Thursday (April 2023)
Olivia sighed as she stepped into the elevator of her apartment building and hit the button for the 6th floor. She leaned heavily against heavily against the wall and let her bag drop to the floor, the strap loosely hanging on her fingers.
The week was almost over. One more day and she could relax into a quiet weekend. It wasn't that this week was worse than any other. She was just tired. Bone tired.
A few more minutes, she thought. Then she can relax into the unusually quiet solitude of her apartment. Maybe she'd pour a glass of wine and soak in a hot bath, washing off the grime of the day.
A part of her wished she'd some exciting evening plans, but a bigger part of her relished the idea of having a night all to herself. These days, it was rare that she ever had a whole night alone, but tonight was all hers. The rest of her family was otherwise occupied.
Ed was taking 10-year old Noah on a camping and fishing trip upstate, and 6-year old Nicole was having her first big girl sleepover with Amanda and Jesse. Olivia smiled when she remembered how excited both of her children were when they packed their little bags last night. Noah was thrilled at the idea of sleeping outside in a real tent, and Nicole went on and on about how Amanda promised the girls a princess tea party.
When she married Ed six years ago, Olivia wondered how well he and Noah would bond. It was obvious Ed loved her son, but caring about your girlfriend's kid and signing on to raise him are two different things. She needn't have worried. Her boys were thick as thieves almost immediately. Ed taught Noah how to fish, throw a baseball, burp the alphabet and all kinds of other "guy" things that seemed to delight them both.
Olivia had thought her family was complete with Ed and Noah, but about a year into their marriage, she received a phone call. Judge Linden heard a case involving an infant girl with a story similar to Noah's.
Shortly after her birth, the baby's mother, a trafficked girl turned junkie was killed by the baby's father in an apparent murder/suicide, leaving baby Nicole as a ward of the state. After being bounced around to half a dozen foster homes before her first birthday, the Judge thought maybe magic would strike twice.
Upon hearing the story and meeting Nicole, Ed and Olivia needed only a glance at each other to know that they would welcome this little blond bundle into their family. A month later, Ed formally adopted Noah. He and Olivia had talked about it before, and she didn't know it but he had the papers drawn up months before they even knew about Nicole. After adopting Nicole together, he told Olivia it was time, and she agreed. He didn't want the boy to ever feel like he wasn't part of the family as fully and equally.
Five years later, it seemed like everything was as it was meant to be. Not perfect. In truth, things were far from perfect lately. But it was theirs. Their family. Their busy life, which she loved. That didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a night off.
The elevator chimed brining her out of her reverie. She scooped up her bag and headed down the hall to her apartment. The closer she got to her door, she began to feel a strange dread. She attributed it to the last case and recent tension at home. Ed loved her and the kids, of that she was certain. And she loved him. That didn't mean marriage came without work, and recently theirs seemed to require more effort than ever.
Unlocking the door, she tried to shake the uneasy feeling. Without bothering to turn on the light, Olivia dropped her bag just inside the door and headed toward her bedroom. She shrugged her coat off along the way and slung it over the back of the couch. Noah would scold her for not hanging it on the designated hook, since she always made him put his coat and backpack away after school.
What the little man didn't know wouldn't hurt her, she thought. Before she could smile at the thought, she sensed a presence to her left. Her heartbeat quickened.
"Ed?" No, he knew better than to sneak up on her in the dark. She started to back toward the front door.
"Who's there?" She reached to her hip and cursed the earlier decision to put her gun in her bag.
Suddenly, the air moved. She threw up her left elbow in defense, but it was too late. In a rush of limbs and hands and force, she was shoved backwards and slammed against the door. Her head bounced against the wood the power of the blow making her eyes roll back.
Within seconds she was shaking it off and was stunned to feel the mass of a man pressing against her, one hand holding her wrists above her head and the other clamped over her mouth. She tried to pull her hands free and use her hips to force him away, but her efforts were in vain.
He had her pinned so close, she couldn't make out his profile or anything about him. Between the ringing in her ears and her eyes still trying to adjust to the darkness, she knew she was taking too long to respond. She was paralyzed.
Olivia's eyes slammed shut. Her mind was racing and terror washed over her like a wave. Even after all these years, she immediately flashed to William Lewis. She hadn't had a true flashback in ages, but right now, in this moment, she could barely control her emotions, let alone her physical reaction.
She wracked her brain trying to figure out what recent cases might have precipitated such an attack. She had to do something. She tried to scream, but his hand was firmly over her mouth and his crushing weight made it difficult to breathe much less move.
She tried desperately to calm her mind, slow her breathing. But the panic was even heavier than the weight of the man holding her.
You're Badass Benson, pull yourself together, she scolded herself. She mustered her strength and kicked the door with her heel as hard as she could. She kicked again and again. Maybe a neighbor would hear the commotion and call the super. It was her only hope.
The intruder forced one of his thighs between hers. He leaned them slightly to the left, forcing her right foot off the floor. He bent his other knee and wedged her leg into the doorjamb effectively stopping her movements and destabilizing her even more.
"Please…" She cursed herself when she heard the quiver in her voice. She fought the fear and tried to think of anything she could do. All of her muscles were straining against him trying to push them further to the left. If she could get enough of her weight shifted, it might throw him off balance. He grunted as he tried to keep them both upright and felt her body stiffen.
She froze. It wasn't the violation of her space or the vulnerable position. It was that sound. She would never forget that voice. But it wasn't possible. It could not be.
He's dead, Olivia. Pull yourself together!
Olivia shook away ghosts of the past, took a deep breath and willed herself to let go of the fear. She thought of her family, a family she never thought she'd have. A family she'd die to protect but wanted to live to experience. She had to get out of here. She took another deep breath and shifted slightly preparing to launch them to the floor in an all-out attack.
He felt the movement, her body once again straining against his. He knew she was about to give it one last go – one last concentrated effort to free herself. He couldn't risk being discovered. He had to still her, quiet her.
He knew the pain he was about to inflict on her, but it was inevitable. From the moment he decided to come here, hurting her was a foregone conclusion.
He pressed all of his weight onto her to keep her still and leaned even closer so his mouth was near her ear. "Shh, Liv, it's okay," he whispered. "It's me." He felt her go completely rigid.
Her heart stopped and the air was sucked from her lungs. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Who she was hearing.
It can't be…
For the first time since the attack began, Olivia opened her eyes and stared into the shadows of her attacker's face. Even in the darkness those eyes were unmistakable.
"No… No… It…can't…be," her voice was barely audible. "Elliot," she croaked. "I thought you were dead."