Chapter 11 - The Shadow in the MirrorThe applause still echoed in my ears as Chloe and I stepped off the stage, but the moment the heavy backstage curtains swallowed us, the noise faded into a dull hum. I knelt down to adjust Chloe’s sparkly red shoes, making sure she was comfortable before we faced the battery of journalists waiting in the VIP press room.
"You were the best architect in the whole wide world, Mommy," Chloe whispered, throwing her arms around my neck and burying her face in my shoulder.
"Not just the architect, baby," a smooth, familiar voice chuckled from the dim shadows near the doorway. "She’s the queen of Seattle."
I stood up, pulling Chloe slightly behind me.
Stepping out from beneath the emergency exit sign was Marcus Vance—Victoria Vance’s younger brother and the lead senior partner at Vance & Associates Forensic Accounting. Tall, impeccably dressed in a charcoal bespoke suit, with sharp amber-brown eyes and a slow, confident smile, Marcus had been the silent architect behind the financial dismantling of Ethan Parker.
"Marcus," I said, a faint smile touching my lips. "I thought you were in Zurich auditing that tech conglomerate."
"I was," Marcus replied, stepping closer, his gaze softening as he looked down at Chloe, who peeked out from behind my skirt with wide, curious eyes. "But I wouldn't miss the crowning of Harper Brooks for all the gold in Switzerland. Besides, someone had to make sure the press didn't crowd you too fast."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, foil-wrapped chocolate square, offering it down to Chloe. "For the junior engineer. I hear you've been designing skyscrapers out of Lego blocks."
Chloe’s eyes lit up. She looked at me for permission, and when I nodded, she cautiously took the chocolate. "Thank you, Mr. Lawyer."
Marcus laughed, a rich, genuine sound that chased away the lingering chill of the ballroom. He looked back up at me, his expression turning serious. "By the way, Harper... Ethan has been making noise again."
My smile froze. "What kind of noise?"
"Desperate noise," Marcus said quietly, stepping closer so the backstage crew couldn't overhear. "He’s lost the studio apartment. The landlord evicted him yesterday for three months of back rent. He tried to corner Victoria outside her office this morning, begging for a meeting with you. He claims he has new information about Reynolds-Parker Enterprises—something that could implicate Jessica Reynolds in criminal tax fraud far worse than what we found."
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I crossed my arms, feeling a cold spike of caution mixed with exhaustion. "Ethan doesn't care about justice, Marcus. He only cares about survival. If he's throwing Jessica under the bus, it's only because he's sitting underneath it."
"Exactly," Marcus agreed, his amber eyes locking onto mine with intense, unwavering support. "Which is why I told Victoria to ignore him. But I wanted to warn you personally. A desperate man with nothing left to lose is like a cracked foundation during an earthquake. You need to watch your back, Harper."
