Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Harper

The voice through the monitor froze us both instantly.

Damian moved first, scooping Grace from her crib in one swift motion, cradling her against his chest even as she stirred and whimpered at the sudden disruption. “Get Lily. Now.”

I didn’t ask questions. I ran down the hallway, heart pounding violently against my ribs, bursting into Lily’s room to find her sitting up in bed, already awake, eyes wide with confused alarm.

“Mom? What’s happening?”

“We need to move, baby. Right now.” I pulled her from bed, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders as security guards flooded the hallway, weapons drawn, voices low and urgent as they coordinated a sweep of the entire property.

“He’s not inside,” one of the guards confirmed within minutes, voice tight with controlled urgency. “The signal came from outside the perimeter. We’re checking the monitor’s frequency now — someone hacked into the baby monitor’s wireless signal remotely.”

“Remotely,” Damian repeated, disbelief and fury tangling in his voice. “So he’s not actually on the property.”

“Not currently, no. But he clearly has technical capability we didn’t anticipate. I’d recommend relocating your family immediately, somewhere more secure than a private residence.”

Detective Ruiz arrived within the hour, expression grim as she surveyed the situation. “I agree with your security team’s assessment. I have a secure location, a safe house we use for exactly these circumstances. I think it’s time you and the children relocated there until Marcus Delgado is caught.”

“For how long?” I asked, exhaustion and fear evident despite my attempt at composure.

“However long it takes,” Detective Ruiz said honestly. “I won’t lie to you, Harper. This man’s proven himself dangerously resourceful. But I also won’t compromise your family’s safety by rushing this.”

We packed quickly, essentials only, Lily surprisingly composed despite obvious fear, clutching her stuffed unicorn tightly while Grace remained blessedly asleep against Damian’s shoulder throughout the entire chaotic process.

The safe house, when we arrived nearly an hour later, sat unremarkably within a quiet residential neighborhood, nothing about its exterior suggesting anything beyond ordinary suburban normalcy. Inside, however, security measures far exceeded anything at our actual home — reinforced windows, multiple camera systems, armed protection stationed at every entrance.

“You’ll be safe here,” Detective Ruiz assured us, though something in her careful tone suggested caution even as she offered reassurance. “Marcus Delgado has no way of tracing this location.”

“How can you be certain?” Damian asked. “He hacked our baby monitor remotely. Clearly his capabilities extend beyond what we initially assumed.”

“We’re taking every precaution,” Detective Ruiz said. “New phones, new communication channels, everything routed through secure systems he shouldn’t be able to penetrate.”

Once she’d departed, leaving armed guards stationed carefully throughout the property, Damian and I settled the children into an unfamiliar bedroom, Lily’s earlier composure finally cracking slightly as exhaustion and fear caught up with her.

“Is someone trying to hurt us?” she asked quietly, voice small in a way that broke my heart completely.

I sat beside her, pulling her close despite my own exhaustion. “Someone’s trying to scare us, baby. But that’s exactly why we have all these police officers here, why we came to this safe place. We’re going to be okay.”

“Promise?”

The question landed heavily, honesty warring against the desperate need to reassure her. “I promise we’re going to do everything possible to keep you and Grace completely safe. That’s the truth, Lily. Every single thing.”

She nodded slowly, exhaustion finally winning out over fear as her eyes grew heavy, sleep eventually claiming her despite everything happening around us.

Damian and I remained awake long after both children had finally settled, sitting together in the unfamiliar living room, adrenaline and exhaustion tangling uncomfortably as the night stretched onward.

“This is my fault,” Damian said quietly, guilt evident in every line of his exhausted expression. “My father’s decisions, decades of buried secrets finally surfacing to threaten our children directly.”

“This isn’t your fault,” I said firmly. “Richard’s choices, Victor Hale’s actions, whatever Marcus Delgado’s built from all of it — none of that belongs to you, Damian.”

“But it’s touching our family regardless.”

“Because we chose to expose it,” I said. “Because we refused to let it stay buried the way everyone else has for decades. That’s not a mistake, Damian. That’s exactly the kind of courage this family needed, finally, after generations of silence.”

He studied me for a long moment, something grateful and exhausted behind his careful expression. “How do you stay this strong? After everything happening tonight?”

“I’m not strong,” I admitted honestly. “I’m terrified, actually. But I refuse to let that terror control every decision we make. We came this far seeking truth. I’m not backing away now, regardless of how frightening it’s become.”

Damian pulled me close, exhaustion finally overtaking both of us as we settled together on the unfamiliar couch, neither quite ready to attempt actual sleep given everything still unfolding around us.

Sometime near dawn, my new phone, the secure one Detective Ruiz had provided specifically for this situation, buzzed unexpectedly.

I stared at it, confusion and immediate fear tangling together. “How would anyone have this number already?”

Damian’s expression tightened with alarm as he reached for the phone, checking the caller ID carefully. “It’s Detective Ruiz’s number.”

I answered immediately, relief flooding through me at hearing her familiar voice, though something in her tone immediately signaled continued crisis.

“Harper, I need you to stay calm,” she said. “We just received information that Marcus Delgado’s been spotted near your original residence. He’s not aware you’ve relocated yet, as far as we can tell. But there’s something else you need to know.”

“What?”

“We found additional evidence connecting Marcus Delgado to something considerably more concerning than blackmail alone. Financial records suggesting he’s been embezzling substantial funds from several companies over the years, using the same intimidation network to cover his tracks.”

“How does that connect to us specifically?”

“Because Blackwood Industries appears on that list,” Detective Ruiz said grimly. “Marcus has apparently been siphoning funds through shell companies connected to your family’s business for years, using Victor’s original blackmail network as cover. If this investigation exposes everything fully, he stands to lose considerably more than just his freedom.”

The implication settled heavily, exhaustion and fear tangling with dawning understanding of exactly how desperate and dangerous Marcus Delgado had actually become.

“He’s not just protecting old secrets anymore,” I said slowly. “He’s protecting an active criminal operation.”

“Exactly,” Detective Ruiz confirmed. “Which means he has considerably more motivation to eliminate anyone threatening exposure, including your family directly.”

Fear coiled tight and immediate through my chest, watching Damian’s expression mirror the same dawning horror I felt myself. “What do we do now?”

Detective Ruiz’s voice remained steady despite the gravity of her next words. “We move faster than he expects. I need you both to come to the station immediately. We have a plan to draw him out directly, but it requires your cooperation, and it requires moving before he realizes exactly how much we already know.”