Chapter 37 He Finally Noticed Me
Harper's Pov,
After Monica hung up, I immediately called Marcus back.
"That was fast," he answered.
"Monica needs everything you have sent to her today. And she wants you to focus on finding communication between Richard and Robert Cross. Can you do that?"
"Already on it. I'm pulling Richard's phone records going back six months. If he called or texted Robert Cross, I'll find it." Marcus paused.
"But Harper, you need to understand something. Robert Cross is a billionaire with layers of legal protection. He doesn't make dumb mistakes. If he coordinated with Richard, it was probably through intermediaries. Lawyers, assistants, people with plausible deniability."
"So you might not find a direct connection."
"I might not. But even if I don't, what I've already found is damaging enough. The five-hundred-thousand-dollar donation alone is going to raise eyebrows." He sighed.
"Look, I'll do everything I can. But managing expectations is part of my job. Don't expect a smoking gun where Robert Cross explicitly says 'prosecute Harper Sinclair.' Expect circumstantial evidence that creates a compelling pattern."
"That's good enough for me."
"Great. Because circumstantial evidence is how most conspiracy cases get proven anyway. Nobody's dumb enough to write down 'let's commit crimes together.'" He laughed.
"...Except apparently Richard Moss, who documented everything like it was his diary."
After I hung up, Maya and I sat there in silence for a moment.
"You were right," she finally said.
"This whole thing was coordinated from the beginning. Joel's agent, Brianna's billionaire father, the DA's office, the Titans. They all worked together to destroy you."
"And now we can prove it."
"Not yet we can't. Marcus still needs to connect Richard to Robert Cross. And even then, Monica has to convince a judge to let us present it at trial." Maya pulled up her laptop.
"But Harper, even if the judge doesn't allow it as evidence, we can leak it to the media. Mike's story already opened the door. If we give him proof that a billionaire bought a prosecution, it'll blow up even bigger than the Richard story did."
"Monica said not to talk about it."
"Monica's a lawyer. She has to say that." Maya grinned.
"I'm a PR director. My job is managing narratives. And the narrative that a corrupt billionaire weaponized the DA's office to get revenge on his daughter's attacker? That's a narrative people will care about."
My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.
For a second, I thought it might be Richard with another threat. But the message made my blood run cold.
"Ms. Sinclair, this is Robert Cross. I understand you've been making inquiries into my family's private affairs. I strongly advise you to stop. Some battles aren't worth fighting. Some enemies are more powerful than you realize."
I showed Maya the text.
Her face went pale. "How does he know Marcus is investigating him?"
"I don't know. But if Robert Cross is texting me directly, that means he's worried." I screenshot the message and forwarded it to Marcus and Monica. "And if he's worried, that means we're onto something big."
"Harper, this is a threat. He's literally threatening you."
"Let him threaten me. I've been threatened by everyone else involved in this conspiracy. What's one more billionaire?" I stood up.
"Marcus is going to find the connection between Richard and Robert Cross. Monica's going to use it to destroy the prosecution's case. And I'm going to watch all of them burn for what they did to me."
Maya stared at me. "You've changed."
"What do you mean?"
"When this all started, you were terrified. You were just trying to survive. But now?" She smiled.
"Now you're hunting them. Now you're the one making them scared."
She was right.
Something had shifted. I wasn't the victim anymore. I was the problem they couldn't make disappear.
And I wasn't done fighting yet.
My phone rang. Marcus again.
"Did you get Robert Cross's text?" I answered.
"I got it. And Harper, this is perfect."
"Perfect how? He threatened me."
"He threatened you which means he knows we're investigating him. Which means someone tipped him off. Which means there's a leak somewhere in his network." Marcus sounded almost gleeful.
"This is exactly what I needed. Now I know there's active communication happening. I just need to find it."
"How?"
"By following the leak. Someone told Robert Cross that you hired me. That someone is probably close to Richard or close to the DA's office or close to the Titans. So I'm going to look at who's been in contact with multiple parties over the past week. Phone records, emails, meeting schedules. Someone's playing middleman and they just gave themselves away."
"How long will that take?"
"Umm… today or tomorrow, I guess. But Harper, this changes everything. Robert Cross just made his first mistake." Marcus laughed.
"Rich people get sloppy when they're scared. And he's definitely scared."
He hung up.
I looked at Maya. "Marcus says Robert Cross threatening me is a good thing because it means there's a leak he can trace."
"So you getting threatened by a billionaire is somehow a win?"
"Apparently."
"Your life is weird," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"I know."
Before I knew it… my phone buzzed again. Another text from an unknown number.
This time it wasn't Robert Cross.
"Harper, it's Emma. I heard Robert Cross is involved. I need to talk to you. In person. Today. Please."
I showed Maya.
"It's a trap," she said immediately.
"Probably."
"So you're not going."
I thought about Emma's last message. About her giving me the flash drive with all of Richard's emails. About how she'd betrayed me for money but then tried to make it right.
"I'm going," I said.
"Harper, Robert Cross just threatened you. Emma works for him. This is obviously a setup."
"Or Emma knows something about Robert Cross and wants to tell me before he stops her." I grabbed my jacket. "Either way, I need to find out."
"Then I'm coming with you."
"No. If it's a trap, I don't want both of us walking into it." I headed for the door.
"Stay here. If I'm not back in two hours, call Monica and tell her everything."
"Harper—"
"Two hours, Maya. I'll be fine."
I was
n't sure I believed that. But I had to go anyway.
Emma had information about Robert Cross. And I was going to get it.
Even if it killed me.