Chapter 4 - The Freezer
Claudia stopped trying to humiliate Harper.
She began trying to kill her.
The opportunity came when Damian left for the city.
Harper was sent into the wine cellar.
Forty minutes into the inventory, the steel door slammed shut.
She tried the handle.
Nothing.
Then the cooling system activated.
50 degrees.
Harper's breath turned white.
Through the reinforced glass, Claudia appeared.
Harper hit the door.
“Open it.”
Claudia smiled.
Then she mouthed one word.
Goodbye.
She walked away.
Harper stared at the thermostat.
She knew panic would accelerate heat loss.
So she stopped panicking.
Think.
Work the problem.
She searched the cellar.
Thousands of bottles.
No windows.
No secondary door.
Then she saw the champagne bottle.
Three liters.
Heavy glass.
She grabbed it.
The first strike failed.
The second failed.
The third.
Nothing.
The temperature dropped again.
Her hands were numb.
She attacked the doorframe instead.
Iron stand.
Champagne bottle.
Metal screamed.
She kept hitting.
Again.
Again.
Again.
At the fifteenth strike, the bottle shattered.
Harper collapsed.
The room was ten degrees.
She couldn't feel her fingers anymore.
She slid down the door.
And closed her eyes.
At six o'clock, Damian returned.
“Where's Harper?”
Mrs. Gable froze.
“The cellar.”
“For how long?”
“Four hours.”
Damian's expression changed.
Harper never took four hours.
He ran downstairs.
The thermostat flashed:
SYSTEM OVERRIDE.
INTERNAL TEMP: 8°.
The door was jammed.
Damian ripped it open.
Harper was curled on the stone step.
Her lips were blue.
He found a pulse.
Barely.
“Medic!”
He carried her upstairs himself.
That night, security footage showed everything.
Claudia entering the override code.
Claudia watching Harper freeze.
Claudia walking away.
Damian watched the footage twice.
Then he turned the tablet facedown.
His anger was terrifying because it was silent.
He found Claudia upstairs.
He dragged her into the foyer.
Twelve guards stood around them.
The staff watched.
“You locked an employee in a freezer.”
“She stole from me.”
“You attempted murder.”
“She deserved it.”
Damian stared at her.
“You're done.”
He took the engagement ring from her.
Claudia begged.
Mentioned her father.
Threatened political consequences.
Damian didn't care.
“Your father has an empire because I allow his ships through my ports.”
He handed the ring to Thomas.
“She's no longer affiliated with me.”
Claudia screamed as she was escorted away.
Damian returned to his study.
Harper was still unconscious.
He sat beside her.
For the first time in twenty years, Damian Costa prayed.
Not to God.
He wasn't sure he believed in God.
He prayed to whatever had kept this stubborn woman alive.
Hours later, Harper's fingers moved.
Damian leaned forward.
Her eyes opened.
She whispered one word.
“Cold.”
Damian wrapped another blanket around her.
“I know.”
She looked at him.
“You fired her?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Then she passed out again.
Damian smiled.
Even half-dead, she was still Harper.
But what neither of them knew was that Claudia's revenge had uncovered something much bigger.
The security footage showed her entering the basement.
It also showed someone else standing at the far end of the corridor.
A man Damian had not authorized to be there.
One of his own security captains.
And he had been watching.
Not helping Claudia.
May you like
Watching.
Waiting.
