Chapter 27: Harper’s Visit (Nate POV)

The holding room was cold, the metal chair digging into my back. I’d been here for hours, hands uncuffed but useless, my head pounding from the arrest, that fake chat log still flashing in my mind. “Comp_X: $20K, half now.” Lies, all of it, but the feds didn’t care, brought me in again, said it was “further questioning.” The agent’s words, “You pissed off the wrong people, kid,” stuck with me, low and heavy, like a warning I couldn’t shake. I sat there, alone, staring at the gray walls, waiting for whatever came next.  

The door clicked open, and I looked up, expecting another agent. My stomach dropped—it was Harper. She walked in, heels clicking sharp on the floor, her face calm but different, no professional mask, just a smirk. The guard shut the door behind her, leaving us alone, and my hands clenched in my lap. She didn’t sit, just stood there, arms crossed, looking down at me like I was nothing.  

“Surprised?” she said, her voice smooth, mocking. “You shouldn’t be.”  

I stared, my throat tight. “What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice rough.  

She laughed, short, cold, not the polished laugh from work. “Checking on my project,” she said, tilting her head. “You’ve been busy, Nate—digging, hacking, running your mouth. Thought I’d see how it’s going.”  

My chest burned, my hands shaking. “You did this,” I said, my voice low. “The logs, the money, that chat—it’s all you.”  

Her smirk widened, her eyes glinting. “Took you long enough,” she said, stepping closer. “Yeah, I did it—the breach, the evidence, your little fall. Nice, right? Clean, tight, all wrapped up.”  

I stood up fast, the chair scraping loud, my heart pounding. “Why?” I snapped, my voice breaking. “What did I do to you?”  

She didn’t flinch, just watched me, her smirk fading into something colder. “You?” she said, like it was funny. “Nothing. You were never the real target, Nate. Just a piece on the board.”  

I froze, my breath short. “Not the target?” I said, my head spinning. “Then why me? Why this?”  

She stepped closer, close enough I could smell her perfume, sharp, expensive. “Because you’re just collateral damage,” she said, her voice low, cutting. “And because I can.”  

My hands balled into fists, my chest tight. “Collateral for what?” I demanded, my voice shaking. “Tell me why—why ruin me?”  

She tilted her head again, like she was sizing me up, enjoying it. “You want the big answer?” she said, her tone mocking again. “Fine—control. Power. ZenithTech’s a game, and I play to win. You were easy—close to Liam, no real fight in you. A perfect fall guy to keep things tidy.”  

“Liam?” I said, my voice cracking. “This is about him?”  

She shrugged, her smirk back. “Part of it,” she said. “He’s got his own mess—Graham’s pet project. You? You were the bonus—kept him in line, took the heat off. Two birds, one stone.”  

I stared, my mind racing. Liam, her emails, framing me to hurt him, Graham’s blackmail. It clicked, but it didn’t make it hurt less. “You’re sick,” I said, my voice low. “All this—just because you can?”  

“Pretty much,” she said, stepping back, her heels clicking again. “It’s fun, Nate—watching you squirm, seeing how far I can push. You’re out, Liam’s quiet, and I’m still standing. That’s the game.”  

I sank back into the chair, my legs weak, my hands shaking. She’d planned it, every log, every dollar, every lie, just to win some twisted power trip. “You won’t get away with it,” I said, my voice flat. “I’ve got proof—files, emails. It’s out there.”  

Her laugh was louder this time, sharp and mean. “Proof?” she said, her eyes glinting. “That half-baked hack you tried? Zoe’s got scraps—nothing solid. I’ve got IT, lawyers, Graham. You’re a ghost now—nobody’s listening.”  

My chest tightened, my breath fast. Talia’s files, Zoe’s article—Harper knew, had blocked it all. She was right, I was silenced, alone, stuck here while she laughed. “Why tell me this?” I asked, my voice shaking. “Why come here?”  

“Because it’s over,” she said, her smirk fading. “You’re done—feds have you, public hates you. I wanted you to know—see your face when you get it. No hope left.”  

I stared, my hands cold, her words sinking in. Over, my job, my friends, my life, gone because she could. Liam’s testimony flashed—him selling me out, her doing this to break him too. I wanted to yell, fight, but I had nothing left, she’d stripped it all.  

She turned to leave, her hand on the door, but stopped, looking back. She leaned in close, her voice a whisper, sharp and low. “Liam made his choice,” she said. “You should start making yours.”  

Then she was gone, the door clicking shut, her heels fading down the hall. I sat there, my breath fast, her whisper stuck in my head—Liam’s choice, mine. What choice? I was locked up, out of moves, and she’d won.