The CEO's Midnight Remedy novel Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Security personnel moved toward us, but the damage was done. Cameras swive capturing every moment of our confrontation.

irection,

My father rushed over, physically separating us. “Aria, control yourself!” he whispered harshly, then turned to Scarlett with concern. “Are you alright, sweetheart?”

His blatant favoritism was the final straw.

“That was Mom’s house,” I said, voice breaking slightly. The only thing I had left of her, and your precious daughter just burned it to the ground.”

He gripped my arm. “Whatever happened, the house is already on fire. You going there now won’t change anything.”

I wrenched away from him and marched back to the podium. The teleprompter still displayed its sanitized version of events, but I no longer cared.

“You all want to know what really happened before my engagement?” I asked, looking directly into the CNN camera. “The truth is, I found my fiancé, Ethan Blake, having sex with my stepsister in my mother’s villa.”

Gasps rippled through the audience. Camera flashes intensified. From the corner of my eye, I saw Blake family representatives frantically speaking into phones.

“And apparently, that wasn’t enough,” I continued, my voice strengthening with each word. “Today, minutes

after I legally reclaimed my late mother’s beach house, it mysteriously caught

olice are calling it

arson.”

Scarlett’s face had drained of all color. My father looked as though he might collapse.

I leaned into the microphone, locking eyes with Scarlett “A word of advice–if you’re going to destroy someone’s property, make sure you don’t leave evidence behind. And stay away from what’s mine.”

With that, I walked away from the podium, through the chaos of shouting reporters and flashing cameras.

The social media hashtag #HarperTruth was probably trending already.

In the hallway, my father caught up to me, his face contorted with rage.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” he shouted, shoving me against the wall. “Years of business

II

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12:05 Wed, Dec 24 GO.

Chapter 123

¥53%合

relationships–millions in potential investments–all gone because you couldn’t stick the script!”

llpaper,

to spill. Part of

The impact knocked the air from my lungs. My shoulder blade scraped against the sending a jolt of pain down my spine. I blinked rapidly, fighting back tears that the me still longed for him to be the father who had once held my hand at the beach house, teaching me to skip stones across the water. That father would never have chosen business over his daughter’s pain.

“Scarlett burned down Mom’s house,” I whispered, my voice cracking. My hands trembled at my sides, and I curled them into fists to stop the shaking. “And you’re worried about business deals? Have you ever once defended me the way you defend her?”

I wanted to scream, to shatter the mask of composure I’d worn for so long, but even now, I couldn’t fully let go. Years of conditioning to be the perfect Harper daughter still held me back.

“We’re going home,” he growled, grabbing my arm. His fingers dug into my skin, hard enough to leave

marks. “Now.”

I glanced around, suddenly aware of how alone I was. No Sophia, no security I could trust. Just my father, whose anger seemed to fill the entire hallway. I felt small again, like the child who used to hide in closets when her parents argued.

“I don’t think Miss Harper wants to go with you.”

The voice was cold, precise, and unmistakable.

My head snapped up, eyes searching for its source. Devon stood by the elevator in an impeccably tailored black suit. His presence alone seemed to expand the space around us, creating a buffer between my father’s rage and my vulnerability. My shoulders lowered from where they’d been tensed around my ears, and I took my first full breath since my father had cornered me.

My father froze. “Mr. Kane. This is a family matter.”

“Is it?” Devon moved closer, his footsteps measured and deliberate on the marble floor.

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