Page 254 of Money Reigns

---

Wesley lifts a brow.

“She wouldn’t steal. She has everything she needs with me.”

I say it with more certainty than I feel.

Wilder watches me as he sips my scotch.

Wesley doesn’t argue, he just says quietly, “Then let’s find out what she was doing.”

“I’m calling her,” I say leaving my own office and pacing the hall.

I stare at my phone a moment then dial. It rings twice.

“Hi, babe,” she answers, all breathy and casual.

My brow furrows.Babe? She never calls me that.

“Where are you?” I ask, voice low.

“I went to pick up lunch,” she says quickly.Too quickly.“I… I couldn’t wait.”

She’s lying.

I can hear it in the tiny hitch of her breath.

“Oh yeah?” I pace, one brow rising. “Where?”

Another beat.

“Not La Serenata,” she answers.

Smartass.

“Listen, I’m next,” she adds, voice soft. “I’ll see you soon.”

The line goes dead.

I stare at the dead screen for a second longer, jaw clenched so tight it aches. I force myself to breathe.

She’snota thief. She wouldn’t run. Not after everything.

No.

She’s not leaving. She wouldn’t. Not again.

But if she did…

She’d end up back in Brokenwoods and I’d drag her ass back here, kicking and screaming, tie her to my name, andneverlet her leave the damn penthouse again.

“Found it!” Wesley’s voice chimes. “She wasn’t just skimming. She tunneled straight into asset registries. She was after something specific.”

I step back in and walk behind him, Wilder tucks in close to look too.

“Here. This is the search history.”

Search Query:Maksim Korsakov

Related Entities: Korsakov Holdings. Gilded Ace. Exile. Smash and Sugar.

---