All Chapters of MARRIED TO MY ENEMY'S FATHER: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Chapter 52HarperGrace was still asleep, blissfully unaware, when Damian pulled me back from the window before I could open it.“Don’t,” he said, voice low and urgent. “Not yet. Let security check the perimeter first.”He was already on the phone, voice clipped and controlled in the way I recognized from every crisis he’d navigated since I’d known him, though I could hear the tremor underneath it this time, something raw that rarely surfaced in his voice.“Front and back, now. Someone’s been on the property.” A pause. “I don’t care what time it is. Now.”I stood frozen near Grace’s crib, watching her sleep peacefully, utterly unaware that someone had stood close enough to our home tonight to destroy something we’d planted together with our own hands, close enough to leave a message meant specifically to terrify us.“Harper.” Damian’s hand found my shoulder, steady despite everything. “Come away from the window.”I let him guide me back, though my eyes kept drifting toward the broken

Chapter 54HarperThe drive to the station passed in tense silence, streetlights strobing across the windshield while Damian gripped the steering wheel tighter than necessary, knuckles pale against the leather.“Is he alive?” I’d asked Detective Ruiz the moment we called back.“Alive,” she’d confirmed. “Unconscious, in critical condition. We don’t know more than that yet.”Small mercy, though it did little to ease the dread sitting heavy in my chest as we walked into the station twenty minutes later. Detective Ruiz met us in the lobby, expression grave despite her usual composed professionalism.“Thank you for coming so quickly,” she said, guiding us toward a small conference room. “I want to be transparent with you both, given how directly this affects your investigation.”“What happened to him?” I asked.“Blunt force trauma. Someone struck him outside his home, left him for the neighbors to find. Whoever did this clearly wanted him silenced before he could speak with Renata Cole tom

Harper“Alone” was not going to happen. I showed Damian the message, and his jaw set immediately.“Absolutely not,” he said. “That’s exactly the kind of message someone sends when they want to isolate a target.”“It’s from Richard’s number.”“Numbers can be spoofed, Harper. Or Richard could be compromised somehow, forced to send it.” He was already dialing Detective Ruiz. “We’re not doing this without police involved. Not after everything that’s happened.”Detective Ruiz answered immediately, and within minutes, a plan had formed — officers would meet us near the marina, staying out of sight but close enough to respond instantly, while Damian and I approached together, refusing to split up despite whatever the message had requested.The drive out to the marina took nearly forty minutes, the abandoned property emerging gradually from behind overgrown brush and weathered fencing, exactly the kind of forgotten place that made sense for secrets to have festered for over two decades.“Ther

Chapter 58 Harper “What kind of plan?” I asked, gripping the phone tighter. “I’d rather explain in person,” Detective Ruiz said. “But Harper, I want to be honest with you upfront. It involves you being visible, briefly, somewhere Marcus expects you to be. We’d have full protection in place, officers stationed at every angle. But I won’t pretend there’s zero risk.” My stomach tightened immediately. “You want to use me as bait.” “I want to use the appearance of an opportunity,” Detective Ruiz corrected carefully. “Marcus has been operating in shadows for over a decade specifically because he’s never had to expose himself directly. Give him a target he believes is unprotected, and he becomes considerably easier to catch.” Damian, listening on speaker beside me, shook his head immediately. “Absolutely not. I’m not letting Harper walk into a scenario designed specifically to lure out a man who’s already assaulted one person and threatened our children.” “Damian—” I started. “No,” h

Chapter 59 Harper My pulse spiked, though I forced my expression to remain neutral, forced my hands to stay steady around the coffee cup in front of me. “Don’t turn around,” Detective Ruiz’s voice continued through the earpiece, low and controlled. “Keep talking to Renata. We’re repositioning now.” Renata, watching my face carefully, seemed to sense something shifting despite my attempt at composure. “Harper?” “Just keep talking,” I murmured, barely moving my lips. “Ask me about the marina documents. Anything ordinary.” She nodded slightly, launching into careful, rehearsed conversation about the investigation’s supposed next steps, though her voice carried a thin thread of tension beneath the practiced calm. “Two tables behind you,” Detective Ruiz continued quietly. “Gray jacket, baseball cap. Not alone, like I said — there’s a second man near the door, positioned like he’s watching the exits.” I fought the urge to glance backward, focusing instead on Renata’s face, on the st