Third Person's POV
"Him... who's he looking for? It can't be me, can it?" Fear began to spread from the depths of her heart — she knew Richard all too well; the man was a devil incarnate.
Olivia sat there on the sofa, soulless and rigid, unable to move for a long time, as chills ran throughout her body.
The terror of having a gun held to her head crept back like a shadow to engulf her once more.
Back in the day, she had begged pitifully for mercy to secure a sliver of hope for survival. Now, had Richard finally come to "settle scores" with her?
Overwhelmed with fear, Olivia suddenly wanted to call Sunny and tell her to inform Leo and seek police protection immediately.
She fumbled for her phone and dialed Sunny's number in a panic.
The first call went unanswered.
Undeterred, she tried again. This time, the call was picked up, but the voice on the other end was icy, "Olivia? Someone wants to meet you."
"Who are you? Where's Sunny? Who wants to see me? Let me talk to Sunny!" Olivia was terrified, her face drained of color by an ominous premonition.
"She's fine for now, but if you don't go meet someone, her safety can't be guaranteed. It's best not to tell a soul; otherwise, she'll meet a grislier end even sooner," the caller said before hanging up abruptly.
"Hey! What have you done with Sunny?!" Olivia screamed into her phone, now dead air, her expression one of utter despair.
She tried calling back, only to find the phone turned off.
Olivia's mind went blank, her heart clenched as if squeezed by an invisible hand, making it hard to breathe.
She knew exactly who "that person" was — it had to be Richard, that demon, back to haunt her.
Olivia buried her face in her palms, her heart in turmoil.
What should she do? Sunny had undoubtedly been kidnapped by Richard, her fate unknown, and the kidnappers threatened her into silence.
How could she save her biological daughter?
The very words "biological daughter" made Olivia tremble all over — since the day her daughter was born, she had shirked her maternal duties, consumed by guilt and shame, feeling she had no right to ever face her child.
"Sunny... I'm so sorry. Please, you must stay safe. I couldn't bear to go on living if anything happened to you," Olivia muttered as she crawled to her feet from the floor, her limbs icy with fear, and staggered toward the door.
At that very moment, a black sports car pulled up outside.
Seeing the young figure alight from the vehicle, Olivia froze — was it Leo?
She had intended to slip out quietly, for she had to meet Richard, even at the cost of her life.
Leo entered the small garden and spotted Olivia, disheveled and standing by the fountain, her face pale and haggard.
"Sunny said she was coming over this afternoon. Where is she?" Leo, unable to reach Sunny by phone, had come in person to pick her up.
Olivia's expression shifted dramatically, her fingers whitening from the force of her grip. "She... she said she was coming? I haven't seen her."
"You mean she's not here?" Leo's tone turned cold. "Has she been in contact with you? I can't get through to her phone, and her assistant doesn't know where she's gone."
Olivia's heart ached. She longed to tell Leo about Sunny's disappearance but remembered the threatening call. If she spoke out and they hurt her daughter, she'd never forgive herself.
"She really hasn't been here. Why don't you check with Moira? Her birthday is coming up in a couple of days, and Sunny might be helping with preparations."
"Alright," Leo said, his gaze lingering on Olivia's face for a moment before he stopped and turned back. Olivia, though neglecting her appearance and now pale, still bore traces of her former beauty. Leo frowned, suppressing his suspicion: he'd heard that grandchildren could inherit features from their maternal grandparents. Perhaps Sunny took after her grandmother.
Olivia didn't dare breathe heavily, fearing Leo would spot her lie.
"What are you doing out here alone?" Leo suddenly asked.
"Oh, just taking a stroll to stretch my legs," Olivia instinctively swung her arm.
"Are you managing alright living here?" Leo asked indifferently.
"It's very good, thank you for looking after me. I feel ashamed that despite my wrongdoings, you still treat me so well," Olivia said sincerely.
"I'm polite to you for Sunny's sake," Leo sneered, then turned and drove away.
Olivia let out a sigh of relief, about to head to the door when a black-clad bodyguard suddenly appeared, blocking her path. "Ma'am, please return inside. You're not allowed to leave," he said.
Only then did Olivia recall that the Chavez family had assigned two bodyguards to keep an eye on her.
"I wasn't planning to go out, just taking a look around," she said, turning back to the living room stiffly.
Now she was restless — if she couldn't even leave the house, how could she save her daughter?
She tore at her hair in desperation, wishing she could rip herself apart. Anxiety, fear, and panic threatened to drive her mad.
"Wait, the hospital..." In her panic, she hit upon an idea.
To leave, she needed an excuse, and "illness" was the most natural one.
Olivia grabbed a fruit knife from the table, intending to slit her wrist, but she couldn't bring herself to do it — that was suicide.
She hadn't seen Richard yet, hadn't saved her daughter. She couldn't die now.
Abandoning the wrist-cutting plan, she thought of the sleeping pills upstairs—would taking a few too many cause poisoning and hospitalization?
"Wait, what if I die from the poison?" She needed a way to get out while ensuring her survival.
In the end, Olivia decided to feign illness — she had to get out first and figure out how to contact Richard later.
She pulled up Richard's interview video, found the phone number he'd left in the comments, and memorized it.
Olivia felt she never wanted to face that man again in her life, yet fatemockingly thrust her back into hell.
Was there really such a thing as karma?