Chapter 5 Vanished into Thin Air!

Olivia didn't sit down.

Instead, she stood her ground, arms crossed, heart pounding like a drumbeat in her ears. "I'm not going to ask again, Adrian. Why is my mother's name on your company documents?"

Adrian wasn't fazed. He took a slow breath and leaned against the back of the leather armchair as if bracing himself. "Because Eleanor Carter and I have had business dealings for several years."

Olivia stared at him. "Business dealings? What kind of business dealings?"

"She's part of a trust that owns shares in one of my tech subsidiaries. Quiet investments, through shell companies. Nothing illegal. Very strategic."

"That still doesn't make sense," she snapped. "My mother's a socialite. She barely knows how to use her phone, let alone invest in tech."

"She's smarter than you think," Adrian said simply.

The words landed like a slap. Olivia's thoughts reeled. Her mother had always been controlling, yes. Demanding, polished, and image-obsessed. But involved in Adrian Blackwood's financial world? That didn't add up.

"She never mentioned this," Olivia said, more to herself than to him.

"She wasn't supposed to."

Olivia blinked. "What do you mean?"

Adrian walked to the window, hands tucked in his pockets. "Your mother is calculated. Everything she does serves a larger purpose. Including placing herself in my orbit."

"So... she used you?" Olivia asked, trying to understand.

"No," Adrian replied, turning to face her. "She tried to. But she underestimated me."

"And what does any of this have to do with me?" Olivia asked, voice shaking slightly now.

There was a pause. Then Adrian said, "She wanted something. I refused. She tried again, this time through you."

Olivia's stomach flipped. "Through me? That doesn't make sense. I didn't even know you until... until whatever happened between us."

Adrian's expression stilled. "Are you sure about that?"

She froze. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying maybe this wasn't entirely as accidental as you think."

"I don't remember anything!" she shouted. "You know that!"

"I know," he said quietly. "But that doesn't mean things didn't happen."

"Stop talking in riddles!" Olivia snapped. "What did she want from you? And why am I suddenly in the middle of it?"

Adrian hesitated. Then, finally, he said, "She wanted control. Over a seat on my board. She thought if she could connect our families-"

"By marrying me off?" Olivia said in disbelief.

Adrian didn't say yes. He didn't have to.

Olivia backed away a step, the air suddenly too thin. "So you think she planned all this? That she somehow arranged for us to meet? That she drugged me or-God, what are we even talking about?"

"I'm not saying she did it alone," Adrian replied. "But she's capable of more than you think."

Olivia rubbed her forehead. "So what now? You think I'm part of some long game my mother's been playing?"

He shook his head. "I don't think you're like her."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I've got."

Olivia turned and paced toward the far end of the living room, needing distance. Her pulse movement was erratic. Everything about her life had started to feel like a lie. She'd worked so hard to build something on her own, her career, her engagement, her future and now none of it felt like it belonged to her.

She spun around. "And you... why didn't you tell me this from the start of this argument?"

"Because I wasn't sure how much you knew. I needed to see where you stood."

"And now?" she challenged. "Where do I stand?"

He looked at her then, really looked at her. "I think you're caught in the middle of something neither of us planned."

That wasn't the answer she wanted, but it felt like the truth.

Silence stretched between them. Tense. Uneasy.

Then Adrian said, "There's a file I think you should read."

"What now?" she asked warily.

He walked to the far end of the room and unlocked a drawer built into the bookshelf. From it, he pulled a thick black folder. No label. No markings.

He handed it to her.

"What is this?" she asked, not reaching for it yet.

"Details about your mother's transactions. Meetings and some recorded conversations. Some of it overlaps with your father's estate."

Olivia stared at him. "Why would you have this?"

"I look into people before I do business with them. And I've been doing business with Eleanor for a long time."

Finally, Olivia took the folder and walked to the couch. Her hands were trembling again as she flipped it open. Page after page, her mother's name appeared; signatures, wire transfers, meeting records. But one entry caught her attention.

She was confused.

A photograph.

It was of her mother,Eleanor, sitting in a restaurant. Across from a man. The photo was blurry, but clear enough. Olivia leaned in, her eyes narrowing.

She recognized the man.

"That's..." Her voice trailed off.

Adrian was watching her closely. "You know him?"

She nodded slowly. "That's Mr. Lambert. He's... he was my father's old attorney."

Adrian's expression didn't change. "Interesting."

"What does he have to do with any of this?"

"I don't know," Adrian said. "But your mother met with him several times after your father passed. And the dates line up with some of the paperwork transferring your trust to her name."

Olivia's mind raced. Her father's estate had always been a sore subject. Her mother had insisted everything was above board, that she was protecting Olivia's interests. But now...

"What are you implying?" she asked.

"I'm not implying anything," Adrian said carefully. "But there are gaps and inconsistencies. And if I were you, I'd start asking questions."

She closed the folder slowly. Her hands were cold.

"I need to talk to her," Olivia said.

Adrian set his jaw tight. "If you want to, I won't stop you. But don't expect her to give you straight answers."

"I don't care," Olivia muttered. "I need to hear what she has to say."

Adrian stepped back. "Then I'll have the car brought around."

She looked up. "You're not coming?"

"This is your family, Olivia. Not mine."

She nodded once and stood. "Fine."

Ten minutes later, she was in the back seat of Adrian's car, folder in hand, driving through the crowded Manhattan streets toward her mother's apartment.

Her fingers tapped anxiously against her thigh. She wasn't sure what she'd say. She just knew she couldn't sit back and not do anything. She couldn't just take Adrian's word for it. She had to confront her mother and find out the truth.

As the car pulled up in front of the building, she took a deep breath and stepped out.

She went to the front desk. "Olivia Carter. I'm here to see Eleanor."

The doorman gave her a strange look. "Miss Carter... your mother isn't home."

Olivia frowned. "She didn't say anything about going out?"

He hesitated. "She didn't go out. She... she moved out. This morning."

"What?" Olivia said, her voice barely audible.

The doorman nodded. "Had the movers in just after sunrise. Everything's gone."

Olivia was shocked.

"Did she leave a forwarding address?"

He shook his head. "Said it was private."

Olivia stood frozen.

Her mother had vanished.