Chapter 188: The Reckoning 2

Harper’s POV

With trembling fingers, I opened my family group chat.

Me: Justin just paid to run global ads for my video.

I stared at the text before frantically typing again.

Me: What do we do?!

The replies flashed across the screen almost instantly.

Noah: Oh shit.

Emma: This is not good.

Emma: This is really, really not good.

My heart sank into my boots.

The glass balcony door slid open behind me. I looked up instantly.

Justin walked back into the living room, his eyes immediately locking onto mine.

I looked away, then forced myself to look back at him.

He stopped in his tracks. His eyes narrowed slightly, not in anger, but with a sudden, calm understanding. He already knew I had heard him.

"You heard me, right?" he asked softly.

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat burning. "Yes."

He stood there, watching me.

"I overheard your call," I added, my voice shaking.

Justin’s shoulders dropped slightly. "Harper..."

"Why would you do that?!"

"Because—"

"Why, Justin?!"

He took a step toward me. "How long are you going to keep hiding?"

I stared at him, hurt and disbelief washing over me. "How long do you think you’re going to keep pretending this man hasn’t been tormenting you and your family for months?!"

My chest tightened until it pained me to breathe. "This is not about pretending!"

"Then what is it about?!"

"It’s about my safety!" I shouted, jumping to my feet. "You don’t understand!"

"I understand perfectly, Harper!"

"No, you don’t!" My voice cracked loudly. "You don’t understand what happens when he sees this video!"

Justin stepped closer, his jaw tight. "Babe, the story needs to be out there!"

"That’s not the problem!"

"Then tell me what the problem is!"

"The problem is that I wasn’t ready!" I screamed at him, tears welling up in my eyes.

He went completely quiet, stopping dead in his tracks.

"I wasn’t ready for this," I whispered, wiping a tear away.

"You are not going to face him alone," Justin said, his tone softening slightly.

"That is not what I’m saying!" I felt the panic and frustration taking over my body. "You should have asked me first!"

"I know."

"No, you don’t!"

"I should have asked you, okay?!"

"You should have!" My voice echoed off the walls. "I kept asking you what you wanted to do! I kept asking you what the plan was for the trial, and you kept telling me to wait!"

"I was trying to figure things out!"

"And now you’ve figured it out for me?!"

Justin pushed both hands over his face, letting out a rough breath. "Harper, please..."

"No!" My heart was hammering inside my ribs like a trapped bird. "You don’t get to make that big decision for me, Justin!"

"I wasn’t trying to make it for you!"

"Then what were you doing?!"

"Trying to help you!"

"By running paid ads?!"

"Yes!"

"On every single platform?!"

"Yes!"

"Across the entire world?!"

"I want people to hear the truth about what he did to your mother!" Justin yelled back.

I stared at him, terrified. "And what happens when they do? What happens when his family sees it?!"

He went silent.

I shook my head, fresh tears spilling over my cheeks. "That is what you don’t understand!"

"What? Tell me!"

"What happens when my father’s family sees this video?!"

"We will deal with them!"

"How?!"

"We will figure it out!"

"No, Justin!" My voice broke into a full sob. "You don’t know them! You don’t know what those people are capable of!"

He softened completely, taking a frantic step toward me. "Babe..."

"My entire life, I have been trying to stay away from that man!" I pointed a shaking hand toward my laptop. "I just wanted to tell my mom’s story! That was it! I wanted people to know what happened to her! I wanted to make something beautiful out of something horrible!"

Justin nodded slowly, his eyes dark with pain. "I know..."

"I didn’t want this!" I pointed to my phone. "I didn’t want millions of strangers seeing it! I didn’t want his family finding me! I didn’t want him knowing where I live!"

"I know."

"Then why did you do it?!" I screamed, my chest heaving.

Justin stepped directly into my space. "Because you cannot keep hiding in the dark forever!"

"That was my decision to make!"

"I love you!"

"That does not give you the right!"

Justin flinched as if I had struck him across the face. A flash of pure pain crossed his eyes, but I was too terrified, too overwhelmed to stop.

"You had no right to make that decision for me," I sobbed.

"I know..."

"You had no right!"

"I know!"

"YOU HAD NO RIGHT!" my voice shattered into a raw, desperate cry.

"I KNOW!" Justin shouted, his voice booming through the room for the very first time.

The entire apartment fell dead silent.

Justin immediately lowered his head, breathing heavily, horrified that he had raised his voice at me. "I’m sorry..."

He took a slow, shaky breath. "I just wanted the truth out there, Harper." His eyes were wet now, shining under the overhead lights. "I wanted you and your family to finally be free from that monster."

I looked at him through my blurred vision, my hands trembling.

"I have been watching what he’s been doing to you," Justin whispered, his voice cracking. "I’ve seen the threat messages he sends you. I’ve seen how terrified you get every time the phone rings. I was just trying to protect you."

"And you think putting a spotlight on my face protects me?!"

"I thought it would force him into a corner!"

"It won’t!" I shook my head wildly. "Now he is going to attack us!"

"Harper—"

"What if he sees that video tonight and decides we are the problem?!"

Justin’s face hardened, but he couldn’t answer.

"What if his wife decides we are the problem?!" I demanded. "What if they come after my family? What if they come after you?!"

"We will protect you," Justin said firmly.

"How?!"