Chapter 7 - CONNOR CAME TO MY DOOR
Connor violated the restraining order on a Sunday.
He came to my apartment at 6:40 a.m.
No lawyer.
No Paige.
No expensive smile.
I saw him through the camera.
He looked exhausted.
“Harper.”
I called police before answering through the intercom.
“You need to leave.”
“Please.”
“You’re violating an order.”
“I know.”
“Then leave.”
“I loved you.”
My stomach twisted.
Months earlier, those words would have destroyed me.
Now they sounded like another exhibit.
“No.”
“I did.”
“You investigated me before our first date.”
Silence.
“I didn’t know you then.”
“Exactly.”
“I was supposed to get close to you.”
“Thank you for finally admitting it.”
“But then I fell in love.”
I almost pitied him.
Almost.
“You recorded me.”
“I needed the vote.”
“You moved my belongings.”
“I was under pressure.”
“You gave Paige my private confessions.”
“I was trying to create a narrative.”
“Yes.”
The honesty was arriving because lies had become too expensive.
“Why are you here?”
Connor looked directly at the camera.
“Because Vale is going to kill me.”
“No.”
“You don’t know him.”
“I know enough.”
“His people approached Rusk.”
I had already heard.
Adrian’s attorneys approached Rusk.
Attorneys.
Connor wanted me frightened.
Again.
“You came here hoping I’d ask Adrian to protect you.”
“Yes.”
At least he admitted it.
“Then what?”
“You control the Bennett vote. You could require Vale to back off.”
There it was.
Still leverage.
Still me as instrument.
“You never came to apologize.”
“I am apologizing.”
“No. You’re negotiating.”
Connor’s face changed.
The old irritation.
The one I once mistook for disappointment.
“You always have to dissect every word.”
I smiled.
“There you are.”
Police arrived.
Connor turned.
Then ran.
Not smart.
They arrested him in the stairwell.
Inside his coat, officers found a flash drive.
He claimed he intended to give it to me.
It contained the full “Break Sequence” archive.
Every instruction.
Every manipulation.
Every payment.
And one video.
Connor and Paige in his office.
Connor saying:
“If Harper breaks publicly, Mercer can invoke temporary administration. Once the vote moves, we close Pier Nine before anyone challenges it.”
Paige:
“And after?”
Connor:
“After, Harper can recover.”
Paige:
“You say that like she’s a machine.”
Connor:
“She’ll be fine.”
That sentence hurt most.
Not because he hated me.
Because he had decided my suffering was reversible enough to justify.
Connor was charged days later.
Fraud.
Witness manipulation.
Attempted bribery.
Unlawful recording offenses where applicable.
Conspiracy.
Additional financial crimes followed.
Paige accepted responsibility for her role and cooperated.
Her father resigned from Mercer Fiduciary Partners.
The firm lost authority over my trust.
I chose a new independent trustee.
Not Adrian.
That mattered.
Adrian agreed immediately.
“I don’t want your trust.”
“What do you want?”
He looked at me.
“You know.”
My heart accelerated.
“Say it.”
“You.”
I raised an eyebrow.
He corrected himself.
“A relationship with you, if you want one with me.”
“Better.”
“I’m learning.”
“Yes.”
I stepped closer.
“So ask.”
His mouth moved slightly.
“Harper Bennett, would you like to have dinner with me?”
“We’ve had dinner.”
“A date.”
“Better.”
“Friday?”
“I’m busy.”
His face fell.
“Saturday.”
He smiled.
May you like
“Saturday.”
For a feared Mafia boss, Adrian Vale was surprisingly easy to train.
