Chapter 7 - The Kiss That Started a War
The morning after the kiss was awkward.
Not because Harper regretted it.
Because neither of them knew what came next.
Adrian was the first to break the silence.
“You can leave.”
Harper looked at him.
“Do you want me to?”
“No.”
“Then why say it?”
“Because I promised you a choice.”
She smiled.
“Then stop asking me to leave.”
His expression softened.
“I can do that.”
The fragile happiness lasted three days.
Then one of Adrian's warehouses exploded.
Nobody died.
But it was a message.
Silas wasn't targeting money anymore.
He was targeting the people Adrian loved.
Harper's mother was moved.
Elena was placed under protection.
Marcus's son disappeared again.
And the attacks became more personal.
Someone sent Harper flowers.
Inside the bouquet was a bullet.
Attached was a note.
YOU CAN'T SAVE HIM.
Adrian wanted to increase security.
Harper wanted information.
They compromised.
Harper returned to Apex Communications.
With Adrian's protection, she entered the old building during daylight.
The switchboard was still there.
Her old desk.
Her old coffee mug.
Her old broken chair.
Everything was exactly as she left it.
She touched line four.
The memory came rushing back.
Then she noticed something.
The switchboard had been altered.
A wire had been added.
She followed it.
It connected to a hidden recorder.
Harper's heart raced.
Someone had been recording private calls from Apex for months.
She listened.
Dozens of conversations.
Many involving Victor.
Many involving Silas.
Then one voice.
Adrian's father.
Harper recognized him immediately.
“Do not touch the girl.”
A younger Silas answered:
“Which girl?”
“Harper's mother.”
Harper froze.
Then another voice.
A woman.
Her mother.
The recording continued.
“We need to get the child away from the city.”
Harper sat down.
She hadn't been an accident.
She had been protected since infancy.
Then she heard one final conversation.
Silas said:
“What happens when Adrian finds out?”
Victor replied:
“He won't.”
Silence.
“He'll be told his mother died.”
Harper covered her mouth.
The recording proved it.
Adrian's mother had not died in the original attack.
She had been taken.
Silas had used her as leverage.
Harper took the recorder.
When she returned to the estate, Adrian listened.
His entire body went rigid.
“My mother…”
“She may still be alive.”
Adrian sat down.
For years, he had carried grief like armor.
Now somebody had punched a hole through it.
Harper knelt beside him.
“We'll find her.”
He looked at her.
“You shouldn't have to keep saving me.”
She smiled.
“You did the same for me.”
Then Marcus entered.
He looked exhausted.
“I know where Voss is going.”
Adrian stood.
“Where?”
“The old Kale factory.”
“That place was destroyed.”
“No.”
Marcus shook his head.
“He rebuilt it.”
Harper understood.
“The foundation.”
The murder from the original call.
The South Side development.
The concrete.
The old factory beneath it.
Silas had hidden something there.
They arrived before dawn.
Beneath the construction site was an underground room.
And inside was the truth.
Records.
Photographs.
Weapons.
And a woman sitting in a chair.
Adrian stopped.
His mother.
Alive.
Older.
Weak.
But alive.
He ran to her.
“Mom.”
She looked up.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then she whispered:
“Adrian.”
He fell to his knees.
Harper watched from behind.
Tears filled her eyes.
The reunion lasted only minutes.
Then Adrian's mother said:
“Silas isn't the mastermind.”
Adrian looked up.
“Who is?”
She pointed toward the documents.
“Your uncle.”
Harper's breath caught.
“Thomas?”
His mother nodded.
“Thomas built the network.”
“He was behind everything?”
“Yes.”
“He killed my father?”
“Yes.”
“And Harper's?”
“Yes.”
Adrian turned toward Harper.
She understood.
The man they trusted.
The man who advised Adrian.
The man who had been feeding them information.
Thomas.
May you like
Their enemy had been sitting at their table the entire time.
And he had just learned they had found his secret.
