“It’s my best friend’s wedding. I should be asking you that question.” I tilt my head. “Do you have any idea who these people are?”
He looks nervously over each shoulder and then closes the gap between us like he’s about to drop the world’s most shocking secret. “I’m here on business.”
I cross my arms. “What business? The kind that got Mom killed?”
His green eyes narrow and a dark expression takes over his face. He stands like that for a moment, staring like he’s trying to warn me about something. Then, he straightens his shoulders. “I know what I’m doing and the last thing I need is you coming here to lecture me.”
There’s my father for you. I neutralize my facial features, but inside, my heart feels like it’s going a thousand miles an hour. He’s lying. Or withholding something, at least. It’s no coincidence that he’s here. ‘Business’ is the excuse he uses for everything he does, and I’ve had enough of his flaky excuses. He tosses the word around like it’s a plausible answer to every question, when it’s clear he’s trying to hide something from me.
“What are you doing today?”
“Business.”
“Where are you going?”
“Business.”
“Why are you setting up a meeting with a wall street investor that has just been charged for embezzlement?”
“Business.”
It’s about the extent of his personality, to be honest. I’m his daughter and also his colleague. I shouldn’t be kept in the dark about his things. But I am. And knowing some of his track record, he’s only giving me more reasons not to trust him.
“I’ll call a car for you,” he says. “You can stay at my hotel.”
“I have my own car and hotel.”
He watches me for a moment longer, green eyes staring deep into my soul. I take it as a sign that he’s done talking to me. He always does that. So, I stick up my hand to wave him a curt goodbye. It’s not like I can get anything out of him.
I’m done with this place anyway.
On my way out, I scan the surroundings one more time to see if Nikolai Rogov has come back outside. I don’t know what I’d say to him if I saw him, but I’m sure I’d think of something snappy on the spot.
But he’s nowhere to be found.
And I don’t know why that stings.
***
Back at my hotel room, I sit at the dresser and bring my laptop to me.
I was so panicked about Sophia’s wedding that I even forgot to close the lid before I left. Typing in the password, I unlock the device and navigate to the company server, which requires another password.
Access granted.
I pull the computer closer to my body, ready to investigate what my father is up to. There are thousands of files on here that he doesn’t realize I have access to. He thinks I stay away from hisservers, but I’ve learned to be stealthy and cross-examine files when I need to.
Most of the time, I don’t get too far with it.
There are too many company names and nuanced things that usually lead me to a dead end. But I’ve never been the type to give up easily.
I pull up the history of his private financial records and read the screen until something jumps out at me. A name. There have been some recent transfers to an offshore company called Sentinel International.
I’ve never heard the name before. Why haven’t I heard that name before? And why is my father transferring thousands at a time to their account? People use offshore companies when they want to keep something private. They also offer other benefits, like lower tax rates, sometimes no tax at all.
It’s fishy, either way.
“What the hell are you doing, Dad?” I mutter.
