Chapter 5 Olivia’s Regret
Smirking, I turned around and grabbed the largest knife from my kitchen. When I opened the door, I immediately aimed the knife at Judith.
“Since you found out that I’m a psycho, I won’t bother to pretend anymore.”
372
I sat in a tiny office at the police station. Head hung low, I took a sip of hot coffee.
A few steps away, Judith pointed at me and yelled in a heartbreaking manner, “The police need to seek justice for me! That crazy bitch not only set up a car accident to kill my son, but she’s trying to murder me, too! She’s an animal!”
Olivia chimed in, “Heidi abused my trust in her and scammed me out of one million dollars! Just now, she waved a knife at us, trying to stab us! You need to get her arrested!”
I remained unfazed under the scrutiny of the policeman in the office, Keith Zimmerman.
I forced myself to think of the sad memories in my mind. After I made sure that I had tears brimming in my eyes, I finally raised my head. “I–I was just scared. They tried to kick my door open. I haven’t slept well recently, and I thought they were robbers.”
I broke into sobs when I explained myself.
Judith shot up from her seat to yell, “Bullshit! You were totally awake when you aimed that knife at us!”
“Quiet! Take turns to speak!” Keith had a headache from listening to us squabbling. He slammed his fist on the table and stared at us sternly.
He addressed the agitated and talkative Judith, “So, you’re accusing this lady of attempting to murder you and your son. Do you have evidence?”
“My son got into a car incident in the afternoon right after he beat her up in the morning. But she did not demand compensation from that driver who was at fault. She breezily signed a settlement with him and let him go! She must have hired him to crash his vehicle into my son.”
I nearly laughed out loud after hearing what Judith had to say. She was obviously such a lame partner–in–crime. I did not even need to get the words out of her.
Keith immediately zeroed in on a crucial detail. “Did your son hit her? That’s domestic violence. Are you sure?”
His eyes followed Judith closely without missing any of the minute details.
Stunned by the question, Judith considered the fate of Grayson, who was now lying in a hospital bed. After some hesitation, she bit the bullet and admitted, “That’s right! Grayson hit her! He caused that wound on her forehead!”
Judith stood up, pointing a finger at the wound on my forehead. The bandage had just been removed recently.
Keith looked at me skeptically. “Is that true?”
All eyes in the room were on me.
“Yes.” I nodded honestly and without hesitation.
“Why did you not call the police right away?” Keith frowned as if puzzled by my decision.
Domestic violence was a huge deal. There was a growing awareness in society and laws regulating such unacceptable behavior. For most people, calling the police for domestic violence was definitely the best and safest choice.
Shaking my head, I suggested to Keith, “How about calling my neighbors for verification?”
In reality, I had called the cops on Grayson before, but he had erased the security footage quickly. I had lost all evidence against him.
When the police knocked on my neighbors‘ doors, no one would testify for me. They wanted to stay out of trouble, especially family conflicts. Such was the cold nature of humans, who put their interests before anyone else’s.
Had anyone spoken up for me, Grayson night have behaved on that rainy night when I had a miscarriage
or
during the mornings when I was beaten up.
At the end of the day, everyone was scared of Grayson’s retaliation, as he was a rich psycho. When the police knocked on their doors for testimonies, they almost unanimously decided to hold their tongues.
But Grayson wasn’t the only psycho.
Moments latet, a younger policeman entered the office to report his investigation findings to Keith, who was leading the interrogation.
Keith’s expression turned grim. At the end, he silently slammed his fist on his table. His piercing gaze made Judith’shudder.
I explained, “Well, I guess you already know by now. The police had no way of investigating my domestic violence claims because no one would testify.”
Keith appeared sympathetic to my situation. He started to flip through the documents in his possession. The increasingly intimidating environment sent a chill down Judith’s and Olivia’s spines.
“B–But you can’t just sign a settlement with that driver without a thought!” Olivia spoke when she sensed the situation shifting against her favor.
She knew she couldn’t allow everything to unfold naturally. So, she started attacking me from a different angle.
I snapped at her, “Am I wrong for wishing death on Grayson after he had beaten me into a pulp? Am I to be blamed for signing the settlement with that driver?”
In fact, I should have bought that poor driver a gift to express my utmost gratitude–thanking him for getting rid of that bastard on my behalf.
“Besides, I had not signed the divorce papers at that time. As such, I had the legal right to sign the settlement on Grayson’s behalf.”
Keith, as usual, managed to grasp the main point. “Did you sign a divorce agreement with your husband?”
Judith waved her hand impatiently and cut off Keith’s relentless questioning. She said to him, “Olivia has clarified with me. There’s no divorce agreement at all!”
I hadn’t agreed to divorce—not even after I was hospitalized from Grayson’s beatings. Therefore, I could understand why Judith believed the divorce agreement was a hoax.
But things were different now.
“Didn’t you know? Your future daughter–in–law paid me one million dollars in exchange for me signing the divorce papers!” I pointed a finger at Olivia, who was trying vainly to hide behind her bag
Olivia stood up and stammered in protest, “I–I didn’t! You scammed me of that one million dollars! Give me back that money!”
Ignoring her tantrums, I continued speaking to Keith, “I have proof that my husband transferred the one million dollars to Olivia when he was still married to me. I believe I am entitled to ask for that money back, right?”
Keith nodded as an answer to my question
Judith, however, was upset at me for claiming Grayson’s wealth. “That’s nonsensel Grayson can transfer his money to anyone as he wishes) You don’t have the right to ask for it back!”
With that, Judith patted Olivia on the shoulder with satisfaction. “Olivia, you’re killing it. Now that you’ve gotten your hands on the divorce agreement, you can officially get married to Grayson now!”
Chapter 5 Olivia’s Regret
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Disappointed in Judith’s naivete, I sighed at her exaggerated response. “My dear mother–in–law, don’t you know I’m helping you out now?”
Everyone was taken aback by my remark, especially Judith. She shot me a confused look.
Think carefully. Why would Olivia want the one million dollars back?” My remark carried a foreboding undertone.
Screaming, Olivia lunged at me, trying to cover my mouth. However, she faltered after Keith glared at her.
If looks could kill, I would have been dead under Olivia’s gaze right now.
She hissed at me, “Heid, stop coming between us!”
Her threat was harmless, though
Looking confident, Judith had full trust in Olivia–her future daughter–in–law whom she approved of. “Olivia must want that money back to pay for Grayson’s medical treatment.” I shook my head knowingly. “If I hadn’t told you, you wouldn’t have known Olivia had the divorce papers with her. Am I right? Why didn’t she show the divorce papers to you, then? “It’s all because Grayson needs a caretaker for the rest of his life after his car accident. Olivia just wants to run away with that money.”
My halting presentation was sensational, to say the least. The police should not have allowed me to make such inciting statements, but Keith turned a blind eye to my remarks, perhaps feeling sorry about my horrific experience at Grayson’s hands.
Judith was successfully intimidated. She stared at Olivia with suspicion.
I confidently painted the bleak future for Olivia. “I get you, though. You’re about to be tied down to a cripple for the rest of your life. You’ll have to clean after him every day, and if you don’t do it right, he might suffer from muscle atrophy, his body covered with melanoma moles and bedsores as he relieves himself in bed.”
When I brought up the most crucial point, I stood up and searched for photos of such cases to show to Olivia. The despairing and ominous photos made her cower and flinch. She covered her mouth, dry–beaving while shaking her head furiously.
“Grayson Rockwell is your responsibility from now on. Thanks for your sacrifice.”
I couldn’t care less about Olivia’s feelings at all. My “well–wishes” came from the bottom of my heart.
Smiling, I nodded at Olivia as if acknowledging her caretaking efforts over the next few decades.
“I’m not marrying a loser like him! No!”
Olivia fumbled through her bag and pulled out the divorce papers, which she tore up in front of everyone. It happened in a flash of an eye, and nobody could stop her.
