Page 51 of Claiming Becca

Becca and Bailey put their hands over their mouth, but Liv and Caroline look on sympathetically. They must have heard some part of this story. Caroline shifts, wincing slightly. Bass wraps his arm around her, kissing her on the forehead. She winces again before settling into his side.

Ansley leans forward. “Our parents were not good people, so we did not shed any tears over their deaths. That’s why we wouldn’t be surprised if they knew about Donovan and didn’t do anything about it.”

There’s a moment of silence around the table as everyone thinks about the information we were all just given.

Becca leans forward and looks between Ansley, Lincoln, Victor, and Liv. “Don’t you think it’s odd that Liv’s mom died in a car accident, and your parents did, too?”

Everyone thinks about that for several minutes before Liv finally speaks up. “My mom’s brake lines were cut. She ran into a tree.”

Ansley shakes her head. “An eighteen-wheeler sideswiped our parents, and they went into oncoming traffic, causing them to flip.”

Victor runs his hand over his beard. “When did that happen?”

“A little over seven years ago now,” Lincoln replies.

Ansley taps her knuckles on the table, glancing at Lincoln. “Do you think that’s why our parents pushed you and Dylan so hard?”

He shakes his head and raises his hands. “It makes me sick just thinking about it,” Lincoln murmurs. Glancing at Liv, he pats her hand. “Now you have a table full of men that will do what they can to protect you.” Her eyes light up, and she offers a small smile as we all agree.

Victor runs his finger along the shell of her ear. “There’s no way to know for sure if your parents were involved unless we got a confession from Donovan.” Victor pauses. “This brings me to the point of all this. Donovan controlled Olivia her whole life. She couldn’t go anywhere or do anything without him being present. She was only allowed out of the house when he’d let her come eat with us.”

Victor takes a deep breath, like he’s trying to control himself. Becca shifts next to me, her grip on my hand tightening. I lean over and brush my lips along her cheek. She swallows and leans her head against my bicep.

“That’s just touching the surface.” He looks at Ansley and Lincoln. “Your parents may have been horrible, but Donovan is a monster. The things Olivia had to endure.”

Caroline sniffles and wipes tears off her cheeks.

Liv leans forward, her shoulders tense. “So, I ran away. I was 21. It shouldn’t have been looked at as me running away, but that’s exactly what it was to him. I changed my name to Liv, which is not original. I know that now. But I also changed my last name to my mom’s maiden name before she married my real dad.”

She shifts in her chair. “I didn’t go far. I’ve been right under his nose this entire time. But we didn’t live in this town. We lived about an hour or so away. He’s such a narcissist he would never have thought to look in the very place he warned me against my entire childhood.” Liv swipes at a stray tear, her leg bouncing. “But he found me,” she whispers. Caroline gasps.

“Shit,” Lincoln whispers.

“He’s the one who sent you the flowers?” Caroline questions. Liv nods.

“What flowers?” Ansley asks, her eyes darting between Caroline and Liv. Caroline looks at Liv, asking for permission with her eyes. Liv gives her a slight nod.

Caroline shifts in her seat, trying to lean forward, but decides against it and relaxes again. “Last week, Liv got a bouquet of Forget Me Nots. They were delivered in the middle of a meeting.” She glances at Ansley. “She got distraught—”

“I think you had some kind of special radar,” Lincoln cuts her off. “Because I honestly had no idea what was happening until you told me later.”

Liv snorts. “I’ve gotten a little better at holding myself together, but Caroline got me to the bathroom before I had a complete panic attack.”

“How do you know it was from Donovan?” I ask her.

Liv runs her fingers over the table and takes a deep breath. “He used to always get me Forget Me Nots, but they are always purple because that’s my favorite color. I knew they were from him even before I saw the card.”

Ansley leans forward. “What did the card say?”

Liv runs her hands through her hair and takes a deep breath. “Found you, and before you least expect, I will get you. You belong to me, after all.”

Julian sits forward, gritting his teeth and making a fist. He’s been quiet, listening and taking in every detail. “How do you know he killed your mother?” he asks.

“I overheard him talking to the Sheriff. There’s this dumbwaiter in his house that I used to sneak in, and I’d use it to spy on him secretly,” Liv answers him.

“He told the Sheriff and didn’t do anything about it?” Bailey asks incredulously. Bass and I exchange a look.

“Donovan had everyone in his pocket, even the Sheriff. That’s why Connor worked so hard to get an election started,” Bass replies. “We were all surprised Donovan didn’t come after him when that happened.”

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