Chapter 4 - Harper gripped the phone so tightly her fingers hurt.“Derek.”
A soft laugh came through the speaker.
“Still remember my voice.”
“Let Noah go.”
“He's fine.”
“Let me talk to him.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“You always were too emotional.”
Harper's eyes filled with tears.
Gabriel watched her from across the room.
His expression was unreadable.
Derek continued.
“You always thought I wanted to hurt you.”
Harper said nothing.
“I wanted you to remember.”
“Remember what?”
“The truth.”
Then the line went dead.
Harper stared at the phone.
Gabriel stepped forward.
“Give me the phone.”
She handed it over.
Victor looked at the screen.
“Encrypted call.”
“Can you trace it?”
“Not yet.”
Gabriel's voice became cold.
“Do it.”
Harper turned toward him.
“He said Noah would die.”
“I heard him.”
“He wants me alone.”
“He wants you frightened.”
“He has my brother.”
“That doesn't mean he controls the situation.”
Harper looked at him.
“You don't understand.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“I understand perfectly.”
“No. You don't.”
Her voice broke.
“He's done this before.”
Gabriel stopped.
Harper looked away.
“Whenever I tried to leave him, he'd disappear for a few days.”
She swallowed.
“Then he'd send me photographs.”
Gabriel's face hardened.
“Of what?”
“My father.”
He stared.
“Photographs from before he died.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“How many?”
“Dozens.”
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
“Do you still have them?”
“At home.”
“Where?”
“Hidden in Noah's room.”
Gabriel looked at Victor.
“Get them.”
“Boss.”
“Now.”
Victor left.
Harper looked at Gabriel.
“You shouldn't be helping me.”
“That's not your decision.”
“Derek will come after you.”
“He already has.”
She shook her head.
“You could walk away.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“Could you?”
“What?”
“If Noah were my brother, would you walk away?”
She couldn't answer.
Gabriel's expression softened for half a second.
“Exactly.”
Victor returned carrying a cardboard box.
He placed it on a table.
Gabriel opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Harper watched him turn them over.
One.
Two.
Three.
His face changed.
“What?”
He held one toward her.
It showed James Queen entering a building.
Harper recognized it.
“That's Ashford Tower.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“The date?”
She checked the back.
“Eight years before his death.”
Gabriel frowned.
Another photograph.
James meeting Gabriel's father.
Another.
James handing something to Derek.
Harper's hands went cold.
“What is he giving him?”
Gabriel studied the image.
“A drive.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“My father hated Derek.”
“You said that before.”
“He would never trust him.”
Gabriel took another photograph.
This one showed Derek standing beside a younger James.
They were smiling.
Harper felt dizzy.
“What is happening?”
Gabriel's phone buzzed.
He answered.
“Talk.”
The voice on the other end was urgent.
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“Repeat that.”
A pause.
“When?”
Another pause.
Gabriel's jaw clenched.
“Do not touch anything.”
He ended the call.
Harper watched him.
“What?”
“Your apartment was searched.”
She went pale.
“By Derek?”
“We don't know.”
“Were the photographs disturbed?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“They weren't looking for the photographs.”
“What were they looking for?”
“Something else.”
Her mind raced.
“Like what?”
Gabriel stared at the small metal box.
The keyhole.
The wolf.
Then he turned to Harper.
“Where is your mother's jewelry?”
Harper frowned.
“My mother?”
“Your mother died when you were ten.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to her belongings?”
“My father kept them.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Gabriel looked at the metal box.
“Find out.”
Harper stared at him.
“You think the key opens something belonging to my mother?”
“I think your father hid something from everyone.”
“Why would he?”
“Because he knew someone would kill for it.”
Harper swallowed.
“Who?”
Gabriel didn't answer.
He took the key.
It fit the box.
He turned it.
Click.
The lid opened.
Inside was a small flash drive.
A photograph.
And a single handwritten note.
Gabriel unfolded the note.
His eyes moved across the words.
Then he stopped breathing.
Harper watched him.
“What does it say?”
He looked at her.
The color had drained from his face.
“Your father wrote this.”
She stepped closer.
“Read it.”
Gabriel handed her the note.
Harper's hands shook as she read.
Gabriel,
If you are reading this, then Black Wolf survived me.
Derek Lawson is not the leader.
He's only the door.
The person behind him is already inside your family.
Harper looked up.
“My father's talking about your family.”
Gabriel nodded.
She read the final line.
And Harper is the key.
The room went silent.
Then the flash drive blinked.
A video file appeared.
Gabriel opened it.
James Queen appeared on screen.
He looked older.
Tired.
Afraid.
Harper's heart shattered.
Her father looked directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, my daughter is probably with Gabriel.”
He paused.
“I need you to listen carefully.”
Harper covered her mouth.
James continued.
“Do not trust anyone named Ashford.”
Gabriel went completely still.
May you like
Then James said the words that changed everything.
“Especially his mother.”
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