Chapter 193: The Cracked Mirror

Harper’s POV

I went completely silent. The word hung in the air between us like a heavy fog.

Noah’s eyes were bloodshot now. "He saw you hiding again. He saw you scared out of your mind again. He saw you shrinking yourself down into a corner again!" He poked his finger lightly against my chest. "And he refused to let you do that to yourself anymore."

I shook my head, taking a step back. "You don’t understand..."

"Then make me understand, Harper!"

"I was trying to protect all of you!" I sobbed out.

"From what?!"

"From my father!"

"And how long are you going to keep doing that?!"

I had no answer for him. I just stood there, drowning in tears.

Noah’s voice softened for a tiny fraction of a second. "How long, Harper?" Then the anger flared right back up. "Ten years? Twenty years? The rest of our whole damn lives?!"

"Please stop shouting at me..." I whispered, wrapping my arms tightly around my waist.

"I’m shouting because nobody in this house wants to say the obvious out loud!" He wiped his face aggressively with his palm. "Mom needs to tell her story."

I looked toward the closed door of our mother’s bedroom, terrified of waking her. "And if his rich family finds out? What then?"

"Then they find out!"

"And if they come after us?!"

"We deal with it together!"

"You don’t know what kind of power they have, Noah!"

"No, you don’t know what they can do either!" He shook his head in frustration. "You keep imagining them as these untouchable, godly monsters just because they have deep pockets!"

I stared at him, my jaw tight. "His wife’s family has endless money!"

"So what?!"

"They have powerful connections!"

"So do we!"

"How do we have connections, Noah? We have nothing!"

"People!" He pointed back at my phone screen. "The video has one point five million views in a few hours, Harper!"

I blinked, the weight of that number finally crashing over me.

"One point five million human beings have watched Mom’s story," he said, his voice deep and intense. "You know what that means?"

I didn’t answer.

"It means they cannot just wipe it away anymore. They can’t erase it."

My heart thudded heavily in my chest.

Noah looked at me with a fierce intensity I had never seen in him before. "You keep thinking money is the only real power in this world." He shook his head slowly. "It isn’t."

He turned his head toward the hallway. "Mom has proof."

I looked at him, confused.

"Evidence," Noah stated firmly. "We have the real story. We have the hospital records. We have the old journal entries. We have the video. We have everything we need to stand up and tell the absolute truth." He took another breath. "So please, do not ever be angry at Justin for using his resources to make sure that truth was heard."

I stared at him, my chest hurting. "Not everything in this life can be solved with money, Noah."

Noah let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Everything in our lives has been about money." His voice dropped into a low, painful tone. "Everything. Or we wouldn’t be sitting in this small apartment right now."

I flinched as if he had slapped me.

He walked closer to me. "Dad didn’t leave us because he suddenly stopped loving us one day."

I looked down at the floor, unable to meet his eyes.

"He left because there was something better waiting for him," Noah’s eyes hardened like flint. "Money."

He pointed a finger toward his own chest. "Money." Then toward Emma. "Money." Then toward Mom’s bedroom door. "Money." Then back to me. "Money." His voice cracked down the middle. "So don’t tell me that Justin using his money to make sure Mom’s story reaches millions of people is wrong."

I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat. "Noah... are you really talking to me like this?"

His harsh face immediately softened, regret flashing across his features. "I’m sorry," he whispered. He took a long, heavy breath. "I respect you, Harper. You’re my older sister. You held us together." His voice grew gentle. "But please... don’t turn Justin into a bad guy."

I looked at him silently.

"Yes, he should have asked you," he nodded. "I completely agree with you on that." He paused. "But don’t hang the man on a cross just because he decided to blow your video up so nobody could silence you."

He reached down and grabbed his phone off the couch. "If this destroys Dad’s reputation and his fake marriage... then so be it." He shook his head. "He made his choices years ago."

Noah turned and walked toward the front door.

"Where are you going?" I asked softly.

"I need some fresh air." He stopped, his hand on the doorknob, and looked back at me one last time. "Please just think about what I’m saying."

He stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

A thick, heavy silence settled over the living room once more.

I stared down at the floorboards, my mind spinning in circles.

Emma finally shifted on the couch and spoke up softly. "I kind of agree with him, Harper."

I looked over at her, hurt. "Really? You too?"

She nodded slowly. "He didn’t lie about anything he just said."

"He screamed at me, Emma."

"Yes, he did."

"He made me feel like I was the entire problem here!"

"He was angry and frustrated," she sighed. "He’s been holding that in for years."

"So you’re taking his side over mine?"

"I’m not taking sides!" She looked at me gently. "But he is right about one very important thing."

"What?"

"We cannot keep hiding forever."

I looked away, staring out the dark window.

Emma stood up and came to sit right beside me on the couch. "And I honestly think you need to apologize to Justin."

I stared at her in utter shock. "So everyone is just ganging up on me now? Is that what this is?"

She shook her head firmly. "That is not what we’re doing."

"It really feels like it!"

"Harper, listen to me," she reached out and took my cold hand in hers. "I don’t understand why you are so determined to protect Dad from this."

I swallowed hard, my chest tightening. "I don’t know either..."

"Is it because he’s your father?"

"Maybe," I whispered.

Emma shook her head softly. "I don’t want to sit here and say you have daddy issues, because honestly, the man abandoned all three of us." She paused, searching my eyes. "So why are you protecting him this much?"

"I just... I don’t want to be the sole reason he and his wife get a divorce," I admitted, my voice barely audible. "I don’t want his entire family finding out and his whole life falling apart because of me."