Chapter 7 - NATALIE HAD LIED TO PROTECT SOMEONE
Marcus Falco did not look like Roman.
Roman was controlled.
Heavy.
Still.
Marcus looked exhausted.
He lived inside a government apartment with plain furniture and nothing personal on the walls.
When Harper and Roman entered, Marcus stared at his brother.
Neither moved.
Then Marcus said,
“You got old.”
Roman answered, “You look worse.”
It was the closest thing to affection either could manage.
Harper sat.
“Why did Natalie lie?”
Marcus looked at her.
“Because Derek threatened her parents.”
“That doesn’t explain why she blamed him.”
“No. She blamed him because the truth was worse.”
The night Natalie fell, she had discovered Derek meeting Salvatore.
She threatened to go to police.
Derek tried to stop her from leaving.
But he did not push her.
Salvatore did.
Natalie survived.
Salvatore ordered Derek to arrange private treatment and create the Arizona story.
Derek complied.
“He still covered it up,” Harper said.
“Yes.”
Marcus did not excuse him.
Then he revealed why he became an informant.
After Roman was shot, Marcus discovered their father had ordered it.
Roman had refused to move illegal money through the restaurant group.
Salvatore decided his younger son had become a liability.
Marcus helped fake Salvatore’s death while secretly collecting evidence, hoping to trap him.
But Salvatore discovered the betrayal.
Marcus entered witness protection.
Roman looked shattered.
“You let me think you abandoned me.”
“I let you stay alive.”
Silence stretched.
Harper understood both men.
Protection without consent could still feel like betrayal.
Then Marcus slid a folder toward her.
“Derek has been moving money, but he’s also stealing from Salvatore.”
Harper opened it.
Derek had secretly diverted $2.3 million into offshore accounts.
That explained why he was increasingly unstable.
He was afraid.
“He wants out,” Harper said.
“No,” Marcus replied.
“He wants control.”
Derek planned to trade Salvatore’s financial records for immunity.
But he needed one thing.
Harper’s stolen laptop.
It contained metadata proving how several accounts connected to legitimate firms.
Without it, prosecutors might struggle to authenticate portions of the network.
“With it,” Marcus said, “Derek can negotiate.”
Roman frowned.
“Then why threaten Harper?”
“Because he needs her passwords.”
Harper shook her head.
“He already knows most of them.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Not the archive key.”
Harper went cold.
Only she knew it.
That night the police moved Maya to a secure location.
Harper returned to a protected hotel.
At 2:13 a.m., her room phone rang.
Derek.
“How did you get this number?”
“I know people.”
His voice sounded different.
Tired.
Frantic.
“Harper, Salvatore is going to kill me.”
She said nothing.
“I can give you everything.”
“What do you want?”
“One meeting.”
“No.”
“Then Natalie dies.”
Harper’s blood turned cold.
“She’s under police protection.”
Derek laughed weakly.
“No, she isn’t.”
Harper called the detective.
Within minutes the truth came back.
Natalie’s hospital room was empty.
No forced entry.
No struggle.
Security footage showed Natalie leaving voluntarily.
Beside Derek.
May you like
And the secret was worse:
Natalie had been working with Derek the entire time.
