Chapter 29 MARCUS'S MOVE
Monday morning arrived too fast.
Harper woke to find Sebastian already up, dressed in his most intimidating suit, sitting at the dining table surrounded by papers and his laptop. His coffee sat untouched beside him, which told her everything about how stressed he was. Sebastian never let coffee go cold.
"How long have you been awake?" Harper asked, padding into the kitchen in her pajamas.
"Since five. I could not sleep." He didn't look up from the documents he was reviewing. "I have been going over the numbers again, making sure everything is airtight. Marcus will try to find any weakness he can exploit."
Harper poured herself coffee and sat down across from him. "What time is the meeting?"
"Nine thirty. I should leave in about forty minutes." Sebastian finally looked up, and Harper saw the exhaustion in his eyes. "I am sorry. I know I have been impossible to live with this weekend."
"You have been preparing for battle. That is different from impossible." Harper reached across the table to take his hand. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I will ever be. I have responses prepared for every argument Marcus might make. Claire has been helping me strategize, and my lawyer reviewed everything last night. The numbers are solid. My performance as CEO has been exceptional by every metric that matters."
"But?" Harper could hear the uncertainty in his voice.
"But Marcus does not care about numbers or logic. He cares about optics and emotion. And our marriage, the speed of it, the circumstances around it, those give him ammunition." Sebastian squeezed her hand. "I am not worried about my job. I am worried about dragging you into this mess."
"I am already in it. We are married, remember? For better or worse."
"That was supposed to be just words in a contract. Not an actual vow."
Harper stood and moved around the table to wrap her arms around him from behind. "Maybe it started as words in a contract. But Sebastian, it is more than that now. We both know it."
He turned in his chair to pull her onto his lap, burying his face against her shoulder. "What did I do to deserve you?"
"Offered me five million dollars and full renovation funding."
Sebastian laughed despite himself. "Right. How could I forget our romantic origin story?"
"It is not traditional, but it is ours." Harper pulled back to look at him. "Go to your meeting. Defend your company. Show Marcus that you are ten times the leader he could ever be. I will be here when you get back."
"What are you going to do today?"
"Go to the Adriatic. The window restoration specialist is supposed to deliver the final pieces for the ballroom. I need to approve the installation." She kissed him softly. "Try not to strangle your uncle, even though he deserves it."
"You keep saying that. I am starting to think you do not trust my self control."
"I trust you completely. I just know how infuriating a family can be."
Sebastian stood, settling Harper on her feet, and gathered his materials. At the door, he hesitated. "Harper? If this goes badly today, if Marcus manages to turn the board against me, things might get complicated fast."
"How complicated?"
"Media scrutiny. Questions about our relationship. Possibly an investigation into the circumstances of our marriage." His jaw tightened. "I will not let it touch you. Whatever happens, I will make sure you are protected."
"We will protect each other," Harper corrected. "That is how this works now."
He kissed her once more, lingering, like he was memorizing the feeling. Then he was gone, leaving Harper alone in the too quiet penthouse with a sense of dread settling in her stomach.
She tried to distract herself with work. Showered, dressed, drove to the Adriatic. The window specialist was already there, carefully unpacking the restored glass panels that would complete the ballroom's renovation.
"These are perfect," Harper breathed, running her fingers along the edge of one panel. The Art Deco geometric patterns had been painstakingly recreated, matching the original 1920s design.
"Your aunt would be pleased," the specialist said. "She was very particular about these windows. She spent months researching the exact pattern before she ordered the first restoration back in the eighties."
Harper felt emotion catch in her throat. "She loved this building."
"She did. And now you are finishing what she started. That is something special."
They spent the morning overseeing the installation, each window carefully fitted into place. Harper documented everything with photos, wanting to remember this moment when the ballroom finally started looking like its old self again.
She was reviewing the installation schedule when her phone rang. Claire's name flashed on the screen.
"Claire? Is everything okay? Is the meeting over?"
"It is still going. I am calling from the hallway." Claire's voice was tight with anger. "Harper, I need to warn you about something. Marcus just presented evidence to the board."
Harper's stomach dropped. "What kind of evidence?"
"Photos of you and Sebastian. From before your engagement was announced. He is claiming you two barely knew each other before getting married, that the whole thing was rushed and suspicious."
"We met at galas, at public events. Of course there are photos."
"These are not from public events. These are from the day you signed the contract. Someone photographed you leaving Sebastian's office building, looking upset. Then getting into your car and sitting there for twenty minutes. Marcus is spinning it as you are being coerced or manipulated."
Harper felt ice flood her veins. "That is insane. I was not coerced. I made my own choice."
"I know that, and Sebastian knows that, but Marcus is very good at making things look suspicious. He is painting Sebastian as a ruthless businessman who took advantage of a woman in financial distress."
"I need to come down there. I need to tell the board the truth."
"No," Claire said firmly. "That is exactly what Marcus wants. He is trying to provoke a reaction, trying to get you emotional and defensive so he can use it against Sebastian. The best thing you can do right now is stay away and let Sebastian handle this."
Harper wanted to argue. Wanted to march into that boardroom and tell them exactly how wrong Marcus was. But Claire was right. Emotional outbursts would not help Sebastian's case.
"What should I do then?"
"Stay where you are. Keep your phone on. And Harper? Be prepared for this to get uglier before it gets better."
After Claire hung up, Harper stood in the Adriatic's ballroom, surrounded by scaffolding and drop cloths, feeling utterly helpless. Someone had been watching them. Taking photos. Building a case against Sebastian using their relationship as ammunition.
Her phone buzzed with a text. Unknown number again.
"Still have not called me, Mrs. Colton. That is unfortunate. I was hoping we could resolve this quietly, but it seems you prefer the hard way. Check your email."
Harper's hands shook as she opened her email app. There, at the top of her inbox, was a message from Marcus Hyland with the subject line: "The Truth About Your Marriage."
She clicked it open.
Inside was a PDF document. A detailed timeline of her financial troubles with the Adriatic, starting from the day she inherited the hotel. Every loan rejection. Every failed funding application. Every desperate attempt to save the building.
Then, Sebastian's acquisition offers. Multiple attempts to buy the property, each one rejected. Notes from his team about Harper being stubborn and unreasonable.
And finally, the contract. Her marriage contract with Sebastian, with certain sections highlighted. The five million dollar payment. The renovation funding. The twelve month duration. The termination clause.
Below the document was a single line.
"Does the board know your marriage is a business transaction? Should they?"
Harper felt sick. Marcus had everything. Not just photos, but the actual contract. Which meant either he had hacked Sebastian's files or someone inside Colton Industries was feeding him information.
Her phone rang. Sebastian.
"Harper, do not panic."
"Too late for that. Marcus just sent me the contract. He has everything, Sebastian. How does he have everything?"
"We are dealing with it. Someone on my team leaked the information, and we are figuring out who." His voice was strained. "But Harper, you need to listen to me very carefully. Marcus is going to try to contact you again. He is going to offer you a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"Money. Probably a lot of it. He will ask you to testify that I manipulated you into the marriage, that you felt pressured, that the whole thing was my idea and you went along because you were desperate."
Harper felt anger replace the fear. "I would never do that."
"I know. But Marcus does not. He thinks everyone has a price." Sebastian took a breath. "The board is calling a recess. I am coming to get you. Pack a bag. We need to get you somewhere safe until this blows over."
"I am not hiding from your uncle like some scared victim."
"Harper, please. Marcus plays dirty. If he cannot buy you, he will try to intimidate you. I need to know you are safe."
Before Harper could respond, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to find a man in an expensive suit standing in the ballroom doorway, flanked by two others who looked like lawyers.
"Ms. Vale?" the man said. "Or should I say, Mrs. Colton? I am Nathan Pierce, representing Marcus Hyland. We need to talk."
Harper gripped her phone tighter. "Sebastian, they are here."
"Who is there?"
"Marcus's lawyers. They are at the Adriatic."
She heard Sebastian curse. "Do not say anything. Do not sign anything. I am on my way."
"Mrs. Colton," Nathan Pierce continued, walking into the ballroom like he owned it. "Mr. Hyland has asked me to present you with an offer. Two million dollars in exchange for your cooperation in clarifying the nature of your marriage to Sebastian Colton."
"My cooperation?"
"A simple deposition explaining how the marriage came about. The timeline, the financial arrangements, the business nature of the contract." He smiled, and it was all teeth. "Mr. Hyland believes you were taken advantage of during a vulnerable time. He wants to help you."
"By destroying my husband's career?"
"By revealing the truth. Sebastian Colton married you to appear stable and committed to the board. He used your financial desperation to secure a wife who would make him look good. That is manipulation, Mrs. Colton. And you deserve better."
Harper felt rage building in her chest. "Get out of my hotel."
"This hotel does not belong to you anymore. Not really. The renovation is being funded by Colton Industries, which means Sebastian has significant financial interest in the property." Nathan pulled out a document. "Unless you cooperate, Mr. Hyland will recommend the board pull that funding. Where does that leave you, Mrs. Colton? Back where you started, drowning in debt with no way to save this building."
"You cannot do that."
"We can do whatever the board approves. And with the evidence we have about your fraudulent marriage, the board will approve quite a lot." He set the document on a nearby table. "Think about it. Two million dollars. Your hotel was saved. All you have to do is tell the truth about why you really married Sebastian Colton."
The lawyers left as smoothly as they had arrived, leaving Harper alone with the document and her racing heart.
She looked down at the paper. A deposition request. A check made out for two million dollars, signed by Marcus Hyland.
All she had to do was betray Sebastian.
Harper picked up the check and the document, walked to the construction trash bin, and threw them both inside.
Then she called Sebastian back. "They offered me two million dollars."
"Harper, I am so sorry. I never wanted you involved in this."
"I said no. Obviously. But Sebastian, they threatened to pull the renovation funding. Can they actually do that?"
Silence on the other end. Which was the answer enough.
"We will figure it out," Sebastian said finally. "But right now, I need you to leave the Adriatic. Go home. Lock the doors. Do not talk to anyone until I get there."
Harper looked around the ballroom. At the newly installed windows. At the scaffolding and the progress they had made. Her aunt's dream slowly comes back to life.
"No," she said quietly.
"Harper, please. Do not be stubborn about this."
"I am not being stubborn. I am making a choice. Marcus wants me scared and hiding. That is not happening. I am staying right here, and when you are done with your board meeting, we are going to figure out how to beat him together."
She could hear voices in the background on Sebastian's end. Someone called him back to the meeting.
"I have to go," he said. "But Harper? Thank you. For saying no. For choosing me."
"Always," Harper said. "Now go defend your company. I will be here when you are done."
After hanging up, Harper stood in the ballroom and tried to steady her breathing. Marcus had made his move. He had threatened her, bribed her, and tried to turn her against Sebastian.
But he had made one critical mistake.
He had underestimated how much this marriage had stopped being about contracts and money.
And he was about to find out exactly how fierce Harper Vale could be when someone threatened the people she loved.