Chapter 6

Cora sat back, arms crossed. “Sometimes you give something up to draw attention away from what actually matters.”

He smiled faintly. “That’s not a move. That’s a philosophy.”

“Same thing, in a jurisdiction like this.”

“Short games are for people with nothing to lose.”

“You have plenty to lose.”

He nodded. “That’s why I’m still alive.”

Their eyes met and neither looked away.

“You never panic,” she said. “Not even when I open aggressively.”

“Why would I? It’s not personal.”

“You kidnapped me. That’s personal.”

He didn’t answer immediately. Just studied her, the way she held tension in her jaw, the way her fingers hovered over her next move like they wanted to punch something instead.

“You think I wanted this?” he said finally.

Cora paused. “What, keeping me here?”

“No. You.”

She blinked.

“You weren’t supposed to be on the board,” he said. “But you are here, whether you knew it or not. And now you're a factor I can't ignore.”

“Right. Because you wanted a wife?”

“Exactly.”

Cora moved a pawn without looking. “That’s a hell of a reason to abduct someone.”

Harvey tone stayed even. “It’s not abduction. It’s containment.”

“That’s a distinction only rich people make.”

He exhaled slowly. “You don’t see it yet. But every day you’re here, you’re safer than you would be out there.”

She tilted her head. “You say that like you actually care.”

He smirked and took his eyes off her.

“Let me guess,” she said. “You think if we keep circling this board long enough, I’ll start trusting you.”

“I don’t need your trust,” he said. “Just your patience.”

Cora gave a short laugh. “And how long do you think I’ll stay patient? You think just because you feed me fancy meals and play chess with me, I’ll forget I was taken?”

“You’re not a prisoner.”

“No?” She pushed away from the table. “Then open the gates, let me walk.”

He didn’t move or flinch.

“Exactly,” she said. “You say things that sound like freedom, but everything here is a cage with velvet walls.”

Harvey finally leaned back in his chair. “So ask for what you really want, Cora. Enough circling.”

She hesitated a little bit and then spoke. “I want my freedom.”

  “You know damn sure that is not going to happen.”

    “How complicated can you be? You ask me to tell you what I want, I tell you and you say no ”

  “You know that's not what I meant.”

 

“Classic Harvey. Switching the topic.”

   “Well, if you won't give me my freedom,  I want to see my brother at least.”

Harvey's face hardened. “No.”

Her gaze snapped up. “Please don't tell me you are going say no to this.”

“I didn’t say I’d say yes.”

“We’re done playing games, remember?”

He shook his head. “That’s not a request I can grant.”

“Again? Why not?”

“Because it’s a breach of protocol.”

“Breach of protocol? I know I signed the contract but won't you allow me to at least see my sick brother.”

“it doesn't matter if he is sick or unwell, a contract is a contract.”

“You act like I’m a piece,” she said. “But I’m not. I’m a person, and my brother is dying. I need to see him.”

Harvey stood, slowly. His hands were calm, but his voice was steel. “No one moves without consequence, Cora. That includes you.”

The silence between them stretched like wire pulled tight.

Cora didn’t move. Harvey stood a pace back from the table, spine rigid, as if he'd just been forced to reveal something he didn’t want to admit.

“I don’t care what your ‘protocol’ says,” she said. “I’ve done everything you asked, sat here, played your games, let you talk in riddles and feed me half-truths. But I’m not doing this part quiet.”

Harvey’s jaw flexed.

“I’m not asking for the city,” she continued. “I’m asking for fifteen minutes in a hospital room with someone whose body is shutting down.”

“You think I don’t understand that?” His voice was low now. Controlled, but close to breaking. “You think I haven’t watched people I care about disappear?”

“You think that’s the same thing?” she shot back. “Because you lost people, now I have to lose time?”

“No.” His voice was quieter now. But heavier. “Because I did, I know what it costs.”

He moved back toward the board, placing one hand on the table to signal that the conversation wasn’t over.

“I know what it looks like, Cora. I know you think this is all control and ego. But this isn’t about pride, it’s about exposure. The second you step out of this estate, I lose more than leverage.”

She softened but didn’t sit.

“You said I’m part of this game whether I like it or not,” she said. “Fine. Then I get a move.”

He shook his head. “It’s not that simple.”

“Of course it is,” she said. “You just don’t like the risk. But I’m the one who’s going to have to live with it.”

He looked at her  like someone who’d never stop pushing unless he gave ground.

The rain outside had stopped, but the pressure between them hadn’t.

Harvey exhaled slowly. Then, quietly: “One visit.”

Cora’s shoulders tensed.

“You’ll be monitored,” he said. “Escorted. You don’t leave the building. No, phones, no handoffs. You don’t even breathe without one of my people clocking it.”

She stared at him, unsure if he was serious or testing her.

“And if I say no to those conditions?”

“Then you don’t go at all.”

Her throat worked around the words. But she nodded. “When?”

“I’ll arrange it. Soon.”

“I need a day. Not ‘soon.’”

“You’ll have it. But I choose the timing. And you’ll be ready when it comes.”

She hesitated, then offered her hand.

He looked down at it, skeptical.

“This is the part where you pretend we made a deal,” she said.

Harvey took it, just briefly. His hand was warm  and steady.

“You’re not a very good prisoner,” he said.

“You’re not a very good villain.”

That made him smirk, just barely.

“Then we’re both in trouble.”