Only two sober people remained in the room, and Harper cast a glance at her unconscious husband.

"Zack, you're the only one who's ever going to hear what I'm about to say. And whatever I'm going to tell you, you can't ever tell anyone else, not even your father. Do you swear it to me?" With a grim face, Harper kept her eyes on him, feeling with all her heart that Zack was the only one who could keep this secret for her life's sake.

"I swear, this is between you and me."

Harper finally nodded, letting out her breath. "Matthew was poisoned, and his life was in danger. I managed to seal the toxins in his legs, so he's unable to walk. We've found all the herbs needed to detoxify him, but I'm not sure who it was that exposed this secret. In process of detoxifying him, a mistake had been made, and he could die at any time. In order to save him, I'll have to take a massive risk, and pay a tremendous price."

"And what's that price?" Zack stared at her, having understood what she was trying to say. "Does this mean

rper took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was next. "I'm going to need Denny's help, actually. But I'm worried that he might hurt me out of his own personal grudge against me. And I'll need someone to guarantee my safety. And I was hoping that would be you."

"Harper, I won't let anyone hurt you," Zack replied immediately, fervent in his tone.

"Once I do what I have to do to save Matthew, I'll be depleted. I'll become too weak to even move and be comatose at that point. Now, while I'm in this state, if you find something goes wrong, I'm permitting you to kill Denny, Johnson and Rena without hesitation. If the secret guards refuse to obey your orders, you can use the Black Flag Token to demand that they obey you. You must hold this as a last resort, though. You'll have to keep that ace up your sleeve as long as possible." Truthfully, Harper was deathly worried that if word went out that Zack had the Black Flag Token in his possession, it would paint a target on his back and put him in mortal danger.