He was most certainly losing control of the situation. This was so much worse than his father’s letter let on.

“Olivia was so smart for her age, and we were playing our treasure map game. She wanted to create the map for once. She grabbed the box from me and said that once she buried it, she would draw me a map. I agreed before I realized that the chest contained all those documents. By the time it occurred to me, it was too late. She’s the only one who has any idea where it’s buried. And, believe me, I’ve looked everywhere. Our beach house. Our house in Mystic. Her grandparent’s house. The few weeks before the accident, I searched high and low for it. It could be anywhere. I’m a complete fool. You’d think with all my intelligence training that I wouldn’t make such a stupid mistake. But you know how it is when Livvy looks at you with her big brown eyes, so full of hope…you just melt. I’ve regretted that lapse of judgment every day since then. It’s tearing me apart.”

Alexander leaned in to Nathan. “You know they’re after her again! You know that, right?! They found out that Dad was protecting her all those years. They must have tortured him to death. You should have seen his fucking body. But he refused to give out her location so they killed him.”

His voice softened as he thought about Olivia and the difficult life she’d led. “She’s lived most of her life jumping from one city to another and that’s probably the only thing that’s kept her alive since Dad died. But now, Jack,” he hissed. “Now that she’s back, someone figured it out. It didn’t take me long. They want her and I don’t think they’ll stop until they have her.” Alexander felt guilty speaking to Olivia’s father that way, but he couldn’t help himself. He was having trouble understanding why his father and the man standing next to him did what they did. And he didn’t know if he could ever forgive either of them for ruining a young girl’s life under the guise of protection. But wasn’t he doing the same thing? Wasn’t keeping the truth from her for all those months just as bad?

“I know, Alex,” Jack said, bringing Alexander back from his thoughts. “I understand all of that.”

“I don’t think you do! This is your fucking daughter we’re talking about here. You need to come clean. Find that box and turn it over. Save her life!”

Nathan exhaled loudly. “It’s not that simple. Jacob Kiddish never left any loose ends, and I’m sure he’s taught his son that same lesson. Olivia and me, well…we’re both loose ends.”

“We can protect you both,” he said quietly, his mind racing from what Olivia’s father was saying. “My firm…”

“Alex, it won’t ever end. Not until the people responsible are behind bars. Until then, my life, her life, will always be in danger.” Nathan looked up the street. “I know you love her. You always have. Please. Protect her. Save her from all this. She can’t know about her past or that I’m alive. She can’t know anything about what these people are after. If she knows, she may remember something, and if she remembers and gives these people what they want, she’s as good as dead.” Nathan opened the door to his car. “She may be as good as dead anyway, but at least this way there’s still a chance.” He closed the door and sped off, leaving Alexander standing in the street.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

AGAIN

IT WAS THE SAME dream. The crash. The boy with the green eyes pulling Olivia out of the car. The boy getting hit over the head. Olivia’s father shooting the man, then darkness. She heard the voices again. Her uncle and her father arguing. Then nothing. Then brightness. People shining lights in her eyes.

“Hi, princess. It’s me.” She looked to the source of the voice, desperately trying to recognize it, but she couldn’t place it. She didn’t know where she was. She didn’t know who he was. What was going on?

“Where am I?” Olivia squeaked out.

“Oh, dear. You were in a car accident.” The man rushed to her side.

“Where’s Mommy and Daddy?”

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” She looked at the man. He started crying, tears streaming down his face. “I didn’t get there soon enough.”

“Are they okay? Or did they go to heaven?”

“They’re in heaven, angel.”

Olivia’s lip trembled. She knew that if they were in heaven, she wouldn’t be able to see them for a long time.

“Do you remember anything, princess?”

“I don’t.”

“What’s your name?”

“I can’t remember. I think it started with…I can’t remember,” she said, crying.

“Where do you live?”

Olivia started to get nervous. She couldn’t remember. “I don’t know,” she sobbed.

“It’s okay, dear. Your name is Sarah Olivia Adler. You’re six years old. You live in Charleston, South Carolina, and nothing bad will ever happen to you again.”

“How do you know? Who are you?”

“I’m your Uncle Charles. And I’m going to protect you, always.”

Olivia shot up, breathing heavy, clutching her chest. She scanned her room, looking for some sort of comfort. And then she remembered. Her one source of comfort was gone. She ran out on him after he declared his love for her.

Falling back on her bed, she brought a pillow to her chest. “It’s for the best, right, Nepenthe?” she said to the cat. “I know I love him, but I shouldn’t. And he shouldn’t love me, either.” Nepenthe jumped off the bed, giving Olivia an irritated look. “Oh, don’t you start with me, too. Traitor.” She turned over, her mind racing.