Chapter 36 — Death By A Thousand Cuts

Palo Alto in the fall was perfect in Oliver's opinion. Not too hot, not too cold. It was a short drive down to Star City when he needed to be there for meetings with Queen Industries. And as Green Arrow, he was able to stay plenty busy. Zoey was focused on law school. He had surprised her and himself when he decided to join her in California. It was his home state. Star City was his hometown. And he was ready to be home after spending a few years living in Metropolis.

There's a knock on the front door and Oliver jumps up. He opens the door and freezes. Clark and Chloe were standing there. Normally, he would make some kind of joke about them not being the takeout he ordered. But the baby asleep in a carrier causes him to fall silent. His gaze flickers between the baby and Chloe. Clark clears his throat. "We should come inside and discuss this," he says.

Oliver opens the door wider and they walk in. The house was differently not suited to having a baby around. Neither of them miss the framed photo hanging above the fireplace. The one where he and Zoey were kissing. He had convinced her to have a small vow renewal ceremony. A way of rearming his commitment to their relationship; to her. She wore a figure-hugging beige dress while he wore a tux. The ceremony had been in front of the Carmichael family home, where it overlooked the rocky coast. He shakes his head and turns to Chloe. "Um, is…are…" he trails off, still in shock.

"His name is Jonathan," Chloe answers. "And you're his father."

"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant," Oliver questions.

"The day that I found out, the day that I was going to tell you, was the day that you ended things for good. Which after learning that you were marked with the darkness, I was hoping that you would…well, turns out the darkness didn't have anything to do with your decision to get back with Zoey."

Clark clears his throat. "Where is Zoey?"

"Class. She won't be home for a couple of hours. So, his name is Jonathan."

"Jonathan Robert Queen," Chloe clarifies.

Oliver sits down on the couch and stares at the sleeping baby. He knew exactly how Zoey would take the news that he had fathered a child with Chloe. "Is my name on the birth certificate," he asks.

Chloe shoots him a confused. "Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?"

"You didn't exactly tell me about Jonathan. We don't talk for months, then you suddenly show up with a baby." He runs a hand through his hair and stands up. "Fuck. Okay. Um, I guess we'll have to get lawyers and get everything sorted out. There's probably gonna be a paternity test."

"There's no need for one, Oliver. You've been the only person I've been with since Jimmy."

"It doesn't matter. If my lawyer doesn't have one done, then Zoey's will. And you don't want Zoey's lawyer anywhere near this. That woman is a shark. A great white shark. The lawyer Zoey had in Metropolis was mentored by this woman." He shakes his head. "Look, I'll take care of everything here. Just go home and find a lawyer."

Clark frowns. He didn't agree with Oliver's plan. "Why don't we talk to Zoey—"

"No," Oliver quickly interrupts. He doesn't miss the confused look his friends share. "Just…let me handle Zoey. I'd rather she hear everything from me."

"Who exactly are you trying to protect here, Oliver," Chloe pointedly asks.

Oliver stares at her. His feelings for Chloe had never dissipated. They were always there, just hovering beneath the surface. There had been multiple times since leaving Metropolis that he thought about just ending it with Zoey. He thought about how he would tell her; that while he still cared for her, it wasn't the same anymore and hadn't been for a long time. Then he would remember that since he fully committed to their marriage once more that Zoey hadn't brought up selling his shares. At that moment, however, he knew how things would play out and he knew he had no choice in the matter. "You," he quietly answers.

Zoey could sense that something was off. It had been something she had been feeling all day. She had put it off that she was being worried for no reason. But seeing Oliver sitting at the table while the bag of takeout still sat on the counter, she knew that something was wrong. Oliver stands up. "Zoey," he begins.

"Sell me your shares," Zoey says. She knew it was too good to be true. She had been waiting for the other shoe to drop and today was when it happened. "Just sell me your shares so we can be out of each other's lives for good."

Oliver sighs. He knew this was the only way. "Okay."

Zoey stares at him for a moment, then nods. She turns and starts to walk out of the kitchen, intending to head upstairs.

"Zo," Oliver calls out. She stops and looks at him. "Zo, I'm sorry."

Zoey remains quiet. She knew that if she spoke, then the tears she was forcing down would come out.

"I'd like for us to still be friends," Oliver continues.

"No," Zoey tells him. She makes her upstairs. It's only when she's in the bathroom, with the door closed and locked that she lets out the sobs.

Oliver watches as Austin shifts. They were sitting in the conference room of Pearson Forbes. In all the years that he had known Austin, Oliver had never seen the lawyer look as nervous as he currently did. Oliver leans over. "Are you okay," he softly asks.

"I'm fine," Austin answers. He shakes his head. "You're my first client in Star City. In California. For my new firm. And…everything is riding on this case. The future of my career is riding on this. And I have no idea why Zoey suddenly turned her back on me."

"Because you're a shitty lawyer," Jessica Pearson says, walking into the conference room. She was a tall African-American woman. She sits down across the table from them. Oliver raises an eyebrow, glancing at Austin. "It's either that or you purposely kept information from my client."

Austin frowns. "I never kept anything from Zoey."

Jessica slides a thick packet of paperwork across the table. "That is a copy of my client's trust. The exact same trust paperwork that you claimed to have gone over with a fine-tooth comb, Austin. It took an old colleague in New York five minutes to find the out. Section thirty-five."

Oliver stares. "You didn't tell Zoey about this."

"You didn't tell her either," Austin snaps. "This doesn't have anything to do with this."

Jessica slides another packet of papers across the table. "This is what my client is offering for your shares, Mr. Queen. It's a very generous offer." She slides the third packet across the table. "And those are the divorce papers. Everything just needs a signature to be set."

"My client isn't signing anything until I've had a chance to look it over."

Jessica stands up. "You have forty-eight hours. Or the generous offer from my client has for the shares will diminish."

Oliver watches as she walks out of the room, then turns to Austin. "So, was it you or Max that decided that Zoey shouldn't know?"

Zoey stares out at the city of San Francisco. At night, it was brightly lit up. She hadn't been able to make it up from Palo Alto earlier due to being focused on finals. The door opens to the office and Zoey turns to see Jessica walk in with a folder in hand. "All that is needed is your signature," Jessica announces. "In six months, you will officially be the most eligible bachelorette in the world."

"I have no desire to date any time soon," Zoey replies, taking the folder. She signs the papers where a bright yellow tab was. "How did Austin take everything?"

"I don't have to worry about him stealing any of my firm's clients," Jessica responds, pouring a couple of glasses of Scotch. She hands one to Zoey.

Zoey smiles. "I don't like people who lie to me. Or keep things from me."

"Given that Austin was family to you and he's now radioactive…let's just say I don't want to know how you treat people who aren't family when they betray you."

"When LuthorCorp starts sending their d list lawyers with offers of a merger or buying the Daily Planet, tell them to fuck off."

"And when Wayne Enterprises sends their d list lawyers? Because if LuthorCorp does it, then they will. And so will every other company that wants Queen Industries."

"Wayne Enterprises won't make a move for years. They can't. Bruce is just missing. Not dead." Zoey finishes the Scotch and sets it on the table. "But when they do make a move, play hardball. As far as everyone else…tell them to fuck off too."

Zoey turns and walks out of the office. She knew it would take time and at the moment, she had all the time in the world.

"You know, it's been two years since I've seen you," Zoey says, walking into her office at the top of the Queen Industries building in Star City. Her temporary assistant, Norma, had been the one to tell her that Oliver was waiting in her office and that he wouldn't leave without talking to her. "And you know what, it's been a pretty great two years." She drops a file on her desk and turns to her ex-husband. "So, what do you want?"

Oliver frowns. This was not the Zoey that he knew and loved. "Are you okay, Zo? You don't seem like yourself."

Zoey glares at him. "Tell me what you want or get the fuck out of my office."

Oliver shifts. "I, uh, I didn't realize how much you've changed, Zo."

"Oliver, get to the point."

"I am getting married next week. To Chloe."

"Is that all? Because I don't care. And you didn't need to come here to tell me."

"I wanted you to hear it from me. I didn't want you to see it in the press."

"Fine. You told me. Now leave."

Oliver moves closer to her. "What happened to you? What happened to the Zoey that I knew?"

"You ripped my heart out and smashed it into a thousand pieces. Then when I was trying to repair what you broke, you waltzed back into my life. You gave me hope. Hope that after everything that happened…You took that away. And I know that you want us to be friends or whatever, but I can't. I-I-I hate you." Zoey laughs and Oliver raises an eyebrow. "I've been working with a new therapist and she has been encouraging to say that someone other than her."

"What happened to Dr. Specter," Oliver questions.

"I fired her. Basically, anyone that Uncle Max hired to help me…they were fired. I can't work with people who I can't trust."

Oliver sighs. He knew that if he wanted Zoey back in his life, it would take time. That he would just need to continue to watch her from afar. "I'll see you around, Zo."

Zoey shakes her head. "No. No, you won't."

Zoey blinks after opening her eyes. She easily recognized that she was in a hospital room. She pushes herself up and finds numerous wires attached to her chest. The door to the room and Zoey turns to see a tall dirty blonde-haired woman enter the room. "Ms. Queen, how do you feel," the doctor asks, looking at the paperwork from one of the machines.

"Confused. Why am I in a hospital," Zoey asks.

"Your assistant thought you were having a heart attack."

Zoey frowns. "I had a heart attack."

"No. You have broken heart syndrome. All the symptoms of a heart attack, but not one. They usually occur when, well, you feel like your heart's been broken."

"Oh."

"You need a new heart."

"I don't understand."

"Your blood is attacking your heart. It's a miracle that you're still alive, Ms. Queen. The damage to your heart…I've been in cardio for twenty years and I've never seen anything like this. Essentially, if you leave the hospital, you can die."

Zoey snorts, leaning back against the pillows. "Great. Just fucking great."

"We're trying to get you on the transplant list, but until we can figure out why your blood is attacking your heart…"

"I'm dying," Zoey states. She laughs. "I'm dying. And Oliver is getting married." She blinks back the tears, not noticing the doctor quietly slipping out of the room. She wipes the tears away. "I'm dying and he's getting married. Just fucking great."

Oliver lets out a groan, hearing the phone buzzing on the nightstand. It was nearly three a.m. He rolls over, pressing a kiss to Chloe's shoulder. "We're on vacation," he mutters, pulling his wife against his chest.

Chloe sits up, pushing him away. She grabs her phone off the nightstand. He shoots her a questioning look. "No, I'll let him know," she says, then hangs up the phone.

"Chlo," Oliver questions.

"There was an avalanche in Nepal," Chloe softly begins. "A group of tourists as part of a mountaineering team were caught in the avalanche."

Oliver lets out a groan and flops back down on the bed. "They should call Clark. Not us."

"That wasn't Watchtower, Oliver. It was the mountaineering company. They're calling all the emergency contacts for everyone." Chloe sighs. "Zoey was one of the tourists. Apparently, she made you her emergency contact."

Oliver sits up. "Zoey…she's…she's dead?"

"They don't know. They've just started searching for survivors."

Oliver climbs out of bed. He runs a hand through his hair. Then he starts laughing. "She doesn't hate me," he laughs. "I saw Zoey before our wedding. I thought she should hear from me that we were getting married. And she said she hated me. But she made me her emergency contact, so she doesn't hate me. I knew there was no way she could hate me."

Chloe watches as he goes from laughing to being quiet. Silent tears streamed down his face. She had never seen him cry before. Not even when he was hurt. "Ollie?"

"Zo…she can't be dead," Oliver softly says. "She isn't dead. I just know it. She's not dead."

Chloe doesn't say anything. She didn't want to mention what the representative from the mountaineering company had told her. That while they were just beginning a search and rescue, they were not expecting any survivors. The group had been far enough up Everest that they required oxygen. She didn't want to take away the hope he had; the hope that Zoey would have somehow survived an avalanche.

'Cause saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts

Flashbacks waking me up
I get drunk, but it's not enough
'Cause the morning comes and you're not my baby
I look through the windows of this love
Even though we boarded them up
Chandelier's still flickering here
'Cause I can't pretend it's okay when it's not

It's death by a thousand cuts