Chapter 10 - THE LOVE THAT WAS A LIE
Harper felt as though every memory of Mitchell had been poisoned.
The flowers.
The expensive dinners.
The first time he'd kissed her forehead and promised to take care of her.
None of it had been real.
"He was sent to find me?" she whispered.
Gabriel nodded grimly.
"That's what Elena said."
Harper remembered meeting Mitchell outside the restaurant eighteen months earlier.
She had been carrying groceries when a man bumped into her, scattering everything across the sidewalk.
Mitchell helped her gather the food.
He offered to buy her coffee.
He remembered her birthday.
He asked about Noah.
She had believed she'd finally found someone who saw her.
Instead, she had been selected.
Studied.
Trapped.
Harper turned away.
"I was so stupid."
Gabriel approached carefully.
"You trusted someone who deliberately deceived you. That's on him."
She looked at him through tears.
"I let him into our home."
"You didn't know what he was."
Harper shook her head.
"He hurt me, and I stayed because I thought I could keep Noah safe."
Gabriel's voice softened.
"You were protecting your brother the best way you knew how."
For a moment, Harper allowed herself to lean against him.
He didn't pull her closer until she reached for his hand.
Then he held her gently.
Outside, the city lights burned against the dark.
Gabriel spoke quietly.
"I can't undo what happened to you."
Harper looked up.
"But?"
"But I can help you get your life back."
For the first time in months, she believed someone might mean those words.
The next morning, Harper met with a detective and gave a formal statement about Mitchell's assaults, threats, and Noah's abduction.
She provided photographs, medical records, and saved messages.
The detective assured her the investigation would continue independently of Gabriel's influence.
Harper wanted Mitchell prosecuted.
Not frightened.
Not punished in a back alley.
Held accountable.
By afternoon, investigators had obtained evidence linking Mitchell's financial activities to several shell companies.
Then a new development shattered everything.
Leo brought Gabriel a photograph from surveillance at an empty downtown office.
Mitchell had been spotted entering the building.
But he hadn't gone alone.
A woman accompanied him.
She wore a beige coat.
Harper's breath caught.
"Mom?"
Gabriel enlarged the image.
Elena was holding Mitchell's arm.
And she wasn't resisting.
In the next frame, she leaned close to whisper something.
Mitchell smiled.
Harper felt the blood drain from her face.
Then Leo opened a recovered audio recording from the security camera.
May you like
Elena's voice was unmistakable.
"Gabriel still trusts me. He has no idea what we're planning."
