Chapter 5 - The Ledger in the Dark
Claire knew she was being followed before the headlights appeared.
The road through the Wisconsin woods was nearly empty.
She slowed down.
The vehicle behind her slowed down.
She turned.
It turned.
Claire's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
Daniel had warned her.
They had found the house.
She took the next exit and drove toward an abandoned industrial road.
The SUV followed.
Claire's heart raced.
She did not panic.
She had spent three years managing men who believed they could intimidate her.
A dark road was nothing compared to a Moretti boardroom.
She turned into an old warehouse.
The gate opened automatically.
The SUV stopped outside.
Claire stepped out.
“Come on.”
The door opened.
Marco Bellini stepped into the light.
Claire frowned.
“Marco?”
He raised both hands.
“I came alone.”
“How did you find me?”
“I didn't.”
Claire stared.
Daniel emerged from the building.
“I called him.”
Claire relaxed.
Marco looked at her.
“Vincent wants you safe.”
Claire almost smiled.
“He should have thought about that three years ago.”
Marco nodded.
“I agree.”
He handed her a file.
“He also wants you to know something.”
“What?”
“He has cut Vanessa out.”
Claire looked down.
“Does he still love her?”
“No.”
The certainty in Marco's voice surprised her.
“Who does he love?”
Marco smiled sadly.
“You already know.”
Claire looked away.
“I don't want to discuss that.”
“We don't have to.”
Daniel interrupted.
“The ledger.”
Claire opened the file.
“It was recovered.”
“Where?”
“An old bank vault.”
She turned the page.
The ledger was small.
Handwritten.
Twenty years of transactions.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Locations.
Codes.
And one pattern stood out.
Richard Hale.
But Richard wasn't alone.
There were three other names.
One of them shocked Claire.
Joseph Moretti.
Vincent's uncle.
Anthony's brother.
The man who had always appeared distant from the family business.
Claire whispered, “Joseph.”
Daniel nodded.
“Your grandfather suspected him.”
“Then why didn't he expose him?”
“Because Joseph had control of the family's political connections.”
Claire studied the pages.
“Was he responsible for my mother's death?”
“Not directly.”
“Then who?”
Daniel looked at Marco.
Marco stepped forward.
“We found the driver.”
Claire's breathing changed.
“My mother's driver?”
“The man who transported her the night she disappeared.”
“Where is he?”
“Dead.”
Claire looked down.
“Of course.”
Daniel said, “But he left a statement.”
Claire looked up.
“What did he say?”
“He said Eleanor was meeting Anthony that night.”
Claire's eyes widened.
“She was alive after that.”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
The room became silent.
Marco handed her a transcript.
Eleanor had spoken to Anthony.
She told him she had discovered the hidden network.
She told him Richard Hale and Joseph Moretti were involved.
She told him she feared someone would kill Claire.
Anthony instructed her to leave Chicago.
Eleanor refused.
She wanted to expose everyone.
Then someone arrived.
The transcript ended.
Claire's hands trembled.
“Who arrived?”
“We don't know.”
She closed the file.
“Then we need to find out.”
Back in Chicago, Vincent met Joseph.
His uncle sat calmly in an expensive restaurant.
“You're asking strange questions.”
Vincent looked at him.
“My wife disappeared.”
Joseph smiled.
“Perhaps she finally realized what kind of man she married.”
Vincent leaned forward.
“Did you know my grandfather forced me to marry her to protect her?”
Joseph's smile disappeared.
Anthony's name changed the air between them.
“You're becoming curious.”
“I should have been curious three years ago.”
Joseph sighed.
“Your grandfather was old.”
“He was right.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
Joseph studied him.
“You believe Claire.”
“I believe evidence.”
Joseph took a sip of wine.
“Careful, Vincent.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
Joseph smiled.
“A warning.”
Vincent stood.
“I don't take warnings from men who hide behind family names.”
Joseph's face hardened.
“You think you understand the Moretti family?”
Vincent leaned close.
“No.”
“I think I've spent my whole life trying not to understand it.”
He walked away.
Outside, Marco was waiting.
“What happened?”
“He knows.”
“Who?”
“Joseph.”
Vincent got into the car.
“Then we're close.”
Meanwhile, Claire discovered another hidden compartment inside the old warehouse.
Behind a metal panel was a box.
Inside was Eleanor's diary.
The pages were fragile.
Claire opened the first one.
Anthony believes Joseph is involved.
Richard is too ambitious.
I don't know who else they have recruited.
I fear someone in Vincent's generation may inherit the system without knowing it.
Claire turned the page.
Then another.
Near the end, one passage was underlined.
Vincent is not like them.
His greatest weakness is that he wants to be loved.
Claire stopped reading.
Tears filled her eyes.
Her mother had known Vincent before Claire even met him.
She had believed he could break the cycle.
Claire continued.
If Vincent ever marries Claire, she must never tell him the truth until Anthony is certain the family can survive it.
Claire closed the diary.
She finally understood why Anthony had chosen Vincent.
Not because he was the strongest.
Because he had the capacity to become different.
But Vincent had spent three years proving how wrong Anthony could be.
Or perhaps three years becoming the man he was always capable of becoming.
A gunshot cracked outside.
Everyone froze.
Daniel shouted, “Down!”
The warehouse windows shattered.
Claire dropped behind a table.
Marco pulled his weapon.
More shots followed.
The attackers moved quickly.
Daniel pointed toward the rear exit.
“Move!”
Claire grabbed the diary.
They ran.
Outside, black vehicles sped away.
Marco looked at Claire.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Daniel picked up a shell casing.
He stared at it.
“Moretti security issue.”
Marco's expression changed.
“So someone inside Vincent's organization helped them.”
Exactly.
Claire looked at the casing.
She suddenly knew.
“This isn't just about my mother.”
Daniel watched her.
“What do you mean?”
Claire's voice was steady.
“They're not trying to kill me yet.”
“Then what are they trying to do?”
May you like
Claire looked toward Chicago.
“They're trying to make Vincent think I betrayed him.”
