Chapter 6: The Notebook Olivia Wanted
I didn't sleep that night.
Not because I was afraid.
At least, that was what I told myself.
I sat on the edge of my apartment bed at 3:14 in the morning, staring at the same message over and over.
*Come alone tomorrow, Claire. Bring Adrian if you want the truth. Bring anyone else, and you'll never see your notebook again.*
A normal person would have ignored it.
A smart person would have called the police.
A cautious person would have brought an entire team.
But I wasn't thinking like a normal person.
Because that notebook wasn't just paper.
It wasn't just ideas written in black ink.
It was proof that I existed.
Proof that the things I created belonged to me.
I looked around my apartment.
The tiny kitchen where I wrote after midnight.
The table where I spilled coffee over pages of notes.
The chair where I sat after exhausting shifts, too tired to move, but still writing because some part of me believed my thoughts mattered.
That notebook held a year of my life.
And Olivia Hart knew exactly what it meant.
My phone buzzed.
I grabbed it immediately.
A message from Adrian.
*I'm outside.*
I frowned.
I walked to the window.
His black SUV was parked across the street.
I hadn't told him my address.
Then I remembered.
Six months ago, when he tried to contact me, my address had been included in the restaurant employee records.
Information anyone with access could find.
I grabbed my jacket and went downstairs.
The moment I stepped outside, Adrian got out of the car.
"You shouldn't be here.""
He looked at me.
"Good morning to you too.""
"I'm serious.""
"So am I.""
I crossed my arms.
"You don't get to show up and decide what happens.""
A small expression crossed his face.
Almost a smile.
Almost.
"You sound exactly like yesterday.""
"Yesterday I was covered in soda.""
"And today you're angry.""
"Yes.""
"Good.""
I frowned.
"Good?""
He nodded.
"Angry people ask better questions.""
I stared at him.
"Is that something you learned in billionaire school?""
"No.""
He opened the passenger door.
"My mother taught me.""
That answer surprised me.
I didn't expect it.
Adrian Vale was the kind of person people described with words like powerful and intimidating.
Not someone who talked about his mother.
I got into the car.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
The city moved outside the window.
People heading to work.
Coffee shops opening.
Cars passing.
A normal morning.
It felt strange.
Because my entire life had changed in less than twelve hours.
"Where are we going?"" I asked.
"To meet Olivia.""
I looked at him.
"You're actually letting me go?""
"No.""
I raised an eyebrow.
"Then what?""
"I'm going with you.""
"She specifically said bring you.""
"Yes.""
"Doesn't that worry you?""
Adrian looked ahead.
"It confirms something.""
"What?""
"She wants an audience.""
I thought about that.
"Why?""
"Because people like Olivia don't just want to win.""
He glanced at me.
"They want to control the story.""
That was exactly what Sloane had done.
Exactly what Caldwell Ventures was doing now.
They didn't just want my ideas.
They wanted everyone to believe their version of events.
The meeting place was an expensive private office building downtown.
Not Caldwell's headquarters.
Somewhere neutral.
Or at least, somewhere designed to look neutral.
When we entered the lobby, a woman was waiting.
She was in her late forties.
Perfect suit.
Perfect hair.
Perfect expression.
Olivia Hart.
I knew immediately.
Not because someone introduced her.
Because she looked like someone who had never needed to apologize.
She smiled.
"Claire.""
The way she said my name made my skin crawl.
Like she already knew me.
Like she owned the conversation.
Adrian stepped forward.
"Olivia.""
She looked at him.
"Adrian.""
No surprise.
No anger.
Just two powerful people measuring each other.
Then her eyes returned to me.
"I was hoping you would come alone.""
"I wasn't.""
"I noticed.""
Her gaze moved to Adrian.
"Predictable.""
I laughed softly.
"You kidnapped my notebook and expected me not to bring someone?""
Her smile disappeared slightly.
"Careful.""
"Why?""
"Because you don't know what you're dealing with.""
I looked directly at her.
"I think I do.""
She tilted her head.
"Do you?""
We followed her into a conference room.
A single folder sat on the table.
My heart started beating faster.
The notebook.
I knew it before she even touched it.
Olivia sat down.
"You have questions.""
"Yes.""
"Good.""
She opened the folder.
The notebook was inside.
Old.
Worn.
The corners bent from being carried everywhere.
My throat tightened.
I hadn't seen it in months.
She ran her fingers over the cover.
"You wrote this very carefully.""
I stepped forward.
"Give it to me.""
She smiled.
"Not yet.""
Adrian's voice turned cold.
"Olivia.""
She ignored him.
"Do you know what impressed me most?""
I didn't answer.
"Not the ideas.""
That surprised me.
"Then what?""
"The way you thought.""
She opened the notebook.
"You didn't just solve problems. You understood people.""
She flipped through pages.
"Customer emotions. Employee behavior. Human patterns.""
Her eyes lifted.
"You saw things executives with millions of dollars in research budgets couldn't see.""
I felt a strange mix of anger and confusion.
"Then why steal from me?""
Olivia leaned back.
"Because the world doesn't reward people like you.""
My jaw tightened.
"People like me?""
She sighed.
"Claire, talent is common.""
I almost laughed.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?""
"No.""
Her voice was calm.
"It's supposed to make you understand.""
She closed the notebook.
"Your problem was never that you weren't talented.""
"Then what was my problem?""
She looked at me.
"Nobody knew your name.""
Silence.
The words hurt because they were designed to.
"You think a waitress walking into a boardroom gets listened to?""
I didn't answer.
Because I knew the answer.
Maybe not always.
Maybe not fairly.
But I knew.
Olivia continued.
"I offered your work to people who could actually use it.""
"You mean you sold it.""
She didn't deny it.
"You were compensated.""
My eyes narrowed.
"What?""
She smiled slightly.
"Your restaurant position. Your bonuses. Your continued employment.""
I stared at her.
"You're saying I should be grateful?""
"No.""
She leaned forward.
"I'm saying you don't understand business.""
Adrian stepped forward.
"Enough.""
Olivia looked at him.
"Still protecting her?""
"Still underestimating her?""
Their words hit like a battle between people who had known each other too long.
I looked at Adrian.
"You knew her before this.""
He didn't answer.
My heart sank.
"Adrian.""
He looked at me.
"I knew of her.""
"That's not the same thing.""
"No.""
"Then what is it?""
Before he could answer, Olivia smiled.
"Ask him about three years ago.""
Adrian's expression changed.
"Don't.""
There it was.
A reaction.
A real one.
I looked between them.
"What happened three years ago?""
Neither spoke.
Olivia stood.
"I think you deserve the truth.""
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Olivia.""
She ignored him.
"Three years ago, Adrian Vale lost the company he built.""
I looked at him.
"What?""
"For six months, his board believed he was finished.""
Adrian looked away.
Olivia continued.
"And do you know who helped him recover?""
I stared.
"No.""
She smiled.
"Me.""
The room went quiet.
I looked at Adrian.
"Is that true?""
He didn't answer immediately.
Finally:
"Yes.""
I felt betrayed.
Not because he had a past.
Everyone had a past.
But because he had known exactly who Olivia was.
And he never told me.
Olivia noticed my expression.
"Now you understand.""
"Understand what?""
"That everyone here has been using someone.""
I looked at the notebook.
At Adrian.
At Olivia.
At myself.
"Why are you telling me this?""
Her smile returned.
"Because I want to make you an offer.""
I already knew I would hate it.
"What offer?""
She pushed the notebook across the table.
"You can have your notebook back.""
I reached for it.
Then stopped.
"What do you want?""
Olivia smiled.
"Your partnership.""
I stared.
"What?""
"Not Adrian's.""
She looked at me.
"Yours.""
The room went silent.
"You want me to work with you?""
"I want you to stop pretending you don't belong in this world.""
I looked at Adrian.
Then back at her.
"And if I say no?""
Olivia's expression changed.
The warmth disappeared.
"Then tomorrow morning, the world will believe you stole everything from Caldwell Ventures.""
My stomach dropped.
"You can't.""
She smiled.
"I already did.""
She picked up her phone.
A notification appeared on the screen.
An email.
Scheduled.
Ready to send.
My blood went cold.
Because the attachment name was visible.
*Evidence of Claire Bennett's Fraud.*
Adrian moved instantly.
"Olivia.""
But she was already walking toward the door.
"Think carefully, Claire.""
She stopped.
"And one more thing.""
She looked at me.
"The person who betrayed you first wasn't Rachel.""
My heart froze.
"What?""
Olivia smiled.
"It was someone much closer.""
The door closed behind her.
I stood there, frozen.
Adrian looked at me.
"Don't listen to her.""
But his voice lacked certainty.
And that scared me.
Because as I held my notebook again for the first time in months, one thought kept repeating.
May you like
If Olivia wasn't lying...
Then who was the first person to betray me?
