Chapter 5 - The Secret Behind Lily’s Trust
Lily sat between Harper and Vincent outside the investigator’s office.
Her sneakers did not reach the floor.
“What if I say something wrong?”
Harper squeezed her hand.
“You can’t.”
“What if I forget?”
“Then say you forgot.”
“What if they ask about Uncle Richard?”
Vincent answered.
“Tell the truth.”
Lily looked at him.
“What if the truth makes him mad?”
Vincent leaned forward.
“That isn’t your responsibility.”
Lily studied him.
“Were you scared when you were little?”
Harper looked at Vincent.
His expression changed slightly.
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
“I pretended I wasn’t.”
“Did it work?”
“No.”
Lily smiled.
“Then that was dumb.”
Harper covered a laugh.
Vincent nodded solemnly.
“Extremely.”
The investigator opened the door.
“Lily?”
The child stood.
Then unexpectedly hugged Vincent.
He froze.
Harper’s eyes widened.
Lily released him.
“For luck.”
She disappeared into the office.
Vincent stared at the closed door.
Harper whispered, “You okay?”
“No.”
She laughed quietly.
“You looked terrified.”
“I was ambushed.”
“By a fifty-pound child.”
“She moved quickly.”
---
Lily’s interview lasted twenty-eight minutes.
It was enough.
Combined with Reeves’s evidence, Richard’s guardianship petition began collapsing.
Then Samuel discovered something worse.
Richard had not only tried to access Lily’s trust.
He had forged Harper’s signature on a document claiming she had voluntarily surrendered certain guardianship rights months earlier.
Harper stared at the copy.
“That isn’t my signature.”
“We know,” Samuel said.
Vincent asked, “Who notarized it?”
Samuel slid another page forward.
“Richard’s wife.”
Harper looked stunned.
“Aunt Denise?”
“Yes.”
Harper sat back.
“She knew?”
“Apparently.”
Vincent’s phone buzzed.
He ignored it.
Samuel noticed.
“You should answer that.”
“No.”
“It’s probably regarding the indictment.”
Harper looked up.
“Answer it.”
Vincent reluctantly did.
He listened.
His expression became unreadable.
“When?”
A pause.
“Understood.”
He hung up.
Harper stood.
“What happened?”
“The federal hearing was moved.”
“To when?”
“Tomorrow.”
Samuel exhaled.
“They’re pushing for detention pending trial.”
Harper frowned.
“Meaning?”
“They want Vincent held without bail.”
Silence filled the room.
Lily was in the next room watching television.
Harper lowered her voice.
“How long?”
Samuel answered.
“If the judge agrees, potentially until trial.”
Harper looked at Vincent.
“You knew that could happen?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“It didn’t concern you.”
Her face hardened.
“I’m your wife.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Vincent stared at her.
Harper corrected herself.
“Legally.”
“Of course.”
Something in his voice irritated her.
“Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Acting like none of this matters.”
Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
“It matters.”
“Then say it.”
“Harper—”
“You married me because you needed to look human.”
He went still.
“So start acting like one.”
Samuel quietly collected his files.
“I suddenly have somewhere else to be.”
He left.
Harper faced Vincent.
“If they take you tomorrow, what happens?”
“You and Lily remain here.”
“I didn’t ask about the apartment.”
Vincent said nothing.
“I asked what happens to you.”
“I deal with it.”
“Alone?”
“That’s generally how these things work.”
Harper shook her head.
“No.”
“No?”
“You stood beside me in court.”
“That was our arrangement.”
“You helped Lily.”
“Also part of—”
“Stop calling everything an arrangement.”
Vincent’s jaw tightened.
“What do you want me to call it?”
Harper opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Vincent stepped closer.
For the first time, the distance between them felt dangerous for a completely different reason.
Harper whispered, “I don’t know.”
Vincent looked down at her.
“Neither do I.”
Lily suddenly appeared in the doorway.
“Are you fighting?”
They separated immediately.
Harper said, “No.”
Vincent said, “Yes.”
Harper glared at him.
Lily sighed.
“Married people are weird.”
---
The next morning, reporters surrounded the federal courthouse.
Harper stopped on the sidewalk.
Vincent looked at her.
“You can go home.”
“No.”
“This will be unpleasant.”
“I worked twelve-hour diner shifts while caring for a grieving eight-year-old.”
She took his arm.
“I’ve experienced unpleasant.”
Cameras turned.
Questions erupted.
“Mr. Romano!”
“Is the marriage real?”
“Mrs. Romano, were you paid?”
“Did you know about the indictment?”
Vincent’s bodyguards moved forward.
Harper stopped them.
Then she faced the reporters.
“Yes, I knew.”
Vincent looked at her.
A reporter shouted, “Why marry him?”
Harper hesitated.
The truthful answer had changed.
She finally said, “Because when I needed someone to stand beside me, he did.”
Vincent stared at her.
Another reporter shouted, “Do you love him?”
Harper froze.
Vincent stepped between her and the cameras.
“That’s enough.”
He guided her inside.
In the elevator, Harper whispered, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Saving me from that question.”
Vincent looked straight ahead.
“I wasn’t saving you.”
The elevator doors opened.
Harper followed him.
“What were you doing?”
He looked back.
May you like
“Saving myself from the answer.”
---
