Chapter 185

Chapter 185
Olivia
I dropped the paper like it had burned me, my heart hammering in my chest. Who would do this? Who would leave something so vicious on my car?
My eyes darted around the parking garage, scanning the shadows between parked cars. Was someone watching me right now? Enjoying my reaction to their sick little message?
A car door slammed somewhere in the distance, making me flinch. I fumbled for my phone with trembling fingers, nearly dropping it in my haste. The garage suddenly felt too vast, too exposed, with too many places for someone to hide.
“Think, Olivia,” I whispered to myself, trying to calm my racing thoughts. Victoria? Penelope? Ryan? The list of people who might want to hurt me kept growing longer.
I scanned the area, but no one was in sight among the silent cars and concrete pillars that cast long shadows.
Was this some kind of warning? A threat? Or just someone’s idea of a cruel joke?
My finger hovered over Alexander’s contact, but I hesitated. He’d overreact, so he would probably send an entire security team to scour the garage. After the revelation about being followed by his security detail, I wasn’t eager for more drama.
Instead, I called Emilia’s number, scanning the shadows between parked cars.
“Hey, Liv! Already missing me?” Emilia answered cheerfully.
“Em, I need you to come to the garage right now,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “Someone left a note on my
car.”
“What? What kind of note? I’m coming right now. Stay on the phone with me.”
“No, just get here fast. I don’t want to be alone out here.”
I hung up before she could protest, clutching my keys between my fingers like a weapon. The parking garage echoed with distant car doors and footsteps, each sound making me flinch.
Who would do this? Victoria? Penelope? Ryan?
I glanced back at the paper on the ground, the single word staring up at me accusingly. My marriage to. Alexander had made me a target in ways I never anticipated. From gossip articles to confrontations with exes, and now this.
“Liv!”
I spun around to see Emilia jogging toward me, Claire and Ariana following close behind.
Emilia slowed as she reached me, her expression changing as she took in my face. “What’s wrong? You look
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Chapter 185
like you’ve seen a ghost.”
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I pointed wordlessly at the paper on the ground. Emilia bent down to pick it up, her eyes widening as the read the single word.
“What the actual fuck?” She looked up at me, anger flashing in her eyes.
“What is it?” Claire asked, reaching them. Emilia handed her the paper.
“Oh my god,” Claire gasped. “That’s disgusting.”
Ariana peered over Claire’s shoulder, her face darkening. “Who would do this? ”
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. “I have a few ideas.”
“Ryan?” Emilia suggested, her voice tight with anger.
“Maybe.” I shrugged, trying to seem more nonchalant than I felt. “Or it could be Penelope. Or Victoria. I’ve got
a growing list of people who aren’t exactly thrilled with my current status.”
“This is more than being ‘not thrilled,” Claire pointed out. “This is targeted harassment.”
“We need to report this,” Ariana said firmly. “The parking garage has security cameras. We can find out who left this.”
I shook my head. “It’s not worth the drama. Let’s just forget about it.”
“Forget about it?” Emilia looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Olivia, someone left a threatening note on your car. This isn’t something you just shrug off.”
“It’s not threatening,” I argued. “It’s just nasty. And stupid.”
“It’s the first step,” Claire insisted. “Today it’s a nasty note. Tomorrow it could be something worse.”
I sighed, glancing at my watch. “Look, I just want to go home. I don’t want to spend the next hour filing reports with security.”
“Fifteen minutes,” Emilia countered. “That’s all it will take to check the footage. If we see who it was, then you can decide what to do about it.”
I hesitated, torn between wanting to put this behind me and acknowledging they had a point.
“What would Alexander say if he knew someone left this on your car and you just ignored it?” Ariana asked, crossing her arms.
That was a low blow. Alexander would absolutely insist on finding out who was responsible.
“Fine,” I relented. “Fifteen minutes. But if we can’t find anything quickly, I’m going home.”
“Deal,” Emilia said, looping her arm through mine. “The security office is on the ground floor.”
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Chapter 185
必苓国
We made our way to the elevator, the paper still clutched in Claire’s hand as evidence. The security office was tucked away in a corner of the lobby, a discreet door marked “Personnel Only.”
Emilia knocked firmly, her face set with determination. A moment later, a middle–aged man with salt–and- pepper hair opened the door, looking surprised to see four women standing there.
“Can I help you ladies?” he asked, his eyes moving from one face to another.
“Someone left a threatening note on my friend’s car,” Emilia said before I could speak. “We need to check your security footage to see who did it.”
The guard, whose name tag read “Frank,” looked skeptical. “That’s not really something we can do without-
Claire thrust the paper toward him. “Read it.”
Frank’s eyes widened slightly as he scanned the single word. “Ah. I see.” He glanced at me. “This was on your car, miss? ”
I nodded. “On the windshield. I just found it a few minutes ago.”
“Where were you parked?” he asked, stepping back to allow us into the office.
“Level 3, Section B,” I replied.
Frank nodded, moving to a desk with several monitors showing different angles of the parking structure. “Let me pull up that section.”
He typed something into his computer, and the screens changed to show Level 3. “Section B… there.” He pointed to one of the monitors where my car was visible. “Let me roll back the footage.”