Framed by Her Fiancé for $11M, She Begged Chicago's Most Feared Tycoon for Help—Until He Handed Her the Contract That Changed Everything

Two months later, the private visiting room at the Metropolitan Correctional Center was cold, sterile, and smelled of industrial floor stripper. Harper sat across from Derek Collins on opposite sides of a reinforced steel partition.

Derek looked like a ghost of the polished, charming marketing consultant she had loved. He wore a bright orange jumpsuit that hung loosely on his sunken frame. His hair was cropped short, his skin sallow under the harsh fluorescent tubes. The vanity and swagger that had defined his entire adult life had been stripped away completely.

He picked up the heavy black receiver with trembling hands. Harper lifted hers, her expression smooth and neutral as polished marble.

""Harper,"" Derek choked out, his eyes instantly welling with tears. ""You came. I didn't think you would come. God, Harper, look at you... you look incredible.""

""I didn't come to visit you, Derek,"" Harper said, her voice completely devoid of anger or affection. ""Your court-appointed public defender requested a meeting to finalize the liquidation of your personal assets to satisfy the civil judgment against you. I had to sign off on the asset seizure list.""

""Harper, please, you have to talk to the U.S. Attorney,"" Derek pleaded, pressing his forehead against the scratched glass. ""They're giving Marcus eight years because he gave up his offshore banking contacts, but they're giving me twelve! Twelve years, Harper! I won't survive in a federal penitentiary! You know what I'm like, I can't handle a place like this!""

Harper watched him, feeling an overwhelming, quiet pity—not for what he was suffering, but for how small he had always been.

""You thought you were a mastermind, Derek,"" Harper said softly. ""You thought you could step on my neck to climb into a world you didn't earn. You stole from my grandmother. You stole from the woman who paid your rent when your agency failed two years ago. Did you think about where I would survive when you left me in that apartment with six dollars in my pocket?""

""I panicked!"" Derek sobbed, a guard stepping closer behind him to warn him about his volume. ""Marcus told me Ward would kill us both if the money didn't clear! Harper, I loved you! I still love you! Everything I did was so we could have the life we talked about!""

""No,"" Harper answered, her tone as final as a slamming vault door. ""You loved the comfort I provided. You loved having an auditor to clean up your financial messes. You never loved me, Derek. Because love does not leave someone to freeze in the dark.""

She began to lower the receiver.

""Wait! Harper, please!"" Derek screamed against the glass, banging his fist against the partition. ""Who is he? Ward! I see the news, Harper! He bought out your entire building on Lake Shore Drive! Are you sleeping with him? Is he your protector now? He's a monster, Harper! He’ll eat you alive!""

Harper paused, bringing the receiver back to her ear for one final sentence.