How to Tame a Silver Fox – Episode 23
Harper enlarged the date beneath Evan’s photograph until the numbers blurred. If it was genuine, everything Chris believed about Boston had been built on a lie. Someone had wanted him to carry guilt for a death that never happened.
Chris examined the image without touching her phone. “It could be altered.” His voice sounded controlled, but hope was more dangerous to him than certainty.
“Then we verify it.” Harper forwarded the file to the officer handling the threats and to Chris’s security chief. She no longer waited for permission before becoming part of the investigation.
Chris watched her work. “Cole set fire to your house.”
“We don’t know that yet.” Harper refused to let fear replace evidence. “We know he was nearby, he attended the party, and someone wants us looking at him.”
Her caution surprised Chris. He had spent days asking her to recognize danger; now she was the one preventing him from charging toward the obvious suspect.
Maria called with another piece of information. Cole’s Yale society was hosting a private alumni fundraiser the following evening, and Christina’s family appeared on the sponsor list.
Harper received an invitation minutes later. The timing confirmed that someone wanted her inside the society house.
“You’re not going,” Chris said automatically.
She gave him a long look. He corrected himself with visible effort. “I don’t want you to go.”
“Better.” Harper placed the invitation on the counter. “But if Cole has evidence, waiting here gives him control.”
Chris proposed a monitored meeting in a public room, with his security team covering every exit. Harper agreed on the condition that she would decide when to leave.
They spent the afternoon building a false story: Chris supposedly possessed the original Boston ledger and planned to deliver it to federal agents. If Cole was working with Sloane, the bait would force him to reveal what he wanted.
Rehearsing required Harper to lie while Chris challenged every inconsistency. Their arguments became sharper, then playful, until danger briefly felt like a game they were playing on the same side.
“You smile when you think you’ve beaten me,” Chris observed.
“Maybe I like winning.” Harper stepped closer to take the invitation from his hand. “Especially against older men who underestimate me.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth before returning to her eyes. “That sounds like another rule you’re trying to break.”
Before Harper could answer, the verification report arrived. Evan’s photograph was authentic—but the metadata showed it had been taken by Mark Reeves.
