Collision
1636 Words
The rain had stopped by late afternoon.
But the city still carried the storm with it.
Water glistened on the streets outside Sterling Global Holdings, reflecting the lights of passing cars and towering glass buildings. The sky remained heavy and gray, as though another storm was waiting somewhere beyond the horizon.
Bella Hart stepped through the revolving doors of Sterling Global Holdings with a leather folder tucked beneath her arm.
She had barely slept.
After her shift at the hospital, she had met with Martin Hayes again, and the documents he'd shown her had left her with more questions than answers.
Now she was standing inside the headquarters of the very family whose name had been connected to her father's downfall.
She wasn't sure whether that was brave or foolish.
Probably both.
The receptionist looked up.
"Good afternoon. How can I help you?"
"I'm here to see Martin Hayes."
The woman checked her computer.
"Mr. Hayes is expecting you. Twenty-sixth floor."
"Thank you."
Bella turned toward the elevators.
She had taken only a few steps when someone came around the corner.
They collided.
Her folder slipped from her arm.
"Sorry—"
Papers scattered across the polished marble.
Bella immediately crouched to collect them.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
A man's hand reached for one of the papers at the same time.
Bella stopped.
So did he.
She looked up.
And for a moment, she forgot what she was about to say.
The man standing before her was intimidating without making any effort to be.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit.
His dark hair was slightly tousled, and his features were sharp enough to make his expression seem permanently carved from stone.
But it was his eyes that caught her attention.
Dark.
Cold.
And fixed on her with an intensity she couldn't explain.
He slowly straightened, holding one of her papers.
His gaze moved over her face.
Not curiously.
Not politely.
As though he already knew exactly who she was.
"Dr. Bella Hart."
Bella frowned.
"Yes?"
He handed her the paper.
"You should watch where you're going."
She stared at him.
"I'm sorry?"
His expression didn't change.
"You nearly walked into me."
Bella glanced at the distance between them.
"You walked into me."
A faint flicker of amusement appeared in his eyes.
It wasn't warmth.
"Did I?"
Bella couldn't believe him.
"Yes."
He said nothing.
She gathered the remaining papers and stood.
"Do you always speak to people like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like they're an inconvenience."
His gaze remained on her.
"Only when they are."
Bella gave a disbelieving laugh.
"Charming."
She turned toward the elevator.
Behind her, the man remained still.
Watching.
Bella didn't know his name.
But Alexander Sterling knew hers.
He had known it long before she walked through the doors.
For eight years, the Hart name had been a part of his life.
A name connected to his father's death.
A name connected to betrayal.
A name he had spent years learning everything about.
He knew Bella was twenty-nine.
He knew she was a doctor.
He knew where she worked.
He knew she had spent years refusing to sell what little remained of her father's estate.
He knew she had continued defending a man the world had already condemned.
What he didn't know was why she looked nothing like the daughter of a traitor.
There was no arrogance in her.
No carefully rehearsed innocence.
Just exhaustion.
And an irritating amount of courage.
Alexander watched the elevator doors close behind her.
"Interesting."
Sebastian Cole's voice came from behind him.
Alexander turned.
His assistant stood there, hands in his pockets.
"Who was she?"
Alexander's expression hardened.
"Bella Hart."
Sebastian's eyebrows rose.
"Ah."
Alexander walked past him.
Sebastian followed.
"That explains the death stare."
Alexander stopped.
"I wasn't staring."
"You absolutely were."
"I was thinking."
"Even worse."
Alexander gave him a cold look.
Sebastian smiled.
"Should I find out why she's here?"
"Yes."
"Already doing it."
Alexander continued walking.
But for the first time in years, the Hart name felt less like a memory.
It was standing inside his building.
---
On the twenty-sixth floor, Bella stepped out of the elevator.
She found Martin Hayes waiting outside a conference room.
"You're late," he said.
Bella looked at her watch.
"By three minutes."
"I'll forgive you."
"How generous."
Martin smiled.
"Come in."
Bella followed him into the conference room.
Several documents were spread across the table.
She sat down.
"What did you find?"
Martin pushed a file toward her.
"This."
Bella opened it.
Her eyes immediately landed on the name.
Richard Sterling.
Her stomach tightened.
"What is this?"
"Financial records from eight years ago."
She turned another page.
There were account numbers, transfers, signatures and company references she didn't recognize.
Then she saw it.
Her father's signature.
Bella's fingers tightened around the paper.
"Why does my father's name appear here?"
"Because he signed the documents."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"I know."
Martin sat across from her.
"I'm still trying to understand what the documents mean."
Bella looked down again.
"Was this before Richard Sterling died?"
"Yes."
"And after?"
"That's where things become complicated."
Bella looked up.
Martin hesitated.
"Some of these transactions were never included in the original investigation."
Her heart began beating faster.
"Why?"
"We don't know."
Bella turned the page.
At the bottom was a handwritten note.
She recognized the handwriting immediately.
Her father's.
R.S. doesn't know.
Her breath caught.
"What does that mean?"
Martin shook his head.
"I was hoping you could tell me."
Bella stared at the words.
Her father's voice seemed to come from somewhere far away.
One day, Bella. You'll learn I never betrayed Richard Sterling.
She swallowed.
"What else did you find?"
Martin reached for another document.
Before he could answer, the conference room door opened.
Bella looked up.
The man from the lobby stood in the doorway.
Her expression tightened.
He looked even more intimidating now.
Martin immediately stood.
"Mr. Sterling."
Bella froze.
Sterling.
She finally understood.
This was Alexander Sterling.
The son of Richard Sterling.
The man whose family had spent years believing her father was responsible for his death.
Alexander's gaze settled on her.
It was the same cold stare from downstairs.
Only now Bella understood why.
Martin gestured between them.
"Alexander, this is Dr. Bella Hart."
"I know."
Bella's eyes narrowed.
"You know?"
Alexander stepped inside.
"Everyone knows who you are."
Something about the way he said it made her uncomfortable.
Bella slowly stood.
"And apparently everyone has an opinion."
"I have more than an opinion."
Martin looked uneasy.
"Mr. Sterling—"
Bella raised a hand.
"No."
She looked directly at Alexander.
"I'd like to know what he means."
Alexander's eyes moved to the documents.
"What are you doing with those?"
"Martin asked me to review them."
"Why?"
"Because they concern my father."
Alexander's expression hardened.
"Your father has been dead for years."
The words struck a nerve.
Bella's face became still.
"So has yours."
Silence filled the room.
Martin looked between them.
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"You don't know anything about my father."
"And you don't know everything about mine."
"I know enough."
Bella's voice became quieter.
"That's the problem."
Alexander looked at her.
"You think your father was innocent."
"I think he deserves the truth."
"He had eight years to tell it."
Bella's eyes flashed.
"He tried."
Alexander's expression changed slightly.
"What?"
Bella picked up the document.
"He left this."
She held it up.
"He said one day I'd learn he never betrayed Richard Sterling."
Alexander stared at the handwritten sentence.
Something unreadable crossed his face.
Then it disappeared.
"Convenient."
Bella lowered the paper.
"You don't believe him."
"No."
"You never did."
"No."
"Then why are you looking at that note like it means something?"
Alexander said nothing.
Bella took a step toward him.
"You hate my father."
His eyes hardened.
"You should hate me too."
Bella's brow furrowed.
"Why?"
"Because you're a Hart."
The words were simple.
But they carried eight years of bitterness.
Bella held his gaze.
"I didn't choose my father."
"Neither did I."
For the first time, something in Alexander's voice sounded less like anger and more like pain.
Bella noticed.
So did Alexander.
His expression immediately closed again.
"You should leave."
Bella stiffened.
"I came here to understand what happened to my father."
"And you're not going to find the answer here."
"How do you know?"
"Because I know this company."
"And I know my father."
Alexander stepped closer.
"You don't know what happened eight years ago."
"Neither do you."
His eyes sharpened.
Bella realized she had touched something.
Something buried beneath all that control.
She gathered the documents.
"Until I find out the truth, I'm not going anywhere."
Alexander's gaze followed her.
"You should be careful, Dr. Hart."
"Is that a warning?"
"Yes."
"Or a threat?"
He didn't answer.
Bella walked toward the door.
When she reached him, she stopped.
"I don't know why you look at me like you hate me."
Alexander remained silent.
Bella continued.
"But whatever happened between our families..."
She met his eyes.
"I wasn't there."
Then she walked out.
The door closed behind her.
Alexander stared at it.
Martin broke the silence.
"That could have gone better."
Alexander ignored him.
His attention returned to the document on the table.
R.S. doesn't know.
Eight years.
He had spent eight years believing he knew exactly what happened to his father.
He had built his revenge on that belief.
But now Daniel Hart's handwriting was sitting in front of him.
And for the first time, a question he had refused to ask began forming in his mind.
What if Daniel Hart hadn't betrayed Richard?
Alexander's fingers tightened around the paper.
His expression darkened.
Because if Daniel Hart wasn't responsible—
Then someone else was.
And Alexander had no idea who.
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