ABEL'S POV

I watched Ginerva's aquamarine eyes go wide in a fake expression of shock. I slowly let my eyes travel down her body. She was still very much a firecracker, her body was still as lush as I remembered from the last two years. Her full plump lips were drawn in a thin line. I hated the fact that I could still remember how soft those lips were, almost as though it was just yesterday when we had last kissed.

She was dressed in a pink blouse with a scooped neckline and a short denim skirt that hugged the curves of her very feminine hips. Her black hair was now cut into a bob stopping at the delicate shape of her jawline. If it were possible for her, I believe she would have been shooting lasers at me through her aquamarine eyes.

Even after getting information about Mr Gallo's diversion of funds and embezzlement, a tiny part of me hoped it wasn't true. In the past two years, I had been more focused in other establishments of mine. I had totally turned a blind eye to Masterson Bank, believing that the management of the bank was in safe hands.

I had never been expecting that Ginerva would be in alliance with her father to steal from me. The fact that she was trying to act innocent and ignorant was extremely disgusting.

"I don't understand what you mean? Why did you all barge into our property to make such claims? What evidence are you talking about?" She demanded, placing her hands akimbo, causing my attention to fall on her well-rounded hips.

"Can you not do that?" I snapped.

"Do what? Look, I don't know what you are talking about. My father will never take a dime that he didn't earn, he is the most honest person I know," she said in his defense.

"Are you plain stupid? Do you really believe that a man as busy as I am will come all the way down here with my lawyers just to make false claims about your father?"

"I don't know, from what I know, you like to make your own wild assumptions about other people's intentions," she said, bending to close the briefcase.

Her action gave me a better view of her cleavage from the low neckline of her pink blouse. I forced my gaze away from it, coming to terms with the gravity of the situation.

"I guess my assumptions aren't that wild anymore. My opinion of you that night was nothing compared to what I think about a shameless thief like you right now. Your father had the balls to steal from my bank, millions of dollars for that matter. You had better let us in or I'll call the cops!" I raised my voice.

That seemed to have gotten to her as she quickly backed away from the door, allowing us to walk in. "Don't expect me to get you some coffee, tea or biscuits. This isn't a pleasant visit, I'm sure you can tell," she said, in a deadpan tone.

"Ms Gallo, I apologize for us meeting in this manner. I am Patrick Jefferson, Mr Masterson's lawyer," Patrick said.

He seemed very uninterested in Ginerva which wasn't surprising based on the fact that he hated gold diggers, having been a victim of one. Patrick's divorce from his gold digging ex-wife, Carly Maxwell was something he never got over.

"I am John Sterling, I am Abel's friend," John smiled. I frowned at his womanizing nature which was very much unappreciated at the moment.

"I can't say nice to meet you gentlemen. Now, tell me what the hell is going on? Why have you come barging into my house like this? What is up with the embezzlement allegations against my father?" Ginerva queried, taking her seat across from us in the living room.

"Ms Gallo, I hope you realize that the situation is very tense. There were rumors last year about an embezzlement at Masterson Bank, but no evidence was found to trace that to your father. Recently, Mr Gallo was made the CFO, this gave him better access to more funds. The launch of my client's new mobile banking app was totally championed and supervised by Mr Gallo. He was sneaky enough to divert funds from the launch and that from customers into various accounts," Patrick explained.

"I beg your pardon. Why would my father do something that terrible? I think there must be some mistake somewhere," she said in disbelief.

"Oh, please! We don't need you acting like you are innocent. We came with proof of his crimes. So tell us, where the hell is your good for nothing old man?" I snapped.

"Don't you dare talk about my father like that!" She yelled.

Punching my fist into a throw pillow, I replied, "I would do whatever the hell I want. Now, tell me where your father is."

"I don't have to give you his whereabouts. He —"

"Ms Gallo, it seems that you do not understand the gravity of your father's crime. This is an embezzlement of our company's funds, we are talking about millions of dollars here. From what we can see with the money in the briefcase and a packed suitcase, it is clear that you had plans of running away with some money as well. It is a great thing that we caught you right on time," Patrick said.

"Tell us beautiful lady. Was it your share that you were running off with?" John added.

Ginerva rose to her feet in anger. "I don't know what you are talking about. My father is about to go on a business trip. He asked me to pack some things and cash for his travel. That is all I know, I don't even live here. I only came by to pack up what he needed."

I let out a bout of laughter at her statement. I couldn't even tell if she was being naive or she was only putting on a very convincing act of ignorance. Her facial expression showed confusion and shock at our revelations, but I knew it was only an act. 

"Ms Gallo, there is no need for your pretence. In February this year, you created a bank account with Masterson Bank, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. How is that relevant to this situation?"

"Well, it is in the sense that the account is one of the key recipients of the slush fund. Your father diverted stolen money into that account as well as a number of other accounts."

"That is not true. I don't even have a dime in that account," she said, pulling out her phone from her purse, probably to open up the bank app.

"You doubt that? Go on and login to that account. There has been a considerable amount of credits to it with equivalent debits. Your father even connived with one of our staff, Susan Morgan to achieve all of this. I assume you must all have had plans to run away together. It's too bad we got here on time," I said, clicking my tongue.

"Look at this, this is an empty bank account. There has been no inflow to this account," she said, showing me her bank balance.

"Really? Patrick, please show her the bank statement. I am getting sick of all this pretense," I told him.

Patrick took out some papers and handed them to Ginerva. She accepted it with shaky hands.

Putting her hand over her mouth, she gasped out loud, "this can't be."

"Oh, yes it is. You gotta start talking, Ms Gallo. Why does a poor and struggling artist Ike you have so much cash in a briefcase and where were you rushing away too?" John queried.

Ginerva looked at me with a hurt expression which did something weird to my chest. "Was this your payback strategy?" She suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you harassing me like this, calling my father names and accusing him of shitty things just because of what happened between us two years ago? Are you that childish?" She yelled.

"You will watch your manners, Ginerva!" I snapped. "I am being very good by not calling the cops here to have you thrown into jail. Do you have any idea why this whole thing is such a bother to me? I don't give a damn about your stupid behavior two years ago. That night has never once crossed my mind at all. Do you think I am a fool, to try to get back at you two years later?" I demanded harshly.

"Then why are you—" she was saying, but was cut off by the sound of the bell ringing. Just at the same time, her phone also rang.

"Which one will you answer first? I have a feeling that your father is the one on the phone. At the door might be who exactly? A boyfriend of yours who is also a scammer?" I queried.

I wasn't sure why I went that far, but I wanted to know if she was dating anyone. It was suddenly important to know if Ginerva was sharing that voluptuous body with any man.

Just as I delivered that stateme

nt, I saw her hand rise and I knew she was going to slap me just like the last time too.