Leo went tense. Like he knew something she did not.
"We need to talk about the documents, Liv," Leo said quietly.
Olivia noticed the heavy shift in his tone. "What do you mean?"
"With everything that happened, I haven't wanted to overwhelm you with the updates from the investigator," Leo explained, his voice careful. "But if you are ready to talk about divorce, you need to understand exactly what we are dealing with."
Olivia’s stomach dropped. "Tell me."
Leo let out a heavy breath.
"The handwriting experts reviewed the copies of the financial documents you took. They do not agree with the idea that the signatures were forged in the obvious way we expected."
"What?" Olivia gasped. "But I didn't sign them!"
"I know," Leo said quickly, stepping closer. "More than one expert concluded that the signatures physically appear to belong to you. The pressure, the slant—it matches your handwriting perfectly."
Olivia felt the room tilt beneath her feet.
"They aren't saying you knowingly authorized what James did, Liv," Leo explained, keeping his voice steady to anchor her. "They are saying the signatures are likely physically yours, which makes the legal fight much harder. James may have slipped signature pages into routine household paperwork. He might have had you sign incomplete forms, or used electronic authorizations connected to devices and accounts you trusted him to manage. If the paperwork appears completely valid on its face, proving fraud becomes complicated."
Horror bloomed in Olivia's chest. The realization was sickening.
"The issue is no longer a simple case of forgery," Leo continued grimly. "It is fraud, misrepresentation, document misuse, and improper authorization."
"What does that mean for my money?" Olivia asked, panic edging into her voice. "What does it mean for the bakery? The accounts?"
Leo did not lie to her. "It means we have to move very, very carefully."
He pulled his phone from his pocket. "Let's call the lawyer."
Leo put the phone on speaker and set it on the island. The lawyer answered on the second ring.
"Leo," the lawyer said, his tone clipped. "I was just about to call you."
Leo stood a little straighter, a flicker of hope crossing his face. "Do you have news on the investigation?"
"I have news," the lawyer replied heavily, "but it isn't good. I just got a call from a colleague down at the county Superior Court clerk's office. Specifically, in the civil filings division."
"What happened?" Leo asked, his voice hardening.
"James just filed a lawsuit," the lawyer said. "Against you, Leo. He filed an alienation of affection claim. You will likely be formally served in the next few days."
Olivia stared at the phone. Alienation of affection? Against Leo?
She looked up at Leo. His face was a mask of perfectly controlled stone, but she could see the cold, lethal anger vibrating just beneath the surface.
Blind panic seized Olivia's throat. Leo was being dragged into a courtroom because of her. James was not just attacking her anymore. He was actively using her pain, her friendship with Leo, and her desperate need for shelter as a weapon to destroy the only person who had kept her safe.
Her heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs as the lawyer kept speaking, but Olivia could barely hear him anymore.
Chapter 18
Olivia
Olivia stared at the device resting on the granite island, stunned. At first, her brain simply refused to process the words the lawyer had just said.
Then, the meaning landed with a sickening weight.
