Chapter 6 - The Golden Cage
Harper stared at the property deeds with her printed name officially stamped across them.
She felt an overwhelming sense of suffocation tightening her chest.
Vincent explained calmly that keeping her entirely dependent on him was the only way to guarantee her absolute safety.
He promised in a soft voice that she could leave his world once Carmine and the Marcanos were dead.
Harper spent the next three days locked entirely inside the sprawling, silent mansion.
She had a personal chef, closets filled with designer clothes, and two armed guards permanently stationed outside her bedroom door.
It was a life of absolute, unimaginable luxury, but to Harper, it felt exactly like a coffin.
On the fourth night, Vincent surprised her by inviting her to a private dinner in the formal dining room.
He wore a tailored black suit, looking every bit the dangerous, untouchable kingpin he was born to be.
He asked her genuine questions about her life, her childhood dreams, and why she worked so relentlessly hard.
Harper found herself reluctantly enjoying his quiet company.
She realized that beneath the ruthless, violent exterior, Vincent was a surprisingly intelligent and deeply lonely man.
He reached slowly across the candlelit table and gently touched her knuckles.
Harper hesitated for a second, but she did not pull her hand away.
The heavy wooden doors of the dining room suddenly burst open.
Elias, the scarred bodyguard from the diner, ran into the room bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound in his shoulder.
He shouted to Vincent that the Marcanos had just bombed their most valuable weapons warehouse.
Elias stopped panting and looked directly at Harper with pure, unadulterated hatred.
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He raised a bloody finger and pointed it straight at her face.
He told Vincent that the Marcanos knew exactly where the secret warehouse was because someone inside this very house had leaked the coordinates.
