Chapter 6 - The Cornered Rat
Across the opulent ballroom, Jackson Miller looked like he was having a heart attack.
His face had turned completely pale, resembling a walking corpse. His hands were trembling so violently he dropped his silk handkerchief onto the polished marble floor. He realized, with absolute, soul-crushing certainty, that his dark, twenty-year secret was about to be dragged into the light.
Jackson had faked the mother's death. He had locked Josephine Hayes in a private, off-the-books psychiatric facility he owned, heavily sedating her for two decades. Why? Because Josephine was the sole beneficiary of the original Hayes estate. By legally declaring her dead, Jackson had positioned himself as the executor, siphoning millions of dollars from Gideon’s family to build his own corrupt empire, all while playing the role of Gideon's trusted advisor.
"She's... she's confused, Mr. Hayes!" Jackson stammered, his voice a pathetic, nervous whine. He took a hesitant step backward, his eyes darting toward the exits. "There's no reason to listen to this trash. She probably found that old pin in a pawn shop! It's a coincidence!"
Gideon didn't look at Jackson. He kept his dark eyes locked entirely on Harper.
"Is she alive?" Gideon asked, his voice dropping into a register so dark, so terrifyingly lethal, that the elite guests nearby actually physically recoiled.
"She is incredibly weak," Harper answered softly, the defensive pride in her eyes melting into deep empathy for the terrifying man standing before her. "But she is alive. She remembers you. And she is waiting for you."
Jackson couldn't take it anymore. Survival instinct completely overrode his logic.
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"Guards! Shoot her!" Jackson shrieked at the top of his lungs, pointing at Harper. "Kill the girl! She’s a cartel spy!"
👉 Jackson thought his guards would follow his desperate order, but Gideon was about to pull out the ultimate proof that would end Jackson's life.
