Page 106 of Veil of Lies

I had a feeling this was not just about any relationship we might have. There was more going on here, but I decided not to prod. He’d tell me when he was ready.

“I’m here if you want to talk,” I said softly.

“There’s a lot we need to talk about,” he agreed. “But it’s late and we have a class at nine-thirty tomorrow. I groaned.

“Thanks for reminding me.”

“Come on, it’s time for bed.”

I quickly drained the now-cold chamomile tea and followed him toward the bedrooms.

For a moment I thought he was going to pull me into his room, and I wasn’t exactly averse to the idea, but instead, he kissed me gently and whispered, “Good night, Princess,” before pushing me into Harley’s room and closing the door.

Harley was still fast asleep, hogging most of the bed. I managed to slide under the covers without waking him and curled against his side, soaking up his heat.

Clearing the air with Brax had soothed my tangled thoughts and sleep came almost immediately, for once.

Chapter 81

Quinn

The photos Harley sent me of the key they found were clear enough to show the code on the back of it. My preliminary investigation told me it was a safe deposit box held at a branch of Wells Fargo. Unfortunately, there were branches all over the US.

What didn’t make sense was why the FBI hadn’t discovered the safe deposit box. Given how many resources the Feds had, it seemed odd they hadn’t already found the contents of a safe deposit box held in Daniel Cancello’s name.

So, if the existence of a safe box had not come to light, it had to have been purchased under a different name.

The only other person whose name it could be in was Stella.

“Is it possible your dad opened a safe deposit in your name?”

Stella frowned as she considered my question. “I guess it’s possible, but surely there would have been a record of the purchase?”

“Not necessarily. Your dad was smart, he could have hidden the transaction.”

“OK, but how will we figure out which branch holds the box?”

“There are 10 main branches. I guess we try them first. And if nothing turns up, we go back to the drawing board.”

“Which name would the box be in, though?” Harley asked from the sofa.

“What do you mean?” Stella said.

“Your real name is Estella Cancello, but here you are known as Stella Blake. Which is your legal name? You’d need to produce ID to access a safe deposit box.”

“I’m known as Estella Cancello, but my legal name is Estella Blake. Dad gave me my mom’s surname when I was born. I’m not sure why. He never explained.”

“Then I guess you make inquiries under Estella Blake,” Harley concluded. “If that’s the name on your passport, it has to be the name the box was purchased in.”

I handed Stella a sheet of paper with the contact numbers for each branch of Wells Fargo in the US. If my research was wrong and the key didn’t belong to a safety deposit box at Wells Fargo, then we were fucked.

Stella scanned the list and pulled out her cell phone. “I may as well start now, seeing as the banks are still open.” She disappeared into Harley’s bedroom and pushed the door shut.

Five minutes later I walked in and handed her a coffee. She smiled at me gratefully.

“Any luck?” I mouthed, not wanting to interrupt whatever conversation she was in the middle of, but she shook her head, looking disappointed. I squeezed her shoulder and walked back out.

There was nothing we could do now but wait and see if this lead bore fruit.

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