Chapter 13 - MY FATHER'S IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE
I wanted to tear the photograph in half.
My father.
Walking into Sterling Tower.
Smiling beside a man who had destroyed our family.
"No," I whispered.
Reed watched me carefully.
"Harper, photographs don't always tell the whole story."
"Then tell me what they mean."
He hesitated.
"We don't know yet."
I turned toward Adrian.
"Do you think my father betrayed us?"
Adrian met my eyes.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because men who betray their families don't usually spend twenty years hiding from the people they're helping."
I swallowed.
"Then why was he there?"
Adrian looked toward the screen.
"Let's find out."
Reed contacted an investigator who had been monitoring Sterling Holdings.
Within an hour, they recovered footage from the same day.
My father entered Sterling Tower carrying a briefcase.
He met Samuel Voss in a private office.
The audio was damaged.
But one sentence was clear.
My father's voice.
"If you touch Harper, I'll destroy everything."
I covered my mouth.
Reed replayed it.
Samuel laughed.
"You don't have that kind of power anymore, Daniel."
My father leaned forward.
"Try me."
The recording ended.
Adrian looked at me.
"He wasn't cooperating."
"He was threatening him," I whispered.
Reed nodded.
"Your father has been trying to negotiate your safety."
A new message appeared on Adrian's phone.
A video.
My father sat in a hospital bed inside Sterling Tower.
An oxygen tube rested beneath his nose.
He looked terribly weak.
But when he spoke, his voice was steady.
"Harper, sweetheart."
I began crying.
"If you're seeing this, then I've failed to keep the past away from you."
He coughed.
"I know you're angry. You have every right to be."
His eyes filled with tears.
"Your mother and I made choices no parent should ever have to make."
He paused.
"But I need you to know something."
I leaned closer.
"Every birthday, every school play, every scraped knee, every terrible science project you made me help with—those were the happiest moments of my life."
A sob escaped me.
"I never regretted choosing you."
The video flickered.
Then my father continued.
"Samuel wants the final Nightingale files because they contain the truth about his empire."
He took a painful breath.
"But there's something else."
His voice lowered.
"Robert Blackthorne left a second set of records. They prove that the organization Adrian inherited was built on legitimate companies before Voss corrupted parts of it."
Adrian became still.
My father looked directly into the camera.
"Adrian, your father wanted you to have a different life."
The screen went black.
I wiped my cheeks.
"Where was this sent from?"
Reed checked the metadata.
"Sterling Tower. Twenty-third floor."
Adrian turned toward his team.
"We're going in."
Reed shook his head.
"Not with guns blazing. Voss has hostages, political connections, and private security. We need federal warrants and a coordinated operation."
Adrian looked at me.
Then nodded.
"Do it."
For the next several hours, Reed worked with trusted federal prosecutors and investigators.
The Nightingale files were authenticated.
Emergency warrants were requested.
A rescue operation was planned.
I sat beside Adrian while the room filled with maps and voices.
At one point, he placed a cup of coffee in front of me.
"You need something."
I looked up.
"You're giving me coffee?"
"Don't sound so shocked."
"You're a mafia boss."
"I've been told."
I laughed.
A real laugh.
For the first time in days.
He smiled faintly.
And suddenly, I understood how dangerous he truly was.
Not because he carried a gun.
But because he could make me feel safe in a world that had become terrifying.
Then his expression softened.
"Harper, when this is over, I want to ask you something."
My heart skipped.
"What?"
"Something I should probably wait to ask."
Before I could answer, Reed entered.
"Adrian. We have confirmation."
"Of what?"
"Rebecca Quinn is alive. She's being held in the same building as Daniel."
I stood.
"Then let's go."
Reed hesitated.
"There's one complication."
He turned the screen toward us.
A photograph showed Victoria Sterling standing inside her father's private office.
Beside her was a young woman with dark hair.
A woman wearing a maid's uniform.
I recognized her instantly.
Sophie.
My closest friend among the Blackthorne household staff.
Reed's voice was grim.
"Sophie has been working for Sterling Holdings since before you were hired."
Then he opened another file.
"Harper, she was the person who recommended you for the job at Blackthorne Estate."
May you like
And the final document revealed why.
SOPHIE'S ASSIGNMENT: DELIVER HARPER QUINN TO ADRIAN BLACKTHORNE.
