The CEO's Secret Obsession-Chapter 100: Liability

Jack didn’t even have to wait after dialing as Olivia picked up the call in the second ring.

Her voice came through syrupy sweet, the kind she only used when she sensed opportunity. "Jack, darling. Calling me at this time? Did something happen?"

Jack pressed a hand over his eyes. "Yes, something happened. Something bad."

A pause and then a small inhale followed.

"What did you do?" Olivia asked slowly and almost affectionately.

Jack lowered his voice. "Alexander left for Heinberg today, personally. He is going to inspect the site."

"Oh." That single syllable was icy and sharp.

"What exactly is he going to ’inspect’?" she asked, her tone stretching the word.

Jack swallowed. "The—irregularities and the complaints which were reported to the regulatory board ."

Olivia clicked her tongue. "Jack, please don’t tell me you were stupid enough to get involved in that."

"I didn’t do anything myself," he hissed. "I just—someone made a few changes at the site and now Alexander will find out!"

"You bribed him, didn’t you?" she asked calmly, as if discussing the weather.

Jack winced. "Mom—"

"I told you," she continued, her voice now a cool whisper, "that subtlety is always better than tantrums but subtlety does not mean recklessness."

Jack paced as his heart was hammering against his chest.

"I need help. He is going to find something. That man I paid is losing it. He called me panicking. What should I do?" He had never felt this anxious before. If Alexander found out the truth, it was the end of him.

Olivia laughed softly. It was a sound with no warmth whatsoever. "Oh Jack. Why do you always bring me disasters instead of flowers?"

"This isn’t funny," he snapped.

"And I never said it was." Her voice hardened. "But you expect me to clean up after you every time. Do you know how tiring that is?"

Jack’s breath stilled because Olivia rarely showed cracks in her mask.

"Y-You always help me," he said, sounding small and desperate. "You said you would."

"I said I would guide you," Olivia corrected. "Not carry you."

He froze.

"But listen to me very carefully," Olivia softened her tone and it became dangerously gentle. "My name cannot be attached to ANYTHING you did. Do you understand? If you drag me down with you, we both fall. And I am not planning on falling anywhere."

Jack’s grip tightened around the phone. "So you are not helping me?"

"I am helping you," she said sweetly. "Just not the way you want."

Silence followed and then— 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Jack, you need to breathe," she murmured. "Panicking will expose you before anyone else does."

Jack forced a breath through clenched teeth.

Olivia continued with her voice barely above a whisper. "And remember, Alexander finding the truth is NOT your biggest problem."

He frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means," She said slowly, "Benjamin is already suspicious of you. The moment he senses a crack, he will throw you to the wolves to save himself."

Jack’s chest tightened painfully.

"So tell me," Olivia added, her voice sliding silkily under his panic, "Who do you think will protect you when that happens?"

He paused for a while before whispering, "You."

"That’s right." Then she exhaled lazily. "But don’t put me in a position where I have to decide whether you are worth the trouble."

Jack’s heart dropped but he didn’t say anything. She was his last hope after all.

"Handle the man you paid and fix what you can. Stay quiet and above all—" Her voice sharpened to a blade. "Do not act suspiciously."

Then the call ended.

Jack stood there drenched in cold sweat and for the first time since this started, he realized that Olivia wasn’t trying to save him, she was trying to save herself.

And if he sank, she would simply step over his drowning body without looking back.

....

[Reid Mansion]

Olivia lowered her phone slowly, letting it rest on her lap as she leaned back in her velvet armchair.

For a moment, she didn’t move.

Her reflection glimmered faintly in the dark TV screen across from her. Her expression was elegant, composed and perfectly unreadable.

Then she exhaled a single dry laugh.

"Idiot boy," she murmured.

Jack’s panic had practically crackled through the line. Every sentence was frantic and every breath was unsteady.

She understood that he was slipping and when men slip, they either fall apart or become useful.

She preferred the second option.

Olivia stood, smoothing down her silk robe as she walked toward the window. The city glowed below her.

She narrowed her eyes.

Jack was in a very tight spot because Alexander was too close to discovering the truth.

If Alexander found out Jack staged the Heinberg irregularities and connected him to the bribe, Jack was finished.

And if Jack fell, she would fall with him.

Benjamin, the only person who she could rely on, already treated her like a tolerated inconvenience, Pauline despised her and Margaret wanted her gone entirely.

And Alexander, he didn’t even consider her relevant.

The only person she could influence, the only person who still saw her as something close to essential was Jack.

If he was sent away, she lost her last foothold in this family and that was unacceptable.

She tapped her nails against the glass.

For her to survive in the Reid family, she has to make sure that Jack stays. He needed to stay terrified, needy and dependent.

Olivia had only one card left—Jack.

And Jack was turning into a liability.

Her expression darkened.

She didn’t care about his "dreams" or "feelings." What she cared about was survival—her survival.

"I will have to fix you myself," she whispered.

She walked back to her dressing table, sat down and opened her compact mirror. Her reflection stared back, the flawless makeup, cold eyes and a smile that didn’t reach them.

She spoke softly to her reflection.

"If Alexander discovers you lied," she told the mirror as if speaking to Jack,

"he will destroy you."

She paused.

"And if you ruin things for me, I will destroy you."

Closing the compact with a sharp snap, she leaned back and let her eyes drift shut.

Jack believed she cared, he believed she was helping him out of love and that she was his only ally.

And that was exactly how she needed things to stay for now.

...