Chapter 3 - Her Father's Secret Was Hidden in the Cake
The police arrived.
But Adrian didn't wait for their report.
He took Nora to a secure apartment owned by one of his legitimate companies.
She hated it.
He knew.
“You can't keep me here.”
“You can leave when the situation is contained.”
“I don't even know what the situation is.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I know someone shot at my apartment.”
“Because of your father.”
She turned.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it's true.”
“What did he hide?”
Adrian placed the photograph on the table.
“A ledger.”
“What is in it?”
“Enough to bring down half the people who run this city.”
Nora stared.
“My father was an accountant.”
“He was.”
“He made pastries with me.”
“I know.”
“He hated confrontation.”
“I know.”
“He was afraid of heights.”
Adrian nodded.
“So was I.”
She looked at him.
“What?”
“I knew your father.”
Nora sat.
“Tell me.”
Adrian finally did.
Daniel Bell had helped Adrian's father build the legitimate side of the Vale organization.
Daniel believed they could separate business from criminal activity.
He was wrong.
When he discovered money laundering, he copied everything.
He trusted only two people.
Adrian's father.
And Marcus Vale.
Adrian's older brother.
Nora frowned.
“You have a brother?”
“Had.”
“What happened?”
“Marcus died ten years ago.”
“Accident?”
Adrian looked away.
“Murder.”
“By Victor?”
“We believe so.”
Nora's hands tightened.
“And my father?”
“He disappeared two years later.”
“You think Victor killed him.”
“Yes.”
“Then what does that have to do with me?”
Adrian opened a file.
Inside was a recipe.
Pistachio cake.
Nora stared.
“My father's recipe.”
“Look at the measurements.”
She did.
“Three hundred grams flour.”
“Take the numbers.”
“Three… zero… zero…”
“Not like that.”
Adrian pointed.
The recipe included strange quantities.
Nora suddenly understood.
“These aren't measurements.”
“No.”
“They're coordinates.”
“Yes.”
She stared.
Her father had hidden the map inside a recipe.
They entered the numbers.
The coordinates led to a storage unit.
Under Daniel Bell's name.
Nora's heart pounded.
“What year?”
“The lease was signed twelve years ago.”
“Before he died.”
Adrian nodded.
They went there that afternoon.
The storage unit contained an old bakery mixer.
A table.
Boxes of flour.
And a wooden recipe chest.
Nora opened it.
Inside was a letter.
Dear Nora,
If you are reading this, I failed to come home.
She began crying.
Adrian stood behind her.
I need you to know something.
I never abandoned you.
I left because people I trusted became dangerous.
The person who caused this isn't who you think.
Nora read on.
Trust the man who remembers the little things.
She froze.
Adrian looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
“I don't know.”
Then she turned the page.
Your mother knows where the final ledger is.
Nora went still.
“My mother?”
The letter ended.
Ask her about the lake house.
The lake house belonged to Nora's family.
Her mother had sold it after Daniel's death.
Or so Nora thought.
When they confronted Elena Bell, she broke down.
“I lied.”
Nora stared.
“About what?”
“The lake house.”
“You didn't sell it.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
Nora closed her eyes.
“Everyone says that.”
Elena cried.
“Your father asked me to hide it.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed someone would eventually come looking.”
She handed Nora an old key.
“Your father buried the ledger beneath the fireplace.”
Adrian looked at the key.
“Why didn't you get it?”
“Because he told me never to return.”
Nora looked at Adrian.
“Then we go tonight.”
They drove in silence.
The lake house stood three hours outside Chicago.
Snow covered the roof.
The lake was black beneath the moon.
Inside the fireplace, they found a metal box.
Adrian opened it.
The ledger was inside.
Thick.
Black.
Old.
Nora touched the cover.
“This ruined his life.”
Adrian looked at her.
“No.”
“What?”
“Greed ruined his life.”
He opened the ledger.
Names filled the pages.
Judges.
Police.
Bankers.
Businessmen.
But one name appeared more than any other.
Vale.
Adrian stared.
Then another.
Bell.
And a final name.
Kane.
Victor.
Nora swallowed.
“So all three families were involved.”
Adrian nodded.
“Once.”
“And now?”
“Now someone wants the ledger destroyed.”
A gunshot echoed outside.
Adrian grabbed Nora.
The window shattered.
Snow flew across the room.
“Down!”
Three vehicles appeared beyond the trees.
Men stepped out.
Adrian's security team returned fire.
Nora crouched behind the sofa.
Adrian pulled the ledger under his coat.
“We're leaving.”
“How?”
“The basement.”
“There is no basement.”
“There is now.”
He kicked open a concealed door beneath the stairs.
They escaped through a tunnel.
Nora stared at him.
“You knew about this.”
“I've known about this house longer than you.”
“Why?”
“Because your father contacted my father from here.”
Nora stopped.
“My father contacted your father.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't they save him?”
Adrian's face darkened.
“They tried.”
“And failed.”
“Yes.”
Outside, sirens approached.
Adrian looked back toward the house.
“This is only half the ledger.”
Nora frowned.
“Half?”
“The second half was moved.”
“Where?”
Adrian looked at her.
“You're going to hate the answer.”
May you like
“What is it?”
“Your father's grave.”
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