Page 60 of The Beast

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do. He was shot. Beaten. Left in a burning cabin to die.” I step closer, searching his face for more cracks. “Someone made sure he’d believe I was involved. Wanted him to go to his grave believing the woman he loved wanted him dead. Why, Father? Why the hell would you do that?”

“Don’t be absurd. If Gabriel Grimm crawled out of a fire with brain damage, that’s not my problem.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only answer I have. You’re talking nonsense.” He moves toward the door, then pauses, looking back at me. The fury in his eyes has gone cold. Calculating. This is the version of my father that terrifies me the most—not the volcanic rage, but the icy control. “Fix the gaming commission problem. Keep the merger on track. And stay away from Gabriel Grimm.” His voice drops. “That’s not a request, Isabella.”

“And if I don’t?”

He holds my gaze. “Don’t test me, child. You should know better by now.”

He strides out, the door slamming shut behind him.

I stand there for a long moment, my hands shaking, my heart racing.

I was right about Aspen. I’m certain I saw fear on his face. Fear of being caught. Fear of being exposed. Fear of whatever truth he’s been hiding for five years.

I move to the window, then stare out at the Atlantic City skyline without really seeing it. Somewhere out there, Gabriel is fighting his own war. Planning his next move. Trying to decide if I’m his enemy or his salvation.

And somewhere in the past—in a fire that was supposed to destroy all evidence—lies the truth about what really happened that night.

My father knows. Maybe he ordered it. Maybe he just knows who did. But he knows.

I think about Gabriel. The web of scars on his shoulders. The bullet wounds that should have killed him. The rage that’s lived in him all those years.

Five years of planning and building and waiting, all because he believed the woman he loved had betrayed him.

Because someone made sure the last thing he’d ever believe was that I wanted him dead.

That’s not just murder. That’s salting the earth. Making sure that even if he survived, Gabe would never trust me again.

My father operates like that. Not just destroying his enemies, but making sure nothing can ever grow there again.

The door to David’s bedroom opens behind me, and I whip around to face David and Harper.

“Are you okay?” Harper asks.

“No.” I wrap my arms around myself. “But I’m going to be.”

“What did he want?”

“He just popped by to threaten me. To control me.” I look at each of them in turn. “To feel me out and make sure I don’t suspect the truth.”

Harper and David exchange a glance. “Truth?” David asks.

“About Gabe.”

Harper sucks in a breath. “You think your father was involved back then.” It’s not a question.

“I know he was involved.” The certainty settles into my bones, cold and heavy. “I just have to prove it.”

David frowns. “How?”

“I don’t know. But I’m going to figure it out.”