Chapter 10 - The False Victory
The armored car tore through the city streets at terrifying speeds.
Harper was hyperventilating in the back seat.
The thought of Derek taking Noah legally was completely unbearable.
They arrived at the penthouse building just as a dozen police cruisers activated their lights.
Derek was standing confidently on the front steps, holding a thick legal document.
Fifty heavily armed officers surrounded him, completely outnumbering Gabriel's remaining guards.
Gabriel kicked the car door open and stepped out into the pouring rain.
He did not look like a bleeding, defeated man.
He looked like the undeniable king of Boston.
"You are trespassing on my property, Lawson," Gabriel shouted over the sirens.
Derek smirked and waved the custody paper in the air.
"This is a federal warrant, Ashford!" Derek yelled back.
"Hand over the boy, or I arrest you for kidnapping."
Gabriel reached slowly inside his ruined coat.
He did not pull out a gun.
He pulled out a sleek satellite phone.
He dialed a single digit and handed the phone to the police captain standing next to Derek.
"I believe the Director of the FBI wants a word with you, Captain," Gabriel said coldly.
The captain frowned, took the phone, and listened.
The color instantly drained from the police captain's face.
"Yes, Director," the captain stammered nervously.
"Understood immediately."
The captain hung up the phone and turned entirely toward Derek.
"Detective Lawson, you are under arrest for conspiracy and corruption," the captain announced loudly.
Derek's arrogant smile vanished instantly.
"What?" Derek screamed in sheer panic.
"I have the warrant!"
"The FBI just seized your off-shore bank accounts funded by the O'Connor syndicate," the captain explained.
Several officers grabbed Derek and violently slammed him against the hood of a cruiser.
They slapped heavy steel cuffs onto his wrists.
Derek fought wildly, screaming Harper's name with pure, unhinged rage.
"I will kill you!" Derek roared as they dragged him away.
Harper felt her entire body go weak with overwhelming relief.
The monster who had ruined her life was finally locked in a cage.
Gabriel wrapped his strong arm around her waist and held her close.
"It is over," Gabriel whispered, kissing the top of her head.
They rode the elevator up to the penthouse in a comfortable, exhausted silence.
Harper walked immediately into the guest bedroom to check on Noah.
The little boy was still sleeping peacefully in the massive bed.
Harper smiled through her tears and began unpacking Noah's tiny backpack to find his pajamas.
She reached the bottom of the bag and found a folded manila envelope.
It was the file Derek had used to originally threaten her into marriage years ago.
She pulled out the old police report documenting the night her mother was murdered in the crossfire of a gang shootout.
Attached to the back of the report was a signed order authorizing the hit on the rival gang.
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Harper's blood turned to absolute ice as she read the signature at the bottom of the kill order.
The man who had ordered the hit that killed her mother was Gabriel Ashford.
