Page 105 of The Beast

“We found it.” Leo’s voice was tight with controlled excitement. “The three-hundred thou that got funneled to Dekker and Webb to finance their little party. The one that supposedly traced back to Bella. We know who really owned it.”

“Tell me,” Gabriel said.

“Two entities co-owned the account. Bella’s trust fund and another entity set up to look like a corporation only to skirt some tax laws.”

“What was it really?” Bella asked, holding tight to his arm.

“A twisting web of shell companies on top of shell companies, the whole thing set up twenty-six years ago in Isabella’s name, but with Sterling Hart buried down deep, the grand master of all that corporate bullshit.”

“And you can prove all of this?” Gabe asked.

“Hell, yes. And more. Five days before you left on your Aspen trip, someone walked into a branch bank in Manhattan and withdrew three hundred grand in cash from that account. The teller even remembers. Hell, that much cash, a woman alone. Not something that happens often. She showed ID, signed the paperwork. Everything checked out. As far as the bank was concerned, she was Isabella.”

Beside him, she squeezed his hand. “And I’m betting you’ve found proof of who it really was.”

“I’m just that awesome,” Leo said. “I had a buddy hack the archive to pull the security footage. We lucked out that the policy was to retain it all on a hard drive.” Leo paused. “It’s not Isabella. Similar build, similar features. But it’s not her.”

“Who?”

“Mina Panov.”

“That bitch,” Bella snapped.

“Yeah, well, can’t argue there,” Leo said. “And we know she’s been fucking Sterling on and off for at least five years. And guess whose account got fifty-K richer that same week?”

“Send us everything,” Gabriel said.

“Already done, but here’s the problem—Sterling’s in the wind. Mina, too.”

Gabriel shut his eyes, tamping the fury down. “Of course he is. The bastard’s been planning this for years. He’s not going to stick around and wait for us to nail him.”

“I’ve got people on it,” Leo said. “He can’t hide forever.”

“Fine.” Gabe forced the fury and frustration back down. “I’ll check in with you later.” With a groan, he hung up, then turned to Bella.

For at least two minutes, she said absolutely nothing. Then she laughed—sharp and brittle. “My whole life,” she said. “I’ve never been his daughter. A tool, that’s all. Just someone he can manipulate at his convenience.”

“Gabriel cupped her face. “You’re here. I’m here. And we’re going to take him down. Justice, I promise. Not vengeance.”

She flashed a sideways smile. “Honestly, I’m okay with a little vengeance.” Then she kissed him—fierce and wild and desperate. When she pulled back, her eyes were bright.

“He can’t hide forever,” she said. “We’ll find him. And then we’ll finish this.”