Chapter 3 - The Gilded Cage
By Friday morning, staying in Oakhaven had become a security liability.
A convoy of three matte-black SUVs idled at the edge of Harper’s street, drawing a crowd of rubbernecking townspeople who took photos with their smartphones. The local diner where Harper had worked for minimum wage was currently surrounded by reporters shouting questions about the billionaire heir and his secret child.
Julian stepped out of the lead vehicle, wearing a crisp charcoal suit, his expression hardened against the flashing camera bulbs. He walked up the wooden steps to Harper’s front door, knocking once before entering.
Harper was packing a small canvas duffel bag. Lily was babbling happily on the living room rug, chewing on a wooden teething toy Julian’s private security detail had apparently sourced within twenty minutes of arriving in town.
"The press has descended on the town line," Julian said quietly, closing the door behind him to block out the noise. "We can't stay here, Harper. It’s not safe. Not with my mother's associates still thrashing in the dark."
Harper paused, her hands resting on the zipper of her bag. She looked around the small, cramped living room where she had spent fifteen months crying, praying, and holding her baby through the coldest nights of her life. Leaving it felt like severing a lifeline.
"Where are we going, Julian?" she asked softly. "Back to your world? Back to marble floors, armed guards, and people who look down their noses at a girl who served them coffee?"
Julian crossed the room in two long strides, gently taking her hands away from the bag. He pulled her against his chest, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"You are never going back to that feeling, I swear to God," Julian murmured fiercely. "I'm taking you to my private estate in Lake Geneva. It’s isolated, heavily fortified, and entirely ours. You won't have to answer to society, my mother, or anyone else."
"And your company? Your board?"
"Let them manage themselves for a week," Julian whispered. "My family is here."
May you like
Two hours later, Harper stood on the tarmac beside the same roaring helicopter that had brought Julian into her life earlier that week. As the heavy doors sealed shut and the aircraft lifted into the grey Midwestern sky, she looked down at the tiny town of Oakhaven shrinking beneath them.
The girl who had been left alone at a bus stop fifteen months ago was gone. In her place was a woman flying toward a horizon she never thought she’d be allowed to see.
