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"Rachel Carlyle, Senator Carter's wife."
"I know who she is, but what does she have to do with this?"
"She hates her husband for starters. Suspected he was cheating. And became friends with a new mom at school, Helen Caldwell. Helen and I used to hook up—years ago—when she worked at the bank and before she married into money. Anyways, I told her I used to dabble in hacking. Never told her the whole story, though. But when Rachel told Helen that she wanted to divorce Carter, Helen came up with a better idea. To catch him in the act and blackmail him. The point was to get them both a hefty pay day, and then have enough proof in the divorce to allow her to get full custody. And she asked for my help. So I hacked into his laptop while they were at a hotel and caught it."
I crossed my arms. "That's it?"
Quinn snorted. "The video caught what we were looking for…and then some. The video recorded Jessie Isaacs talking about voter fraud. Senator Carter practically admitted to stealing the votes that won him the election. And then he said that he would help Jessie do the same."
"Fuck."
"Exactly my thought. And as soon as I saw the video, I knew what I had to do. Rachel and Helen got their money, and they deleted the video. Didn't even make a fucking copy. So I sent Olive to get me a separate copy. And she did. Isaacs is the scum of the earth. His politics is what will destroy this city. I wanted to show this world who he really is. And if that took down Carlyle at the same time, than that's probably for the best too."
My blood froze. "So Olive has a copy?"
"As far as I know...yeah."
"Did Rachel and Helen tell Jessie that they deleted the video?"
"No idea," Quinn shrugged. "After Jessie's people started snooping around, I went on the run. Didn't reach out to anyone...except Olive."
I ran my hand over my chin. "Wait. You talked to Olive? When?"
He pursed his lips. "I don't exactly know what day it was. But not long before your PI picked me up."
"And what did you say to her?"
For the first time since I'd met him, Quinn hesitated.
"You want your two mil or what?"
He sighed. "I told her I was in hiding. To keep the video. That I'd pay her fifty grand once I was out in the clear. And...I told her that she was safe with you. That no one would suspect her if she was dating you."
Everything inside me hardened over. "Interesting." I handed him over the manilla envelope.
"You did this all for her?" When I didn't respond, he shook his head. "Man, you must really love her."
For a hard moment, I didn't move, his words sending a chill down my body. "Have a good life, Quinn. I hope I never see you again."
"Likewise, buddy."
19
OLIVE
"Wine?" Rachel lifted a bottle of white in the air. "Or should we do champagne?"
My hands twisted together as I glanced around Helen's marble kitchen, the vaulted space larger than the apartment I'd lived in with Claire. The back wall was an entire pane of glass and looked out on the manicured yard, where Rachel's twins, Helen's daughter, and Claire were running around on a playground that could have mirrored the ones at the park.
"Olive, your choice." Helen smiled at me. "Olive?" Her voice was soft. Just like her modest clothes, everything about her was so unassuming. It didn't fit with the image of her from the video in my head.
"White wine is fine," I smiled.
"Perfect," Helen said, pouring the entire bottle into three separate glasses. As she turned on the TV, she sighed. "Wine is my medicine, Lord help us."
Rachel chuckled and leaned across the island counter. "Olive, it's so nice finally see you outside of school." I was relieved I was lifting the wine glass to my lips so that Rachel couldn't see my frown. Unsuspecting, she continued. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited Lucas to join us today."
The wine caught in my throat upon my sip. "Y-you what?"
