Chapter 47 The Root of Rot
43.66%
Finished
She saw the disdain in Sam’s eyes–clear, unhidden–and it ignited a fury inside her. Towering over him, Olive looked down with venom in her voice.
“You dare look at me like that? Who the hell do you think you are?”
Caught off guard, Sam took the slap square across the face and staggered back, stunned as Olive spiraled into madness.
“Miss, please, calm down.”
Olive’s hand tightened around the small bottle in her grip. Her eyes gleamed with insanity as she glanced toward Norman’s room. Her face twisted like a demon’s.
“This is all your fault. Every last bit of it. If only you had died in there. Don’t you care about your precious grandfather? I can’t wait to see the look on your face when you watch him die in that bed. Ha! I’d love to see it…”
Sam felt a chill crawl up his spine. He scrambled to his feet and rushed to stop her.
“Miss, please–calm down. Don’t do this. If you follow through, the Fairchild family won’t forgive you. They’ll never acknowledge you again.”
But Olive just scoffed.
She thought about how drastically her life had changed over the past few months.
“You think I give a damn about their approval? Quinn pulled a few cheap tricks and suddenly they’re all turning on me. What kind of family is that?”
To Sam, the woman in front of him was frightening in her delusion.
Sure, the Fairchilds had been trying to win Quinn back lately, but Olive hadn’t been left wanting. In fact, Betty had even bought her more jewelry and clothes just to keep her appeased.
Even after she’d sabotaged company contracts, spent money like water, and exposed her selfish, petty core, they still treated her like a pampered princess.
But Olive didn’t see it that way. She refused to accept change.
She was insecure. Any shift in how the Fairchilds treated her made her feel threatened. And that fear drove her to do unthinkable things.
“This isn’t some little thing. If it ever comes out that you had a hand in Norman’s death, your entire future will be destroyed.”
Sam tried to reason with her–not because he cared for her, but because if Olive went down, he and his son Ethan were going with her.
“My future was destroyed the second Quinn took Zayden away from me!”
Olive’s eves hurned into him like daggers She looked at him like he was filth
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IVIOTT, 14
Chapter 47 The Root of Rot
She shoved Sam aside and stormed forward.
* 66%8
** Finished
Sam called after her, frustrated. “Don’t you care about Norman? About your mother? Your brothers?”
Olive stopped, turned slowly, and smiled sweetly. The expression that followed was anything but innocent.
She set the vial down on the floor, crossed her arms, and stared at him like he was an idiot.
“All these years in the Fairchild house, and you’re still this naïve? You really think they stopped Quinn from seeing Norman just to protect him?”
A stone dropped in Sam’s gut. The ripples spread fast and cold.
“You mean… they-”
“Exactly,” Olive said, playing with a strand of hair as she sank onto the couch.
“That old man loved Quinn. Said once that he’d leave her half his estate. Just mentioned it casually, but Colton couldn’t stand the idea. Even if it was just words, he couldn’t allow half the family fortune to fall into the hands of someone he couldn’t control.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I didn’t care. I spent the family’s money however I wanted. But he cared. You really think we could’ve kept drugging Norman right under their noses if they didn’t know?”
Sam felt ice crawl across his skin. Suddenly, everything made sense.
“So, to keep control of Norman’s assets, they’d rather keep him asleep forever. But they couldn’t risk being labeled murderers…”
“And lucky me,” Olive said with a proud smile, “you let slip that the old man was allergic to silverleaf. I never would’ve thought of it otherwise.”
Sam’s stomach twisted. That accidental revelation three years ago–Norman’s allergy–had become Olive’s leverage. She’d blackmailed him into obedience ever since.
“But Norman was already unconscious,” Sam said in disbelief. “Why keep going?”
Olive exploded, nearly knocking over the coffee table as she jumped to her feet.
“Don’t question me! The whole family’s out right now–we need to act fast. If we miss this chance, there won’t be another.”
She leaned in close, voice low and sharp.
“Delete the surveillance footage. Then meet me in the old man’s room.”
Sam stared at her, helpless. He had no way out anymore.
All he could do now… was follow orders.
