Chapter 74: The Breaking Point

Harper stared at her phone as the first headline appeared at 6:47 AM.

COLTON HEIR'S CONVENIENT PREGNANCY: Sources Question Timeline of Sebastian Colton's Surprise Baby News

Her hand shook as she scrolled. The article was vicious, implying she'd deliberately gotten pregnant to secure her financial future. Anonymous sources,obviously Marcus's people,suggested the marriage had been troubled from the start.

"Don't read them." Sebastian emerged from the bedroom, already dressed in a charcoal suit that meant business. "Our lawyers are sending cease and desist letters to every outlet."

"It won't matter." Harper set the phone down before she threw it. "The damage is done. Everyone will think I trapped you."

"Everyone who matters knows the truth."

"Do they?" She turned on him, weeks of fear and frustration boiling over. "Your board? Your investors? The people deciding whether to trust you with their money? Because from where I'm standing, Marcus just handed them a reason to question everything."

Sebastian's jaw tightened. "Which is exactly why we're taking him down today. The meeting's set for two o'clock. We present everything,the forged permits, the surveillance, the recordings. He's finished."

"And what about me? About us?" Harper's voice cracked. "Even if we destroy Marcus, these headlines don't just disappear. Our baby's first Google search will be articles calling their mother a gold digger."

The words hung between them, ugly and true.

Sebastian crossed to her, hands gentle on her shoulders. "Then we control the narrative. We go public ourselves, tell our story before Marcus can twist it further."

"What story?" Harper pulled away. "That we signed a contract marriage and accidentally fell in love? That sounds so much better."

"It's the truth."

"The truth sounds like a romance novel. No one will believe it."

Sebastian's phone buzzed. He glanced at it and swore softly. "The board moved the meeting up to ten. Marcus is making his move now."

Harper insisted on coming despite Sebastian's protests. She dressed in a navy sheath dress that Claire had sent over months ago, armor disguised as professional wear. Her stomach was already queasy from first-trimester nausea. The stress made it worse.

Colton Industries headquarters loomed against the Seattle skyline, all glass and steel ambition. Harper had been here before, but never like this. Never as the woman about to either save or destroy the man she loved.

The executive conference room was packed. Twelve board members, their assistants, the company's legal team, and Marcus, who sat at the head of the table like he already owned the place.

His smile was serpentine when they entered. "Sebastian. Harper. How lovely you could join us on such short notice."

"Cut the pleasantry, Marcus." Sebastian's voice was ice. "You called this meeting. Make your case."

Marcus stood, buttoning his suit jacket with theatrical precision. "I'll be direct. Over the past six months, Sebastian has made decisions that compromise this company's integrity. His sudden marriage, the questionable hotel investment, and now"he gestured to a projected headline"allegations of using a pregnancy to manipulate corporate proceedings."

"Allegations you planted," Harper said sharply.

"I merely brought concerning information to the board's attention." Marcus's expression was all false sympathy. "But since you're here, perhaps you'd like to address the timeline? You married my nephew after knowing him less than a month. Now you're conveniently pregnant just as his leadership is being questioned."

Board member Patricia Chen leaned forward. "Mr. Colton, these are serious concerns. The optics alone…"

"The optics are manufactured." Sebastian opened his briefcase, removing a thick folder. "Marcus has been systematically sabotaging my leadership for months. We have evidence."

"Evidence you've fabricated to deflect from your own misconduct," Marcus countered smoothly.

Sebastian slid documents across the table. "Forged permits filed with the city claiming I authorized structural changes to the Adriatic Hotel without Mrs. Colton's consent. Permits we've traced back to a shell company you control."

Marcus barely glanced at them. "Circumstantial."

"Hidden surveillance cameras installed in my home." Sebastian placed photos of the devices on the table. "Purchased through another of your shell companies. We have receipts."

"This is a witch hunt…”

"Recorded conversations." Sebastian's voice cut through Marcus's protest like a blade. "If you offer my wife two million dollars to testify our marriage is fraudulent and that I violated our prenuptial agreement."

The room went deadly silent.

Harper watched color drain from Marcus's face. "You're bluffing."

Sebastian nodded to their lawyer, who pressed play on a laptop. Marcus's voice filled the conference room, tinny but unmistakable: "Two million, Mrs. Colton. Cash. All you have to do is sign an affidavit stating the marriage was contracted under false pretenses. Sebastian violated your agreement. We both know it's true."

Harper's recorded response:"You want me to lie."

"I want you to tell a version of the truth that benefits us both. Sebastian gets what he deserves, you get financial security, and I get control of a company I've bled for."

Patricia Chen's expression hardened. "Marcus, is that your voice?"

"Out of context…"

"There's more." Sebastian played a second recording, this one between Marcus and an unknown man discussing the forged permits, the media leaks, even the breach of Harper's medical records.

Board member David Rodriguez stood abruptly. "This is corporate espionage. Fraud. Potentially criminal."

Marcus's composure finally cracked. "You have no idea what you've done, Sebastian. This company was built on my father's work while yours coasted on charm and privilege. I've sacrificed everything."

"You've sacrificed nothing but your integrity," Sebastian said coldly. "And now you're done."

"You can't…"

"Actually, we can." Patricia looked at the other board members. "I move to suspend Marcus Colton from all board activities pending a full investigation and refer this matter to federal authorities."

"Second," David said immediately.

"All in favor?"

Ten hands rose. Only Marcus's two longtime allies abstained.

Marcus stood so violently his chair toppled. "This isn't over. You think you've won? She's still a nobody who trapped you with a pregnancy. Everyone will always question."

"That's enough." Claire's voice cut across the room. Harper hadn't noticed her slip in during the playback. "You're embarrassing yourself and this family."

Marcus's laugh was bitter. "Family. Rich, coming from you. At least I tried to save Father's legacy instead of watching Sebastian dismantle it for his hotel heiress."

"Our father's legacy was cruelty and emotional manipulation," Claire said quietly. "Sebastian is building something better. You just can't see it because you're too much like Dad."

The words landed like a physical blow. Marcus stared at his sister, something broken flickering across his face before the mask snapped back.

"You'll regret this." He looked at Sebastian, then Harper. "All of you."

Security escorted him out. The room erupted in urgent conversation.

Harper felt Sebastian's hand find hers under the table, squeezing gently. They'd won. So why did she feel like she might shatter?

They made it to Sebastian's office before Harper's knees gave out. She sank onto the leather couch, adrenaline draining away to leave her hollow.

"It's over," Sebastian said, pouring her water from the bar. "He can't touch us now."

"Can't he?" Harper accepted the glass with trembling hands. "He was right about one thing. People will always question us. Our marriage. The timing. Whether the baby was planned."

"Let them question."

"Easy for you to say. You're Sebastian Colton. I'm the opportunistic nobody who…"

"Stop." Sebastian knelt in front of her, hands framing her face. "You are Harper Colton. My wife. The woman who defended me to that board, who stood up to Marcus, who's carrying our child. You are not nobody."

Tears spilled over despite her best efforts. "I'm scared."

"I know. Me too."

"What if this breaks us? All of it the pressure, the scrutiny, the baby. What if we don't survive it?"

Sebastian pressed his forehead to hers. "Then we break up together. But I don't think we will. You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because we're not pretending anymore. No contract. No performance. Just us, fighting for something real."

Harper wanted to believe him. She did believe him. But fear still coiled tight in her chest.

Her phone buzzed. A text from Jessie: Turn on Channel 7. Now.

Sebastian grabbed the remote. The news was already rolling footage of Marcus being escorted from Colton Industries by security. The chyron read: BREAKING: Marcus Colton Suspended Amid Fraud Investigation

But that wasn't what made Harper's blood run cold.

The reporter's voice continued: "In a related development, sources close to the family suggest Mrs. Harper Colton may be preparing to leave the marriage amid the scandal, citing irreconcilable differences and pressure from the ongoing investigation."

"What?" Harper stared at the screen. "I never,who would."

Sebastian's phone rang. Claire, her voice tight with urgency: "Turn on the news. Someone leaked that Harper's been staying at the hotel. They're spinning it as a separation."

"We know," Sebastian said. "Where's this coming from?"

"I'm working on it, but Sebastian,there's more. Someone leaked the original marriage contract to a reporter. They have everything. The twelve months. Five million. All of it."

Harper watched Sebastian's face go ashen.

The reporter's voice seemed to grow louder: "Documents obtained by this station suggest the marriage may have been a contractual arrangement from the beginning, raising questions about the legitimacy of..."

Harper stood abruptly, the room spinning. "I need air."

"Harper…"

But she was already moving, out the door, down the hall, anywhere but here where the walls were closing in and the future she'd just started to believe in was crumbling in real-time.

She made it to the stairwell before she heard Sebastian calling her name.

And she kept walking.