THE COST OF FORTUNE
CHAPTER NINE

The sound of clinking glasses and classical music filled the ballroom with an air of summer joy in the wintertime. Bright red lipstick and cheerful grins were in every corner as businessmen and women fraternized over glasses of Dom Perignon Champagne or Petrus wine. It was an unusual sight, for people like these to all be in one room together. While some were colleagues, working in sister companies, others were competitors, only putting on a smile for the event; big names like the Marvins couldn't have their reputations tarnished by not showing up to a non-profit charity fundraiser for unfortunate children. Regardless, every one of Olivia's father's associates– friend or foe– enjoyed an excuse to wear their finest new ballgown or tuxedo and show off their families.

Olivia forced her nude-pink-painted lips into a smile as she passed the guest. She struggled to keep a well-mannered posture and genuine-looking smile as they all waved at her, commending the wonderful setup of the gala in the ballroom of the Irvine mansion. "Olivia," Charles Holloway greeted, stepping in front of her and blocking her path. The old man's chin was up snobbishly, revealing the unkept forest in his nostrils.

"Mr. Holloway, it's great to see you!" Olivia faked a toothy grin. She turned to his wife, her head of hair black extensions neatly tied up with a large, crystally clip. "And Mrs. Holloway, you look absolutely stunning."

"As do you, sweetheart." She held a cold hand over Olivia's arm affectionately. "Is your dress custom made? I adore it."

"It is!" Olivia brushed her hands over the silk material of her long white bodycon gown before nodding. "Thank you."

"You haven't seen your father around, Olivia, have you?" Charles Holloway asked, tearing into his wife's conversation with her.

She frowned apologetically. "I haven't, but if I see him I'll let him know you were looking for him." Olivia took a step forward to try to make her exit, but before she could, Charles began his rambling.

"That would be wonderful; he and I have a lot of business to discuss. With the way the tides have been in the last few-"

In perfect timing, a caterer in a white and black tuxedo appeared with a tray in hand. Olivia tugged on his arm gently, motioning for him to come closer to the group of three she was standing in. "Have you tried these? They're delicious," she interrupted Mr. Holloway, pointing to the gourmet sushi in the tray. With a large, fake smile, she waited until his focus was on picking one out of the tray to start her getaway.

Shuffling to the left, she brushed past the tall, round table bars covered in Italian linen cloth. She waved kindly at all the guests that said their hellos but trotted fast enough in her black heels to dodge them and the photographers standing in each corner of the room.

Just as she stepped into the high-ceilinged area of the entrance hall, Olivia suddenly stopped in her place as a wave of dizziness overcame her. She grabbed onto the side of the wall to stop herself from swaying. Inhaling softly she closed her eyes to try and recompose herself, but as she peeled them open, a flicker of ash red flame-filled her pupils. Her eyes remained focused on the small burning fire in her sight– she was almost drawn to it, unable to blink the strange vision away. She flinched violently at the sound of a blood-curdling scream and snapped her head up to scan the room. When all she saw were more guests entering through the door, she cleared her throat and tried to hide the rapid rising and falling of her chest. "Bess..." she whispered to herself, staring at the floor in realization.

A gust of air blew past Olivia as her dad made an appearance by her side. Her head snapped up to see a smile plastered across his face as he welcomed the guest into his home, but the moment they looked away, he angled his head beside Olivia's ear. "Shoulders back, chin up and smile; our biggest contenders, the Hudsons, have arrived," he rasped in a low voice. As desperate as Olivia was to send him a sharp glare, she kept her feelings to herself and nodded obligingly. Still, after five days, she had not yet voiced her questions about her aunt's ring and why he'd donated it to the Historical Society– why he hadn't told Liv what he knew about Hillary's death. And although Olivia tried her best to keep her frustration to herself, it often came out, and Mason Irvine noticed. He was aware of his daughter distancing herself from him, though he was uncertain as to why. Nevertheless, the man was too busy with his work to ask, and Olivia preferred it that way. Seeing his face only reminded her of her aunt, and only made her angrier at her father and herself for being too afraid to ask a simple question.

When Mason walked off with one of his business associates, Olivia was pulled out of her maddening thoughts. Her knee buckled beneath her, sending her ankle into a painful twist. She bit her tongue to hold back the moan that desperately wanted to leave her lips, but the dominating pain in her head was undefeated.

Olivia ignored the acquaintances who tried to speak to her as they entered the hall and slid past them through the door. The confused thoughts spinning in her head about her vision and the lightheadedness that made her want to double over and throw up were suffocating. She wanted nothing more than space and fresh air, regardless of how much it would disappoint her father.

As she stepped foot out into her garden, she backed against the wall of the house and closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply through her nose, embracing the change of smell from expensive Dior to the fresh flowers of the well-maintained garden. Her heart was still pounding at a rate she was certain it was going to explode at, and her brain was still recovering from the vision she'd just had.

She lifted her phone to her eyes, squinting as the bright light from the screen was too strong in the pitch darkness of the sky. She sighed as she took in a blank screen. Since the incident at the bluffs last night, she hadn't heard from Ace– not even a text to check if she was alright after the traumatizing experience. She wondered if the way he'd treated her at the bluffs, in his car, were only out of empathy. If she'd really mattered enough to him for him to show up as early as that to comfort her and drive her home.

"Olivia?" A familiar voice suddenly pulled her out of her dull daze. She turned her head to a planted rose bush beside one of the spotlights that lit up the garden.

"Ryan Hudson," she remarked, trying to sound sarcastic, but her exhaustion took away all the emotion from her voice.

His silhouette began to clear as he neared her. His hands were stuffed in the pocket of his pants and his suit jacket was unbuttoned– very uncharacteristic for the Ryan Hudson Olivia once knew. "Jeez, what happened to you?" He quickened his slow walk into two big steps when he saw the girl struggling to stand upright as she pushed herself off the wall. Without warning, he gripped tightly onto her upper arm and led her down the step that separated the mansion from the grass. He nudged her down softly, forcing her to sit on the step.

"Here." Ryan handed her his glass before sitting down beside her.

"Oh, no, I'm not really in the mood for alcohol."

"It's water," he assured with a light chuckle. "Drink it, it'll make you feel better"

"My dad will kill me if I walk back in there with a dirty dress," she declared, using both her hands to lift the white material off the ground as best as she could. When exhaustion took over, she dropped her hands and gave up, stretching her legs out in front of her.

"Yeah, trust me, I know what it's like dealing with rich overbearing parents," he agreed with her, gently bumping his shoulder against hers. She tried to suppress her frown, not used to seeing Ryan act so heartful and genuine. It was an unusual look. "And sometimes it gets too much and you need to step back."

Olivia nodded, placing her hands on her knees. "Is that why you're out here right now instead of inside?"

"Yeah," he trailed with a shrug, moving his head around as he took in the pretty floral scenery. "I guess I needed some space from the photographers and my parents."

"I feel that," she raised her fist preaching.

Ryan laughed before putting on an exaggerated frown. "Don't forget to smile!" He said in a deep, hoarse voice to mock his father.

"Chin up, shoulders back!" Olivia chimed, giggling along. As their fit of laughter softened, she turned to face Ryan with a bright smile. "You've changed."

"So I've heard."

"I remember you used to be this jerk," she trailed, thinking out loud, "always doing what your parents said like you were their dog..."

"Wow," he tittered, raising his eyebrows in disbelief of her honesty.

"And now you seem more like a human being," she added, her lips curling up as she looked at him. "I can see you being a good dad."

"I appreciate it," he thanked her, placing a grateful hand on her back. "You're a friend of Nancy's, right?"

"You could say so, yeah."

"How's she been doing?" His voice was much softer as he leaned in with genuine interest.

Olivia frowned with realization, taking in the calmness of his expression. "You don't know, do you?"

Ryan moved back slightly to see Olivia's face more clearly. "Know what?" His eyebrows knitted together as he tried to work out the girl's words.

"Olivia!" Mason's voice suddenly echoed through the hall into the garden area. Both her and Ryan's heads shifted to look at the entrance of the ballroom to see Mason Irvine standing there expectantly. "What are you doing out here? Our guests are waiting inside for group pictures."

Although bitter and resentful, Olivia took the opportunity as a getaway from having to expose Nancy to Ryan. She stood shakily, her high heels and drained muscles threatening to make her fall. "Coming, Dad," she called and watched him disappear into the house. Before she could turn around to follow him in, she felt Ryan's cold, large hand grab onto her wrist.

"Olivia, you would tell me if something was wrong with Nancy, right?" He asked desperately, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed with concern.

After seconds of hesitation, Olivia nodded in confirmation to ease his mind. "I have to get inside... You coming?" Ryan nodded before allowing the young lady to lead him inside.

Olivia kept her eyes on the tiled floor as she walked toward the door, certain that with her lightheadedness and her tired feet she was prone to falling. She gripped onto the side of the door to aid her as she walked inside, and quickly drew her hand away and straightened her posture when she saw rows of guests lined up in front of the cameramen. "Sorry to keep everyone waiting!" Olivia apologized insincerely, waving as she joined her dad in the center of the group. They all waited patiently in front of the cameras with their best-beaming smiles on their faces because one of the pictures would most likely appear in the newspaper.

A clicking noise filled Olivia's ears before a flash of bright light blinded her. Her forced smile was suddenly cut off by another flash, though this time not from the camera. She tried not to stumble back as her eyes filled with a swaying fish hook before another jolt of strobe camera light flashed. She gasped as it was followed by another flash of scenery, this time of cold mist settling on a cement floor. Her heart began to pound uncontrollably in her chest as camera flashes continued to strike one after the other, each one interrupted by another strange image.

It was only when Ace's face– forehead creased and eyes glazed with fear– appeared in her sight, that Olivia's smile dropped completely and she stumbled back with a gasp. As of now, she'd had all four death visions.

"Oh my God," she muttered. She leaned back to try and break free from the several arms that wrapped around her shoulders and back.

"Not now, Liv," Mason pleaded quietly, but all Olivia could hear was her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.

When Olivia proceeded to detach from the group and back away from the cameras, his jaw dropped. His jaw dropped in shock and disappointment as she hurried away, all the guests staring at her curiously while she disappeared out of the door.

With shaky hands, Olivia swiped through her contact list until she found Ace's name. She closed her eyes and pressed the phone against her ear, listening closely as her shallow breaths overshadowed the sound of the line's rings. "Come on," she begged, hoping that she was wrong– that she was jumping to conclusions. She tried to mentally engrave in her brain that her having had all of the death visions didn't necessarily mean that it was time, but when the beeping stopped and Ace hadn't answered, her heart dropped.

She called him again, but when he didn't answer for the second time, she threw her head back in exasperation. Quickly, she switched to Bess' contact and called her, praying she would be more reliable.

"Hello?" Olivia gasped at the sound of Bess' voice.

"Oh my God, Bess," Olivia said in a deep breath. "Where are you guys right now?" Olivia shut her eyes, pleading that now wasn't the time.

"Waiting for the Aglaeca," Bess replied shakily, the terror clear in her voice. When Olivia didn't say anything, Bess spoke up again in a hurry. "But we have a plan! Assuming it works..." she mumbled the last part more quietly, but it still sent a pang of fear to Olivia's chest.

"Is Ace in the freezer at The Claw?" Olivia waited in terrifying anticipation for Bess' response. "Bess, answer me! I just saw a vision of him and a fish hook. I think it's The Claw but I'm not sure– I need you to tell me where he is."

"Yes, okay! He's at The Claw!" Bess hissed, frustrated by her persistence.

"I'm going there now. Be careful, okay?" Olivia begged, staring at Bess' name on her phone with a quivering chin. She ended the call and dropped her hands to her side before racing through the grass to get to her car. Olivia didn't care about her dress being ruined or a stupid gala or how angry her father would be. All she needed right now was to know that Ace and her friends were safe.

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Olivia flinched at the slamming door as she stormed into the back room of The Claw through the back door. She hurriedly kicked off her heels, throwing them across the floor carelessly. Without wasting any time, she raced toward the freezer, disregarding the benches splayed within the area. She winced as her knees bumped into them, leaving definitely bruises, but she proceeded to hurry toward the door, her mind only focussed on one thing: Ace. The fishhook kept replaying in her head, swinging back and forth. With each swing, Olivia's heart thumped violently against her ribcage, only making her quicken her pace to the freezer.

"Ace?" she yelled, pushing and pulling the door frantically to no avail. She scrunched her face up in frustration as tears began to pool in her eyes. "Ace!" She slammed a fist against the door, the metal instantly sending a large pang of pain through her entire arm. Before she could slam another hand onto the metal, Olivia froze. She pressed an ear against the door with her lips pursed together in focus as she listened closely.

Her eyes widened and she took a step back, taking in the hitched breathing and shivers she'd heard. Ace was alive, and as badly as she wanted to take a moment of relief, all she could think about was getting him out. What if the Aglaeca wasn't finished with him yet?

"Ace, can you hear me?"

"Y-yeah," he replied shakily, his voice muffled and barely audible through the door. "The door's locked, I can't get out."

"Are you hurt? Did she come yet?" When he didn't respond, Olivia's pulse began to speed up again. "Ace?"

A loud gasp erupted in her mouth when the door suddenly swung back at full speed. She jolted backward, almost toppling down the four steps behind her, but she caught onto the railing before she could fall. Ace came flying out with the opened door, his body as stiff as ice as he slid across the floor to the bottom of Olivia's bare feet with a groan. He panted heavily, trembling with cold in nothing but a grey zip-up hoodie.

Cold mist from inside the freezer fogged the warm air outside, and Olivia jumped forward to shut the door, saving Ace from even more cold. Spinning around to face Ace, she dropped to her knees. "I'm so glad you're oka-" she cut herself off at the sight of bright red blood oozing between his fingers which were wrapped tightly around his left arm. "That- that's a lot of blood," she whined, trying to tear her gaze, but after seeing his face scrunched up in so much pain, she couldn't bear to look away from him. She jumped to her feet, stepping hurriedly down the cold stairs until she reached one of the benches where a clean kitchen towel was laying on. She returned to Ace and with trembling hands, began to tie it above the wound on his upper arm, trying not to look at the cut too closely in fear of puking. "You're okay," she whispered reassuringly as she tended to his injury, her heart squeezing every time he winced in pain.

"How did you know I was here?" he asked shakily, watching Olivia as she took care of him. "Did Bess tell you?"

"No, I had to figure it out myself," she said the last word more aggressively as she tightened the towel around his arm. He hissed in pain but Olivia ignored him. "I had a vision of Bess' death then yours."

"You took your ring off?"

"This isn't about me, you jerk!" When she finished the double knot, she pulled away, her soft eyes suddenly showering over with darkness. "Why didn't you tell me tonight was the night?" she growled, shoving a hard fist against his uninjured arm.

"Ow!" he cried, pulling back to try and get away from her. "I didn't want you to get involved, alright?"

"That's not a good enough excuse. I've already told you I'm as much a part of this as you are, and you still feel the need to exclude me. What if I'd been able to help? What if-"

"I just didn't want you to get hurt, Liv!" he interrupted, his typically low, quiet voice suddenly booming across the hall. Olivia fell backward slightly, gaping at him as she took in his words. Her face softened and she stared at him in silence. Although her heart fluttered as her brain finally processed what he'd said, she was unsure of what to say.

Olivia pursed her lips and sighed before leaning forward and wrapping them around him. His skin was ice cold and he shook violently against her, but she only tightened her grip around his wide torso. When she felt him slowly fold his arms around her back, she smiled into his neck, his long hair brushing over her face. "I'm really glad you're safe," she murmured, burying her face deeper into his neck.

Slowly, she loosened her arms and slid them back to herself. As their faces passed one another while they withdrew from the hug, they both froze, their noses only inches apart. When Ace's tired, hanging eyes met with her concerned ones, Olivia felt all her limbs melt and her stressed-out thoughts bury under a wave of warmth. Her attention moved from his eyes to his pink lips, and all she could think about anymore was how soft they looked. And when her eyes drifted back up to his, it was over.

His lips caught hers in a hard kiss, yet even despite the roughness, all Olivia felt was comfort, in his touch, in his mixed scent of sweat and fresh cologne, in his soft lips against hers. She lifted a hand up to his cheek, sliding it up behind his neck, her nails trailing along his soft skin while his lips moved gently along hers. His hands shifted from the sides of her arms to her waist, instantly bringing heat to her core at his touch. She wanted his hands all over her skin, she wanted him to devour her but with their lips moving so tightly and roughly against one another, she couldn't utter a word– she didn't want to. She wanted him close to her, she wanted him to keep making her feel like everything was okay.

She felt him pull away slowly, and instinctively she leaned in more, trying to draw him back in. She froze when she felt his warm breath on her neck as he spoke. "You look really, really beautiful," he whispered, instantly sending shivers up her spine. Without a second of hesitation, she crashed her lips back onto his, curling both her arms around his neck as they moved rhythmically together,

Every thought in her head exploded into a pure, throbbing white that made all the darkness curl into a ball and disintegrate into a grey cloud of smoke. For the first time in what felt like forever, Olivia's blind was free of her worries. For the first time in what felt like forever, she felt happy and safe. She didn't want to let go.

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I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM

what's their ship name?? olace? lace? alivia? they don't have the most compatible names tbh lmao