Chapter 3 - The Man Beside Her in Court
Harper expected Vincent to live in a penthouse.
She did not expect the penthouse to occupy the entire top floor of a building overlooking the river.
Lily pressed her face against the window.
“Harper!”
“I see it.”
“Tiny cars!”
“Yes.”
“Tiny people!”
“Yes.”
“Can we stay forever?”
Harper glanced at Vincent.
“No.”
Vincent removed his coat.
Lily turned.
“Are you really Harper’s husband?”
“Yes.”
“Do you love her?”
Harper nearly choked.
“Lily.”
“What?”
Vincent looked at Harper.
Then at Lily.
“We got married this morning.”
“That didn’t answer me.”
“No.”
Harper covered her face.
Vincent appeared genuinely uncertain for the first time.
Lily waited.
Finally, he said, “I care whether she is safe.”
Lily considered this.
“Okay.”
She walked toward the hallway.
“Where’s my room?”
Vincent pointed.
“Second door.”
Lily disappeared.
Harper stared at him.
“You handled that terribly.”
“I answered accurately.”
“She’s eight.”
“Should I lie?”
“No.”
“Then I succeeded.”
“You’re impossible.”
Vincent removed his watch.
“You’ll have the bedroom beside Lily’s. I’ll use the room across the hall.”
Harper looked around.
“I’ve never lived anywhere like this.”
“You’ll adjust.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
Vincent stopped.
“No, it isn’t.”
Harper frowned.
Before she could ask, Samuel entered with a folder.
“We have trouble.”
Vincent’s expression changed instantly.
“What?”
Samuel opened the folder.
“Richard petitioned the trust administrator three times.”
Harper stepped closer.
“For what?”
“Medical reimbursements.”
“I paid Lily’s medical expenses.”
Samuel nodded.
“Exactly.”
Vincent took the documents.
“Amounts?”
“Twenty-two thousand. Thirty-one thousand. Then forty-eight thousand.”
Harper stared.
“That’s almost a hundred thousand dollars.”
“None were approved,” Samuel said. “Your mother established safeguards.”
Vincent looked at Harper.
“Who prepared the trust?”
“A lawyer named Daniel Reeves.”
Samuel and Vincent exchanged a look.
Harper noticed.
“What?”
Samuel answered carefully.
“Daniel Reeves disappeared four months ago.”
“What do you mean disappeared?”
“His office closed. Phone disconnected. No forwarding address.”
Harper sat down.
“My mother trusted him.”
Vincent asked, “Did Richard know him?”
“Yes. Richard recommended him.”
Silence.
Vincent closed the folder.
“There it is.”
Harper stood.
“There what is?”
“The reason Richard waited.”
Vincent placed the papers down.
“He expected to access the trust through Reeves. Something went wrong. Reeves vanished. Richard needed another route.”
“Guardianship.”
“Yes.”
Harper looked toward Lily’s room.
“So he never wanted her.”
Vincent’s voice softened.
“No.”
That hurt more than Harper expected.
Vincent picked up his phone.
“Find Reeves.”
Harper looked at him.
“Who are you calling?”
“A man who finds people.”
“No.”
Vincent paused.
“No?”
“I don’t want anyone hurt.”
“I didn’t say anyone would be hurt.”
“You’re Vincent Romano.”
“And?”
“And that sentence means something different when you say it.”
Vincent put the phone down.
“What do you suggest?”
“Police.”
“On what evidence?”
“The withdrawals.”
“Attempts. Not withdrawals.”
“Then investigators.”
“Richard has already framed this as a custody dispute.”
Harper folded her arms.
“So what?”
“So we obtain evidence first.”
“Legally.”
Vincent stared at her.
“Legally.”
“Promise.”
“I don’t make promises casually.”
“Make this one.”
A long silence passed.
Vincent finally nodded.
“Legally.”
---
Two days later, the home evaluator arrived.
Ms. Keller inspected Lily’s bedroom.
She checked the refrigerator.
She interviewed Harper.
Then Vincent.
Separately.
Harper waited outside his office while Lily drew at the kitchen table.
Ms. Keller’s voice carried through the partially open door.
“How long have you known your wife?”
“Three days.”
“And why did you marry her?”
Harper closed her eyes.
Vincent answered.
“Mutual necessity.”
Harper silently mouthed, Wonderful.
Ms. Keller continued.
“Do you believe that creates a stable environment for a child?”
“No.”
Harper’s eyes opened.
Vincent continued.
“But stability isn’t created by the date on a marriage certificate.”
“What creates it?”
“Consistency.”
“And can you provide that?”
“Yes.”
“Why should I believe you?”
Vincent was silent for several seconds.
Then he said, “Because Lily asked me this morning whether she could keep cereal in two cabinets.”
Harper frowned.
Ms. Keller asked, “Why?”
“She said when food runs low, Harper skips meals so Lily won’t notice.”
Harper’s eyes filled.
Vincent continued.
“She doesn’t need two cabinets anymore.”
Ms. Keller said nothing.
Vincent’s voice remained controlled.
“She needs to know breakfast will exist tomorrow. She needs her sister home before bedtime. She needs a bedroom where nobody is deciding whether her existence is profitable.”
Harper slowly lowered her head.
“And you can guarantee that?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Because nobody takes that child from this home for money.”
The door opened.
Ms. Keller found Harper standing there.
Neither woman spoke.
Vincent looked at Harper.
His expression gave away nothing.
But something between them had changed.
---
That evening, Lily fell asleep on the couch.
Harper covered her with a blanket.
Vincent stood at the window.
“You were good today.”
“I answered questions.”
“You defended her.”
“She needed defending.”
Harper walked closer.
“Thank you.”
Vincent turned.
“You don’t owe me gratitude. We have an agreement.”
“That’s not why you said those things.”
His eyes held hers.
“You’re assigning motives.”
“Maybe.”
A phone vibrated.
Vincent checked the message.
His expression hardened.
“What?”
He showed Harper a photograph.
A nervous-looking man was leaving a motel.
Daniel Reeves.
Beneath it was an address.
Harper whispered, “You found him.”
“Yes.”
“Legally?”
Vincent raised an eyebrow.
“Painfully.”
Harper grabbed her coat.
“Let’s go.”
“No.”
“You promised.”
“I promised not to hurt him.”
“Then I’m coming.”
“Harper.”
“He was my mother’s lawyer.”
Vincent stared at her.
She stared back.
Finally he sighed.
“Get your coat.”
“I already have it.”
May you like
“I’m beginning to understand why you needed a contract to find a husband.”
---
