A FATAL FEUD
Harper is a swish of green satin down the carpet, her dark hair long and gelled straight and severely back.
By her side, Joel Ingram waits in a matching satin suit, dark but with green threaded through.
Harper leans her head on his shoulder, her heels bringing her level, and he turns to press his lips to her forehead. She glances up and smiles.
Jasmine McKenna: We’ve all poured over the footage. Every second—like the answer might hide within it.
Kayla Alexander: Harper loved Joel more than anything else. He was the easiest way to get to hurt her. But only one person has ever disliked Harper.
Nadine Heywood: I last saw Harper at the awards, as she glared up at me while I made my winning speech.
She and Joel must have snuck out early, but they seemed perfectly normal to me.
She was fire incarnate, determined to win and to scorch anyone who stood in her path—normally me, occasionally in Alexander McQueen.
And Joel was his usual pompous self, ushering her along like everyone was there for him even though it was her with the nomination.
Caleb Krause: I’m hardly unbiased. He was the husband and I was the ex-fiancé. He glowered at me the entire evening. When I won, I thought he was going to get out of his seat and swing for me. So yeah, I knew he was jealous. But so jealous he’d destroy his own marriage?
Stephanie Cameron: To be honest, I never liked Joel all that much.
He loved Harper the same way he loved his car and his watch—like she was just another symbol of his success.
I’m sure that when he abandoned her, that image was the only thing on his mind—not Harper, and not the world he was leaving behind.