Chapter 10 - The Night Thomas Ashford Died
Harper read the letter three times.
Then she handed it to Gabriel.
He did not take it.
“You don’t have to show me.”
“I’m asking you a question.”
He met her eyes.
“What did you do the night your father died?”
Gabriel’s face went still.
Ortiz quietly left the room.
Harper waited.
Finally, Gabriel sat down.
“I killed the man who killed him.”
The words landed with no drama.
No excuse.
Harper’s skin went cold.
“You were twenty.”
“Yes.”
“Self-defense?”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“Tell me.”
Gabriel looked toward the city.
“My father’s lieutenant, Victor Hale, arranged the shooting. He wanted control. I found out before the funeral.”
“And you killed him.”
“Yes.”
“Did he have a weapon?”
“Not when I shot him.”
Harper closed her eyes.
There it was.
The line she had been afraid of.
Not rumor.
Not newspaper language.
A choice.
Gabriel continued.
“I was angry. Terrified. I thought if I didn’t make an example, every man in my father’s organization would come for me next.”
“Did it work?”
“Yes.”
That answer was worse.
Harper walked to the other side of the room.
“I need air.”
Gabriel did not follow.
Outside on the terrace, the cold cut through her coat.
She thought about Derek saying, Look around. You’re alone.
She thought about Gabriel pulling Derek back from the harbor instead of letting him fall.
People could change.
But change did not erase what they had done.
Her mother had understood that.
The rest of the letter explained how Elena had treated Victor Hale in secret two days before he died. Hale had told her he feared both Thomas Ashford and Gabriel. Elena had recorded part of his confession. She knew Gabriel was dangerous.
But the final paragraph was different.
People will tell you there are good men and bad men. That is too simple. Watch what a person does when they have power over someone weaker. Watch whether they need fear to feel important. That will tell you more than their name ever will.
Harper sat with those words for a long time.
When she returned inside, Gabriel was still where she left him.
“I’m not moving into your house,” she said.
He blinked.
“I didn’t ask.”
“You were going to.”
“I was considering it for security.”
“No.”
“All right.”
“I’m getting a new apartment. Mine is compromised.”
“I can arrange—”
“I’ll arrange it.”
He nodded.
“I’ll help if you ask.”
“And I’m keeping my job for now.”
His eyebrows rose.
“At my house?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I need money, and quitting because the boss saw my bruises would annoy me.”
A faint smile appeared.
“Fair.”
“But I’m not cleaning your private bathroom after ten.”
“Excellent rule.”
Harper almost laughed.
Then she grew serious.
“I don’t know what I feel about you.”
“You don’t owe me a feeling.”
“I know.”
That was the point.
For once, she knew.
Her phone buzzed.
Detective Ortiz.
Harper answered.
“Tell me Derek is still locked up.”
“He is.”
“What happened?”
Ortiz paused.
“Derek wants to make a deal.”
“No.”
“He says he can give us something bigger than Vance and Margaret.”
Harper laughed bitterly.
“Of course he does.”
“There’s more.”
“What?”
“He says your mother didn’t die of cancer.”
Harper’s entire body went cold.
“That’s a lie.”
“He claims someone accelerated her death.”
Harper gripped the phone.
“Who?”
Ortiz’s answer came quietly.
May you like
“Derek says he knows exactly who poisoned her medication.”
