Chapter 30 THE DEFENSE
Harper sat in the back of the boardroom, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears.
She was not supposed to be here. Sebastian had specifically told her to stay away. But after Marcus’s lawyers left the Adriatic with their threats and bribes, Harper had made a decision. She was not going to hide while Sebastian fought this battle alone.
She drove to Colton Industries, walked past the receptionist who knew her as Mrs. Colton, and slipped into the boardroom just as Sebastian was presenting his quarterly reports.
He looked up when she entered, his eyes widening with surprise and something that looked very much like fear. She gave him the smallest nod and took a seat in the back corner, ignoring the curious stares from the board members.
Marcus sat at the far end of the table, his expression smug and satisfied. When he saw Harper, his smile widened. He thought she was here to support his claims, to validate his accusations.
He had no idea what was coming.
Sebastian finished his presentation with his usual precision. The numbers were impressive. Revenue was up eighteen percent. Three major acquisitions had been completed successfully. The stock price was at an all-time high. By every objective measure, he was an exceptional CEO.
“Thank you, Sebastian,” the board chairman said. “Now, I believe Mr. Hyland had some concerns he wanted to address.”
Marcus stood, buttoning his suit jacket with theatrical precision. “Yes. Thank you, Richard. I appreciate the board’s time today on this sensitive matter.”
He clicked a button on his laptop and the screen behind him lit up with photos. Harper recognized them immediately. Her and Sebastian at various events before their engagement. Leaving his office. Getting into separate cars. Looking tense and uncomfortable.
“What you’re seeing here is a timeline,” Marcus began. “Sebastian Colton pursued Harper Vale for months. Not romantically, but professionally. He wanted her property, the Adriatic Hotel, which sits on prime downtown real estate. Ms. Vale refused every offer.”
He clicked again. More photos. Harper at the bank. Harper meeting with loan officers. Documentation of rejected funding applications.
“Ms. Vale was desperate. Drowning in debt. Facing foreclosure. And Sebastian saw an opportunity.” Marcus’s voice took on a sympathetic tone that made Harper’s skin crawl. “He approached her with a proposal. Not a business proposal, but a personal one. Marriage.”
The board members shifted uncomfortably. A few glanced at Sebastian, whose expression remained neutral but controlled.
Marcus clicked once more. The marriage contract appeared on the screen, certain sections highlighted in yellow. The five million dollar payment. The twelve month duration. The termination clause.
“This is not a marriage,” Marcus declared. “This is a business transaction. Sebastian Colton purchased a wife to make himself appear stable and committed. He took advantage of a woman in a financial crisis to serve his own purposes. And that, ladies and gentlemen, calls into question his judgment and his ethics as our CEO.”
The room erupted in murmurs. Some board members looked shocked. Others looked angry. A few looked at Sebastian with disappointment.
Harper felt her hands clench into fists. She wanted to scream. Wanted to tell them all how twisted Marcus’s version of events was.
Sebastian stood slowly. His face was calm, but Harper saw the tension in his shoulders. “Marcus, are you finished?”
“Not quite. I have one more piece of evidence.” Marcus smiled at Harper. “Mrs. Colton is here today. Perhaps she would like to share her perspective on this arrangement.”
Every head in the room turned to look at Harper. She felt the weight of their stares, their judgment, their curiosity.
Sebastian’s eyes met hers across the room. He shook his head slightly, a silent plea to stay quiet.
But Harper was done staying quiet.
She stood up, smoothing her hands down her skirt, and walked to the front of the room. Her legs felt shaky but she forced them to carry her forward.
“You want my perspective?” Harper asked. Her voice was steady. “Fine. Let me tell you exactly what happened.”
“Harper, you do not have to do this,” Sebastian said quietly.
“Yes, I do.” She turned to face the board. “My name is Harper Vale Colton. Four months ago, I inherited my aunt’s hotel along with three point two million dollars in debt. I had sixty days before foreclosure. No bank would give me a loan. No investor wanted the property. I was out of options.”
Marcus looked pleased, convinced she was proving his point.
“Sebastian approached me with an offer to buy the hotel. I refused because he wanted to demolish it and build condos. The Adriatic is a historic building. It has value beyond its real estate potential. My aunt spent forty years maintaining it, and I was not going to let it be destroyed.”
Harper took a breath. “Then Sebastian came back with a different proposal. A marriage contract. Twelve months in exchange for the money to save the hotel and funding to renovate it properly. Was it unconventional? Yes. Was it desperate? Absolutely. But was I manipulated?”
She looked at Marcus. “No. I made a choice. A calculated business decision that benefited both of us. Sebastian needed to appear stable to this board. I needed capital. We negotiated terms like adults.”
“You see?” Marcus cut in. “She admits it. A business arrangement. Not a real marriage.”
“I was not finished,” Harper replied sharply. Marcus actually froze at the tone of her voice. “Yes, we started with a contract. But something neither of us expected happened. We fell in love.”
Sebastian’s head snapped up. Several board members leaned in.
“I did not plan to fall for my contract husband,” Harper continued. “But Sebastian Colton is not the cold businessman Marcus is pretending he is. He is thoughtful. Kind. He remembers how I take my coffee. He stays up with me when I have nightmares about losing the hotel. He respects my work. He makes me brave.”
She looked at Sebastian. His expression was open, vulnerable, undone.
Harper turned back to the board. “Marcus Hyland is trying to destroy him out of jealousy. And bitterness. And resentment that the CEO position was never his.”
The room fell silent.
Marcus’s face turned red. “This is exactly the emotional instability I mean. She has been manipulated.”
“I have not been manipulated,” Harper replied coldly. “I am a grown woman capable of making my own decisions. Your lawyers came to my hotel this morning with a two million dollar check. They threatened to pull funding from the renovation unless I cooperated.”
Shocked murmurs filled the room.
“That is a lie,” Marcus said, but his voice was thin.
Harper took out her phone. “I recorded everything. Every word. Including your name.”
The chairman frowned. “Marcus, is this true?”
Marcus stammered. “It was a negotiation.”
“It was a bribe,” Harper said. “And blackmail.”
The board demanded the recording. Sebastian forwarded it. The audio played. It was undeniable.
When it ended, the chairman looked furious. “Marcus Hyland, your behavior violates ethical standards and may be illegal. We will vote on your removal immediately.”
Every hand raised except Marcus’s.
Marcus sputtered, shouting insults, but two security guards escorted him out.
When the room cleared, Sebastian turned to Harper, his expression unreadable.
“You should not have come.”
Her heart dropped. “I am sorry. I know you told me to stay away.”
“No. You should not have had to come.” He reached for her, pulling her close. “You should not have been threatened. You should not have had to defend us.”
“But I wanted to. And I meant everything I said.”
Sebastian’s voice softened. “I know. That is what terrifies me. You told the boardroom that you love me.”
“I did. And it is true.”
“We still have the contract,” he said quietly. “Eight months left. And now everyone knows how we started.”
“So we deal with it. Together.”
“Harper, I cannot ask you to keep fighting for me.”
“You are not asking. I am choosing.” She cupped his face. “I love you.”
He kissed her, fierce and desperate.
When they broke apart, he whispered, “I love you too. More than I ever expected to love anyone.”
She laughed through tears. “So what now?”
“Now we go home. And we stop pretending this marriage has an expiration date.”
“What about the contract?”
Sebastian pulled out his phone. “I just sent termination papers to my lawyer. We void the contract now.”
Harper froze. “What does that mean?”
“It means no more deadlines. No more pretending this is temporary. I want to be married to you. For real.”
Her chest tightened. “Are we really doing this?”
“We already did.” He smiled. “Now we are making it official.”
They left the building hand in hand, lighter than they had been in months.
Halfway to the parking garage, Sebastian’s phone rang. He frowned.
“It is the private investigator.”
He answered. “Ryan? What have you got?”
Ryan’s voice was grim. “Sebastian, you have a problem. A big one. Marcus was not acting alone. Someone inside your inner circle has been feeding him information. Someone with access to your personal files.”
Harper felt chills run through her.
“Who?” she asked.
“I am still confirming,” Ryan said. “But the evidence points to someone very close to you. Someone you trust completely.”
Sebastian went pale.
Ryan added, “And, Sebastian, you need to see this before you talk to anyone. Especially before you go home.”
“Why before I go home?” Sebastian asked.
“Because I think the leak is coming from inside your penthouse.”
The call ended.
Sebastian and Harper stared at each other, the victory of moments ago turning to dust.
Someone close to them had betrayed him.
Someone with access to everything.
And they had been helping Marcus all along.