THE PRICE
1772 Words
Bella Hart had learned a long time ago that powerful men rarely offered anything for free.
Especially men like Alexander Sterling.
She sat across from him the following afternoon, arms folded, watching him as he sat behind his desk with the same maddening calm he'd had since she'd walked into his life.
Yesterday, he'd offered her a one-year marriage as if he'd been negotiating a business deal.
Today, she wanted to know what the price really was.
“You expect me to believe this is simply about protecting my father's estate?”
Alexander's expression didn't change.
“No.”
The blunt answer caught her off guard.
“Then what is it about?”
He leaned back.
“Control.”
Bella stared at him.
“At least you're honest.”
“I have no reason to lie.”
She almost laughed.
“Alexander, you've spent the last eight years hating my family. Yesterday you asked me to marry you. Today you're telling me you want control.”
She shook her head.
“Forgive me if I don't find that reassuring.”
Something flickered in his eyes.
It disappeared so quickly she might have imagined it.
“Trust isn't part of the arrangement.”
“Then what is?”
“Protection.”
“From whom?”
Alexander stood.
Without answering, he walked to a locked cabinet near the wall and entered a code.
Bella watched him remove a thin black folder.
He returned to his desk and placed it in front of her.
Her curiosity immediately sharpened.
“What is that?”
“Part of the reason I made the offer.”
He opened the folder.
Bank records.
Transaction reports.
Legal documents.
Bella reached for the first page.
Alexander's hand moved at the same time.
Their fingers came close enough that she noticed the sudden change in his expression.
He pulled his hand back.
Quickly.
Bella looked at him.
He looked away.
“You're doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Backing away from me.”
“I'm maintaining distance.”
“Why?”
“I prefer it.”
The answer came too quickly.
Bella gave him a suspicious look before turning back to the documents.
Whatever was wrong with Alexander Sterling was his problem.
She had bigger things to worry about.
Her eyes stopped on the first transaction.
“This account belonged to my father.”
“Yes.”
She looked at the date.
The transfer had been made eight years ago.
“It's the same account that disappeared from the original records.”
Alexander nodded.
Bella turned another page.
“This account was closed three days after Richard Sterling died.”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“I found the records.”
“Why weren't they given to the original investigators?”
“I don't know.”
Bella looked through the next few pages.
There were two more transfers.
Then another.
All around the same period.
She frowned.
“These don't prove my father stole anything.”
“No.”
Alexander's voice was quieter now.
“They prove money moved.”
“Where?”
“That's what we haven't discovered.”
Bella looked up.
“Then why are you showing me?”
“Because you want the truth.”
“And you don't?”
His gaze met hers.
“I want the truth too.”
The admission surprised her.
Not because she thought he was incapable of wanting it.
But because he had spent years acting as though he already knew exactly what had happened.
Bella studied him.
For the first time, she saw something different beneath all that anger.
Something tired.
Something wounded.
“You really loved him.”
Alexander's expression changed.
“My father?”
“Richard.”
His face closed immediately.
“That isn't relevant.”
“It is if you're still punishing my family for his death.”
“He was my father.”
“I know.”
“You don't know what happened that night.”
Bella's voice softened.
“Then tell me.”
Alexander looked toward the window.
Rain tapped against the glass.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low.
“I found him that night.”
Bella didn't interrupt.
“There was blood everywhere.”
His fingers tightened against the edge of the desk.
“My father was already dead.”
She swallowed.
Alexander continued.
“I was twenty-four.”
His eyes remained on the rain.
“I believed the evidence. I believed the investigators. I believed your father had betrayed him.”
“And now?”
He finally looked at her.
“Now I'm not certain.”
Bella felt the words settle between them.
For eight years, Alexander had built his entire life around one conclusion.
And now he was admitting that conclusion might be wrong.
“Then why do you still treat me like I'm the enemy?”
His expression hardened.
“Because uncertainty doesn't erase eight years.”
Bella understood.
Perhaps more than he realized.
She lowered her gaze to the documents.
“What happens if I refuse your offer?”
“The estate goes back to court.”
“And then?”
“You may lose what's left.”
Her fingers tightened.
“My father's house?”
“Possibly.”
“The hospital debts?”
“Those remain your responsibility.”
Bella looked up sharply.
“You're threatening me.”
“No.”
“You're giving me a choice where one option destroys everything I've spent years protecting.”
“I am telling you the consequences.”
“You could help me without marrying me.”
“I could.”
“Then why won't you?”
Silence.
Alexander looked at her.
There were reasons he couldn't say aloud.
The marriage would give him access to Bella.
It would bring a Hart into his house.
It would put her close enough for him to find out what she knew—and what she didn't.
But there was another reason.
One he refused to examine.
He wanted her close.
Not because of revenge.
Because something about Bella had begun to disturb the carefully controlled life he'd built.
He hated that possibility.
“This arrangement benefits us both.”
Bella shook her head.
“No. It benefits you.”
“How?”
“You get a Hart.”
His eyes hardened.
“Exactly.”
Bella stood.
“So this isn't a marriage.”
“No.”
“It's revenge.”
Alexander didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
Bella's expression tightened.
“I won't be your revenge.”
She turned toward the door.
“Wait.”
She stopped.
Alexander picked up another document from the desk.
“There is one more thing.”
Bella turned around.
He held out a photocopy.
She took it.
The moment she saw the handwriting, her stomach dropped.
Her father's.
“What is this?”
“I found it in my father's private archive.”
Bella looked at the first line.
Her breath caught.
Richard, if you discover what I've found, you must not trust—
The sentence ended there.
The rest of the page had been torn away.
Bella stared at it.
“Where's the rest?”
“I don't know.”
“Who tore it?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why show me?”
“Because someone went to great lengths to remove it.”
Bella ran her thumb along the torn edge.
The page hadn't been damaged by age.
It had been deliberately ripped.
A chill moved through her.
Someone had wanted those words gone.
Someone had been afraid of what Richard Sterling might discover.
Or what he might have told someone else.
Bella looked up.
“Why didn't you tell me about this yesterday?”
“Because I wasn't sure what it meant.”
“And now?”
“Now I think someone didn't want my father to know the truth.”
Bella stared at him.
“About what?”
“I don't know.”
She hated that answer.
But somehow, this time, she believed him.
She looked back at the letter.
Alexander watched her carefully.
She looked shaken.
Not weak.
He'd never mistake Bella for weak.
Just human.
Something inside him made him want to move toward her.
To take the paper from her hand.
To tell her that whatever had happened eight years ago, she didn't have to face it alone.
His body shifted before he could stop it.
He caught himself.
His hand closed into a fist.
Don't.
She was a Hart.
His enemy.
The woman he'd chosen for revenge.
Not someone he protected.
Not someone he comforted.
Bella looked at him.
“You said there was enough evidence to protect my father's estate.”
“There is.”
“And if I marry you?”
“I'll make it available to your lawyer.”
“One year?”
“One year.”
“No love.”
“None.”
“No expectations.”
“None.”
“And you stay out of my personal life.”
Alexander's mouth almost curved.
“That may be difficult.”
“Why?”
“You'll be living in my house.”
Bella narrowed her eyes.
“Then I'll make sure you regret inviting me.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth before he could stop it.
He caught himself and looked back into her eyes.
“That doesn't surprise me.”
She almost smiled.
Almost.
Then she gathered the documents.
“I'll give you my answer tomorrow.”
Alexander nodded.
“Take your time.”
Bella reached the door.
Her hand rested on the handle.
Then she looked back.
“You know something?”
“What?”
“I still don't trust you.”
“I wouldn't expect you to.”
“But I believe you want the truth.”
Alexander said nothing.
Bella opened the door.
“Goodbye, Alexander.”
Then she left.
The door closed behind her.
Alexander remained standing.
His eyes stayed on it.
Only after several seconds did he look down at his hand.
His fingers were still clenched.
Not from anger.
That would have been easier.
He had wanted to touch her.
Just for a moment.
To stop her from walking away.
Alexander slowly released his hand.
“This is a mistake,” he muttered.
But another thought followed, quieter and far more dangerous.
Then why does it feel like the first thing you've wanted in years?
His expression hardened.
No.
He wanted revenge.
That was the truth.
It had to be.
Because wanting Bella Hart was the one thing Alexander Sterling could never afford.
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