Chapter 3 - THE COLLATERAL SISTER
"Frame me?" Harper choked out, her back still pressed against the cold steel of the chained exit door. The metallic tang of the dead henchman's blood filled the narrow hallway. "I don't even know her. I just took a catering shift to pay for Lily's treatments!"
Julian Rossi stared at her, his expression utterly unreadable. He reached out and grabbed Harper by the upper arm, hauling her to her feet with terrifying, effortless strength.
"We are leaving. Now," Julian ordered, his grip iron-tight. "The men out there were loyal to me, but Camilla has bought half my lieutenants. In ten minutes, this estate becomes a war zone."
"I have to go to the hospital," Harper panicked, dragging her heels against the linoleum. "Lily's dialysis finishes at midnight. I have to pick her up!"
Julian didn't stop dragging her down a secondary, dimly lit maintenance corridor. "If Camilla wanted to frame you, Harper, she already has contingencies in place. If you walk into that hospital, her men will be waiting. They won't just kill you. They will kill the child to tie up the loose end."
Harper’s blood ran completely cold. The world tilted on its axis. Lily. Sweet, innocent, seven-year-old Lily, sitting in a sterile chair, drawing pictures while a machine cleaned her failing kidneys.
"Please," Harper begged, tears spilling hot and fast down her cheeks. She dug her heels in harder, forcing Julian to stop. "I'll do whatever you want. Just don't let them hurt my sister."
Julian looked down at the desperate woman. The ruthless mafia boss studied the genuine, raw agony in her eyes. Slowly, his gaze dropped to Harper’s wrist. She was wearing a cheap, braided silver medical alert bracelet.
Julian reached out and traced the metal with a calloused thumb. "My men are already at Chicago General, Harper."
Harper gasped. "What?"
"I don't believe in coincidences," Julian said softly, his voice devoid of emotion but heavy with gravity. "When you crossed my silverware, I sent a text. My personal detail secured your sister twenty minutes ago. She's safe. For now."
Relief, swift and violent, buckled Harper’s knees. Julian caught her by the waist before she hit the floor, steering her toward a heavy oak door that led to the underground parking garage.
"Why?" Harper asked, her voice trembling as he shoved her into the passenger seat of an armored black SUV. "Why would you save my sister?"
Julian slammed his door shut and gunned the engine. The massive vehicle roared to life, tearing out of the garage just as shouts and gunfire erupted from the upper floors of the estate.
"Because I need you alive," Julian said, checking his rearview mirror as they sped into the rainy Chicago night. "And a woman with nothing left to lose is dangerous. A woman who needs to protect a child is obedient."
The brutal honesty of his words stung, but Harper knew he was right.
They drove in silence for thirty minutes, weaving through the industrial outskirts of the city until they reached a nondescript, heavily fortified warehouse. The massive metal bay doors rolled up automatically, swallowing the SUV into the brightly lit interior.
As Julian parked and cut the engine, Harper saw a black sedan already parked near a glass-enclosed office. Standing next to it were two massive men in tactical gear.
And sitting on the hood of the sedan, swinging her legs and eating a stolen hospital pudding cup, was Lily.
"Harper!" the little girl cheered, hopping off the car. She was wearing her oversized yellow raincoat, her dark curls bouncing as she ran.
Harper burst out of the SUV, falling to her knees and catching her little sister in a desperate, crushing embrace. She buried her face in Lily's neck, inhaling the scent of hospital antiseptic and strawberry shampoo.
"Are you okay, bug?" Harper sobbed, checking the bandage on Lily's arm where the dialysis port was. "Did these men scare you?"
"No," Lily chirped brightly, pointing a plastic spoon at the terrifying, heavily armed mafia guards. "They said you were cooking a super important dinner for a boss, and they gave me a ride in a car with bulletproof windows!"
Julian walked around the SUV, watching the reunion. For a fraction of a second, the hard, marble angles of his face softened.
"Go with the men, Lily. They have a television in the office," Julian said, his voice surprisingly gentle.
Lily looked up at the towering, intimidating man in the tuxedo. She tilted her head. "Are you the boss Harper is cooking for?"
"I am," Julian said.
"She makes the best risotto in the world," Lily declared fiercely. "You better pay her extra."
A ghost of a smile touched Julian's lips. "I'll keep that in mind. Go."
Once Lily was safely inside the soundproof office, Julian turned back to Harper. The softness vanished, replaced by an intense, burning urgency.
"We don't have much time," Julian said, walking toward a stainless steel table in the center of the warehouse. He threw a manila folder onto the metal surface. "Camilla didn't just want me dead. She wanted a distraction so she could empty my private vault."
Harper walked over, her chef's apron still stained with sweat. She opened the folder. Inside were crime scene photos, but not of a murder. It was a massive steel bank vault, completely emptied.
"I don't understand," Harper said. "If she stole your money, why frame me?"
"She didn't steal money," Julian said, his jaw tightening. "She stole my collateral against the Five Families. Blackmail files. Deeds. And one very specific object."
He flipped to the last photograph in the folder. It was a close-up of a shattered glass display case inside the vault.
"She took it," Julian whispered, a sudden, raw vulnerability cracking his iron facade.
May you like
Harper squinted at the photo. "What is it?"
"It's a heavily encrypted ledger," Julian said. He looked Harper dead in the eyes. "And the encryption key to open it... is a vintage recipe box. Written by the only chef I ever trusted. Your mother."
