Flawless Prize

JULIET

By the timeCaleb arrives at his apartment, I’ve worn out the rug in front of the fireplace with my pacing.

The second I hear the elevator ping in the hallway, I rush to the door and meet him there, Logan on my heels.

I hug him a little desperately. With everything going on, I wasn’t sure I’d see him again. He holds my hands and looks into my eyes.

“What’s this all about?”

“I figured it out, Caleb. I figured out who’s been trying to kill me,” I blurt.

Now his eyes go from me to Logan, then back again. “Nero’s—”

“No. It’s not Nero.” I gulp. “It’s Olivia.”

His eyes narrow. “What?”

“You see, it all makes sense,” I tell him, my heart racing. Now I’ve figured it out, I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. “The shredded flowers. The notes. The power outage in the office… She could easily have been behind it all.”

“Hold on,” he says, stalking into the living area. “Sit down, and tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out.”

I do as he says, collecting myself.

“It all makes sense,” I add, after laying out the evidence again. “She was in the office during the blackout. I ran into her on the stairs. I was so relieved to see anyone, I didn’t think she might have been the one chasing me through the office. Plus, she could’ve left the opera to turn the gas on at your place. And she called me, when we were at the cabin,” I add.

Caleb frowns. “You didn’t mention that.”

“I didn’t think twice about it!” I shake my head. “It was just her being her usual snarky self, but I mentioned we were upstate. I didn’t say where, but if she knew about the cabin—”

“She knows,” Caleb nodded grimly. “It’s been in my family forever.”

“Then she would have known exactly where we were. She’s the only one.”

“So you think she’s the one who ran you off the road.” Caleb looks furious.

I nod. “Maybe. Or she paid someone to do it for her. I assumed it was a guy watching me, while I was fighting for my life. But… It could have been her.”

Caleb paces angrily.

“This doesn’t make sense. Why would she come after you? I knew she wanted to screw over the company, but what have you ever done to her?”

I stare at him in disbelief. “Because she’s still in love with you.”

“What?”

He gazes at me, the confusion all over his face. “That’s impossible.”

It would be sweet, how naïve he’s being, if the woman wasn’t literally out for my blood.

“You dated, didn’t you?” I explain gently. “And you broke it off with her.”

Frowning, he says, “Yes. But she agreed. We were young, it didn’t mean anything. She acted like it was no big deal.”

“Well, clearly it was.

She agreed to save face,” I break it to him. “And I bet you all this time, she thought you two would eventually wind up together. That you’d dump the company and head off into the sunset.”

Logan nods, agreeing. “And when Juliet arrived, and she realized how you two felt about each other, she couldn’t take it.”