Crafting Angry Olivia: The Character of Henry Gallagher

Georgie Bell’s radiant intellect and magnetic presence captivated Olivia’s father from the moment their paths crossed at a formal dinner hosted by the esteemed Professor Francis Keenan during their years at business school.

When Georgie entered the dining room, she stole Henry’s breath away. He had, of course, heard the whispers on campus—the murmurs about the only woman bold enough to enter a male-dominated business program. His peers had painted her as austere, humourless, perhaps even unpleasant. Yet when she appeared every assumption he had crumbled.

Within two years of their graduation, the two were wed. Henry, imagined Georgie would retreat into domesticity, offering quiet support as he expanded his family’s enterprise. But Georgie had no intention of fading into the background. Instead, she ascended—assuming control of her own father’s business. What followed were years of relentless conflict.

The arrival of Olivia offered a fleeting reprieve. Complications during the pregnancy confined Georgie to bed, and for the first time, Henry believed she had finally relented—that she had returned to the path he had always envisioned for her. But this illusion was short-lived. Merely three months after Olivia’s first birthday, Georgie re-entered the business world with renewed vigour. That same week, Henry walked out of the family home, never to return.

Olivia retained no memory of the man who had once been her father. During her early years, she would ask gentle questions, curious about her story. Georgie would answer with calm dignity, always choosing grace over bitterness. That is, until one night.

Olivia, roused by raised voices, slipped quietly from her bed. She crept down the hall and paused at the top of the staircase, heart pounding. Below, in the living room, her mother stood alone—but not as the woman Olivia knew. Georgie was shouting with terrifying force, condemning Henry as a coward who had abandoned his family. Then, as Olivia leaned over the bannister, she saw it: her mother’s hand, transformed—elongated fingers tipped with dark, gleaming claws. Her skin, once warm and fair, had turned an unnatural, shadowed hue.

Paralyzed by fear, Olivia fled silently to her room. It was the first time she had witnessed her mother’s transformation—and the last time she ever asked about her father.