Chapter 13 - The Mother Who Chose Power
Olivia met Isabelle again on a rainy Thursday afternoon.
It happened inside a quiet family room at St. Catherine's Medical Center.
A social worker had helped prepare the visit.
Dr. Shaw had explained that Olivia needed rest and that the reunion should move at a pace both mother and daughter could manage.
Gabriel had spent the previous evening telling Izzy what would happen.
He did not describe the conservatory in detail.
He did not tell her about the threats.
He simply told her that Mommy had been very sick, that she was receiving help, and that none of what happened was Izzy's fault.
Now the little girl stood outside the hospital room holding a folded drawing.
She looked up at Gabriel.
"What if Mommy doesn't remember me?"
Gabriel knelt.
"She remembers you."
"How do you know?"
"Because she asked about you every time she woke up."
Izzy looked toward the door.
"Every time?"
Gabriel nodded.
"Every single time."
She swallowed.
"Can you hold my hand?"
He smiled.
"Always."
Together, they entered.
Olivia sat in a chair beside the window.
She wore a pale blue sweater.
Her hair had been brushed into a loose braid.
She looked tired.
Fragile.
But when she saw Izzy, her face transformed.
"Baby?"
Izzy froze.
For one terrible second, Gabriel thought the little girl might be frightened.
Then she dropped the drawing.
"Mommy!"
She ran across the room.
Olivia opened her arms.
They collided in a desperate embrace.
Olivia held her daughter as though afraid the world might take her away again.
Izzy buried her face against her mother's shoulder.
"Mommy."
Olivia kissed her hair.
"My baby."
"I looked for you."
Olivia began crying.
"I know."
"Grandma said you went to heaven."
Gabriel looked away.
Olivia's arms tightened.
"I'm right here."
Izzy pulled back.
"Are you going away again?"
Olivia closed her eyes.
"Not because I want to."
She touched Izzy's cheek.
"And I'm going to work very hard to stay with you."
Izzy studied her.
"Promise?"
Olivia hesitated.
Then she held up her little finger.
"I promise I'll keep trying."
The girl hooked her finger around her mother's.
Then she climbed into Olivia's lap.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Gabriel stood beside the doorway, watching the two people he loved most in the world hold each other.
He wanted to remember every detail.
The rain moving down the window.
The soft light.
The sound of Izzy's breathing.
The way Olivia rested her cheek against their daughter's hair.
Six years of silence ended in that small room.
Eventually, Izzy opened her sketchbook.
"I brought you something."
Olivia smiled through tears.
"What is it?"
"A family picture."
She unfolded the drawing.
Three people stood beneath a tree.
All three had faces.
Olivia stared at it.
"Oh, sweetheart."
Izzy pointed.
"That's you."
Then she pointed again.
"That's Daddy."
Olivia looked toward Gabriel.
He tried to smile.
His eyes were wet.
"And that's me."
Izzy smiled proudly.
Olivia hugged her.
"It's perfect."
Later, when Izzy went with Marta to choose a snack from the hospital cafeteria, Gabriel sat beside Olivia.
He took her hand.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better."
She gave him a tired smile.
"Still weak."
Gabriel nodded.
"The doctors say you'll need time."
"I know."
He brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead.
"Take all the time you need."
Olivia studied him.
"Gabriel."
"Yes?"
"Did they find Thomas?"
Gabriel nodded.
Her eyes widened.
"He's alive?"
"Yes."
She covered her mouth.
"Oh, thank God."
Gabriel leaned closer.
"He's recovering at a different medical facility."
Olivia exhaled.
"Did he tell you?"
Gabriel frowned.
"Tell me what?"
Olivia's expression changed.
"The reason Helena kept me alive."
Gabriel went still.
He remembered Nathaniel's final words at the cabin.
He looked at her.
"No."
Olivia lowered her eyes.
Gabriel took her hand.
"Liv."
She began trembling.
"I didn't understand it at first."
"What?"
"Every few months, Helena brought papers for me to sign."
Gabriel frowned.
"What kind of papers?"
"Trust documents."
His stomach tightened.
"Why would she need your signature?"
Olivia looked away.
"Because Thomas made me a trustee."
Gabriel stared.
"What?"
"Before the kidnapping."
She swallowed.
"After he learned about the pregnancy."
Gabriel shook his head.
"But he was supposedly dead."
Olivia nodded.
"He wasn't."
Gabriel leaned forward.
"How did he know you?"
"He contacted me through a lawyer."
Olivia closed her eyes.
"He told me he knew what Helena had done."
"What did he want?"
"To protect the baby."
Gabriel felt his throat tighten.
Olivia continued.
"He created a trust for Isabelle."
Gabriel nodded slowly.
"Elena told us."
"But it wasn't just money."
Olivia looked directly at him.
"Thomas transferred voting control of a major part of Whitmore Development into the trust."
Gabriel stared.
"How much?"
"Enough to block Helena from selling the company."
He leaned back.
The pieces began fitting together.
Helena had not kept Olivia alive out of mercy.
She needed the woman she'd imprisoned to sign documents.
And she had used threats, isolation, and medication to control her.
Gabriel looked at Olivia.
"Did you sign them?"
She lowered her eyes.
"Some."
Gabriel's stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Because she said she'd hurt Isabelle."
He closed his eyes.
Olivia began crying.
"I tried not to."
Gabriel squeezed her hand.
"Look at me."
She shook her head.
"Please."
She finally looked up.
"You were protecting our daughter."
Tears ran down her face.
"She told me I would never see her again."
Gabriel pulled her close.
"You kept her alive."
Olivia sobbed.
"And you kept fighting."
For a long time, they held each other.
Then Olivia whispered:
"There's one document I refused to sign."
Gabriel pulled back.
"What document?"
"An authorization transferring the trust's controlling shares to an entity linked to Nathaniel."
Gabriel stared.
"Where is it?"
"Helena still has it."
He frowned.
"Why would she keep an unsigned document?"
Olivia's face went pale.
"Because she said she only needed one more signature."
Gabriel felt cold.
"Whose?"
Olivia looked at him.
"Yours."
He stood slowly.
His mother had wanted him to sign away control of his daughter's inheritance.
That was why Nathaniel had kidnapped Izzy.
That was why Helena had tried to keep him from seeing her.
They had worked together.
But Nathaniel had said something else.
Something that now made terrible sense.
Gabriel looked at Olivia.
"There's a reason my mother didn't want you dead."
Olivia nodded.
He swallowed.
"But Nathaniel wasn't planning to keep you alive forever."
Olivia began trembling.
"Gabriel."
"What?"
She gripped his wrist.
"The last time Helena came to see me, she said something."
Gabriel leaned closer.
"What did she say?"
Olivia's voice dropped to a whisper.
"She said once the paperwork was complete, there would be no reason to keep pretending I existed."
Gabriel felt a cold wave of rage.
Then his phone rang.
Daniel.
He answered.
"Gabriel, where are you?"
"At the hospital."
"Good."
Daniel sounded tense.
"Stay there."
Gabriel straightened.
"What's wrong?"
"We've uncovered another transfer."
Gabriel closed his eyes.
"What now?"
"This one happened yesterday."
"Yesterday?"
"While Isabelle was missing."
Gabriel's stomach tightened.
"Who authorized it?"
Daniel paused.
"Your mother."
Gabriel stared at the wall.
"What did she transfer?"
Daniel's answer came slowly.
"The title to the Blackwater Lake property."
Gabriel frowned.
"To whom?"
"A newly created company."
"Owned by Nathaniel?"
"No."
Daniel's voice hardened.
"Owned by Helena's attorney."
Gabriel stared.
"And there's something else."
"What?"
"She's trying to sell the estate."
Gabriel felt the blood drain from his face.
"Why?"
Daniel took a breath.
"Because she knows the financial investigation is closing in."
A pause.
"Gabriel, your mother is preparing to leave the country."
Gabriel looked toward Olivia.
Then toward the photograph of Izzy beside the hospital bed.
"Where is she now?"
Daniel answered quietly.
May you like
"Nobody knows."
And for the first time, Gabriel understood that his mother might be willing to destroy the entire family rather than face what she had done.
