Chapter 4 - Grandpa's LetterThe old warehouse looked abandoned.
Rust covered the metal doors.
Broken windows were boarded up.
Snow had accumulated along the roof.
But Samuel was waiting inside.
He held a small wooden box.
“This was hidden behind a false wall.”
Dad took it.
“Where's the letter?”
Samuel pointed.
“Inside.”
Dad opened the box.
There was a single envelope.
My name was written across it.
CLARA VANCE
I stared at the handwriting.
I recognized it immediately.
My grandfather.
Dad handed it to me.
“It's yours.”
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Clara,
If you are reading this, something has gone terribly wrong.
Your father will probably try to protect you by telling you nothing.
Don't let him.
The Vance family has been built on a lie for thirty years.
Nathan Reed did not steal from us.
He was framed.
The person responsible was someone inside our family.
Someone who wanted control of Vance Holdings.
I discovered the truth too late.
If anyone attempts to use my name to control the company or your father's estate, look for the red ledger.
It contains everything.
Trust no one.
Not even family.
—Grandfather
I lowered the letter.
Dad looked devastated.
“Why didn't he tell me?”
Samuel answered softly.
“Maybe he was trying to protect you.”
Dad shook his head.
“He spent his entire life protecting everyone except himself.”
I looked around.
“What's the red ledger?”
Samuel pointed toward the wooden box.
“There was something else.”
He removed a small brass key.
“Your grandfather left this.”
Dad stared at it.
“What does it open?”
Samuel smiled sadly.
“The warehouse office.”
We walked deeper inside.
Behind a stack of old crates was a metal door.
The key fit.
Inside was a small room covered in dust.
There were filing cabinets.
Boxes.
Old photographs.
And one red leather ledger sitting on a desk.
Dad opened it.
Page after page contained financial records.
Transfers.
Shell companies.
Bank accounts.
Names.
Then he saw one name.
His face turned white.
“Serena.”
I stepped closer.
“What?”
Dad showed me the page.
My sister's name appeared beside a transfer.
$175,000.
Another page.
$220,000.
Another.
$90,000.
My stomach twisted.
“Dad…”
He flipped another page.
This time the name wasn't Serena.
It was Julian.
Then another.
And another.
The payments had been occurring for years.
But they weren't coming from Dad.
They were coming from Vance Holdings.
The dormant company.
Dad looked sick.
“I thought the company was closed.”
Samuel shook his head.
“It never closed.”
“Who controlled it?”
Samuel looked at him.
“Your father.”
Dad stared at the ledger.
Then he whispered:
“Grandpa was funding them.”
“Why?”
Dad didn't answer.
I turned another page.
A handwritten note was attached.
The children must never know.
Below it were three initials.
M.V.
Marcus Vance.
Dad's initials.
But Dad shook his head.
“That isn't my handwriting.”
I looked at him.
“Then whose?”
He turned the page.
At the bottom was another sentence.
If Marcus discovers the truth, the family will turn against him.
Dad sat down.
Suddenly, his phone rang.
Serena.
He answered.
Her voice was trembling.
“Dad?”
“What?”
“Where are you?”
“Why?”
“Because Julian is missing.”
Dad stood.
“What?”
“He left the house two hours ago.”
“Where did he go?”
“I don't know.”
Then Serena whispered:
“Someone left a note.”
Dad's face tightened.
“What does it say?”
She started crying.
“It says Julian knows where the money is.”
The call ended.
Dad looked at me.
“We have to find him.”
But before we could move, the warehouse lights went out.
Something crashed in the darkness.
May you like
Then a man's voice whispered:
“You should never have opened that ledger.”
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