CHAPTER 2 — The Family That Called Her a Liar
Before Grayson could break through the door, Harper forced herself to move.
She threw her weight against the leather armchair Dominic had pointed out.
Pain shot through her crushed hand so violently that black spots danced across her vision.
The chair barely moved.
Another crash slammed into the library door.
The frame groaned.
"Hurry," Dominic said quietly through the receiver.
Harper bit down hard enough to taste blood.
She lowered her shoulder and shoved again.
This time, the heavy chair scraped across the hardwood floor with a deafening screech before wedging itself beneath the doorknob.
Harper collapsed beside it, gasping.
"It's... done."
"Good."
Only one word.
Calm.
Certain.
Yet somehow, it steadied her heartbeat.
On the other end of the line, she heard a car door slam.
Then an engine roared to life.
Dominic was already on his way.
For the first time that night, hope flickered inside her.
Then Grayson's voice drifted through the splintering wood.
"Harper."
Gentle.
Almost affectionate.
The tone made her blood run cold.
"I know you're talking to someone."
She didn't answer.
Three soft knocks echoed through the door.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
"So," Grayson continued, "who is it?"
"Your lawyer?"
"No."
"A friend?"
Silence.
Then he laughed.
"Dominic Kane."
Harper's grip tightened around the old telephone.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
"You really called him."
His amusement only grew.
"I expected better judgment from you."
Dominic remained silent.
Listening.
Calculating.
Grayson spoke louder, making sure whoever was on the other end could hear every word.
"Mr. Kane."
"You should save yourself the trip."
"This is a family matter."
Harper heard Dominic inhale.
When he spoke, his voice was perfectly controlled.
"It stopped being a family matter..."
"...the moment you laid hands on her."
For a brief second...
The hallway became completely silent.
Then another voice joined in.
"Oh, please."
Paige.
Her half-sister sounded almost bored.
"Harper always exaggerates."
"She's been pretending to be a victim since we were kids."
Harper closed her eyes.
That wasn't true.
Paige had simply repeated that lie so many times that people eventually believed it.
"Tell him about your face," Harper said.
"You threw a champagne glass at me."
Paige laughed.
"You ducked too slowly."
Celeste finally spoke.
Unlike Paige's mockery or Grayson's false kindness, her voice carried nothing at all.
No anger.
No warmth.
Only ice.
"Harper."
"Enough."
"Sign the papers."
"You can still walk away with dignity."
Harper stared at the blood staining her white evening gown.
"Dignity?"
She whispered.
"You took that from me years ago."
Another violent crash shook the door.
The armchair slid backward several inches.
The hinges squealed.
Dominic's voice cut through the chaos.
"Harper."
"I'm here."
She swallowed hard.
"I know."
"Listen carefully."
She pressed the receiver closer.
"If they get inside..."
"Don't sign."
Her breathing caught.
"They'll kill me."
"No."
His answer came immediately.
"They won't."
"They need your signature."
"As long as they need something from you..."
"...you're alive."
Harper hadn't thought of it that way.
He was right.
The papers.
Everything tonight revolved around those papers.
Without her signature...
Her father couldn't steal the inheritance.
Without the inheritance...
Years of carefully hidden fraud would begin to unravel.
Another crack echoed through the room.
A splinter flew from the center of the door.
Light from the hallway poured through the widening gap.
A hand reached inside.
Grayson's.
His fingers searched for the lock.
Harper stumbled backward.
Her entire body trembled.
"Harper."
Dominic's voice remained steady.
"I need your word."
She wiped tears from her face.
"What?"
"No matter what happens..."
"...don't give him what he wants."
She looked at the papers scattered across the floor.
Her mother's name appeared on several pages.
The inheritance her mother had protected before she died.
The only thing Grayson had never managed to take.
"I'll try."
"No."
His voice sharpened for the first time.
"You will."
Not encouragement.
Confidence.
Someone believed she was stronger than she believed herself to be.
The thought almost broke her.
Then—
CRACK!
The top hinge exploded from the frame.
The armchair was shoved aside.
The library door slowly swung open.
Grayson Langford stepped inside first.
His black tuxedo looked immaculate.
Not a wrinkle.
Not a drop of blood.
Anyone downstairs would think he'd simply stepped away from greeting guests.
Behind him came Celeste.
Perfect hair.
Perfect makeup.
Perfect smile.
Then Paige entered, still holding the stem of another champagne glass.
She looked at Harper's trembling hand before her eyes settled on the telephone.
"Oh."
"So he's really listening."
Grayson extended his hand.
"Give me the phone."
Harper didn't move.
"Harper."
His smile disappeared.
"I won't ask twice."
For twenty-six years...
She had obeyed him.
She apologized when he screamed.
She stayed silent when he lied.
She accepted blame for mistakes she never made.
But something had changed tonight.
Maybe it was the pain.
Maybe it was Dominic's voice.
Or maybe she was simply tired of surviving.
She slowly shook her head.
"No."
The word hung in the air.
Everyone froze.
Even Paige stopped smiling.
Because Harper Langford had never said no to her father.
Not once.
Grayson's expression turned frighteningly blank.
He crossed the room in three long strides.
Before Harper could react, he grabbed her injured hand.
Hard.
The crushed bones shifted beneath his grip.
Pain exploded through her body.
A scream tore from her throat.
The telephone slipped from her fingers and crashed onto the hardwood floor.
For a heartbeat...
No one moved.
Then Dominic's voice burst from the receiver.
No longer calm.
No longer controlled.
"Harper!"
Grayson slowly bent down.
He picked up the phone.
Held it to his ear.
And smiled.
"So..."
"You're Dominic Kane."
Silence answered him.
Then came four words.
May you like
Cold enough to freeze the room.
"Let her go. Now."
