Chapter 5 - Victor Claimed Lucian Was Lying To Me—Then I Found The Hidden Ledger In My Mother's Old House

I confronted Lucian that night.

He didn't deny it.

That hurt more than I expected.

"What ledger?"

"The missing family ledger."

"How long have you known?"

"Years."

"You told me you only suspected my father had been involved."

"I knew more than that."

I stared at him.

"You keep deciding what I deserve to know."

His face tightened.

"I was trying to protect you."

"By lying?"

"By withholding information."

"That's lying."

He didn't argue.

"What does the ledger contain?"

"Proof that my father planned to leave the criminal side of the family."

"With my father?"

"Yes."

"And Victor says otherwise."

"Victor lies."

"You could say the same about you."

He looked wounded.

I almost apologized.

I didn't.

"Where is the ledger?"

"We don't know."

"Victor thinks my father hid it."

"He did."

"Where?"

Lucian shook his head.

"I don't know."

I remembered something.

The house where I grew up.

My mother had kept a locked attic room.

After she died, I moved away.

I'd never returned.

We drove there the next morning.

The house was small.

Old.

Dust covered everything.

I climbed the stairs.

Lucian followed.

The attic smelled like cedar.

I opened the trunk my mother had left behind.

Inside were photographs.

Letters.

A scarf.

A music box.

And a small envelope.

Amanda.

My hands shook.

I opened it.

My mother had written:

If you ever need to know why your father disappeared, look beneath the third floorboard beside the north window.

I looked at Lucian.

He nodded.

We moved the board.

A metal case was hidden beneath it.

Inside was a black ledger.

Not blue.

Not red.

Black.

Lucian stared.

"This is it."

"You recognize it?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"My father spent twenty years searching for it."

I opened the first page.

Names.

Payments.

Dates.

Then I saw something unexpected.

The records showed Victor had been stealing from his own brother.

He had created false debts.

He had manipulated property deeds.

And he'd arranged for my father to take the blame.

But then I saw something worse.

Lucian's father's signature.

Beside a payment to a private investigator.

The investigator's target was my mother.

I looked at Lucian.

"What is this?"

He looked sick.

"I don't know."

"He paid someone to track my mother."

"Before he died."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

We read further.

My father had discovered the surveillance.

He had confronted Lucian's father.

Then the payments stopped.

The final page contained a handwritten note.

I trust Richard Ross.

If anything happens to him, protect his daughter.

Lucian stared at the page.

"My father knew you."

"He wanted me protected."

"Yes."

"Then why did he never tell you about me?"

"Because he believed the ledger was safer hidden."

I touched the page.

I felt strangely connected to two men who were both dead.

My father.

And the man who had once employed him.

Neither had trusted the people around them.

Both had tried to protect me.

And both had failed.

That night, Lucian and I returned to Manhattan.

He sat in the library reading.

I watched him.

Finally, he spoke.

"You're angry."

"Yes."

"At me?"

"Partly."

"Fair."

"Why did you start watching me?"

He looked up.

"Because Victor was looking for you."

"When did you know?"

"Three weeks ago."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the beneficiary."

"Anything else?"

He hesitated.

"Your father saved my life once."

I stared.

"What?"

"When I was fourteen, I was kidnapped."

My breath caught.

"Your father found me."

"He rescued you?"

"Yes."

"Then why did he disappear?"

"Because after that, he knew exactly what my family was capable of."

Lucian looked down.

"He wanted you far away from us."

I softened.

"My father saved you."

"Yes."

"And you saved me."

He looked at me.

"I wasn't sure I could."

"You did."

Silence.

Then he reached across the desk.

He didn't touch me.

He simply placed his hand near mine.

"From now on, no more secrets."

I looked at him.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

I placed my hand over his.

The moment was quiet.

Almost peaceful.

Then the alarm went off.

Security rushed inside.

"Boss."

Lucian stood.

"What?"

"The east gate was breached."

"Who?"

"We don't know."

A second guard appeared.

"There was a message."

He handed Lucian a photograph.

It showed me standing beside the ledger.

On the back:

YOU FOUND IT.

Now choose who dies.

My stomach dropped.

Lucian looked at me.

"Pack a bag."

"Why?"

"Because we're moving."

"Where?"

"Somewhere no one can find us."

I nodded.

But before we left, I looked at the ledger one more time.

There was a final folded page tucked inside the back cover.

I opened it.

My father's handwriting stared back at me.

Amanda,

If you ever read this, trust Lucian.

He will think he is protecting you by carrying everything alone.

Don't let him.

The tears came instantly.

Lucian read it over my shoulder.

He closed his eyes.

For the first time, he let himself grieve.

I stepped closer.

He pulled me into his arms.

Neither of us spoke.

We simply stood there holding on.

May you like

The Billionaire Said His New Cook Would Last Two Weeks

The Mafia Billionaire Bought a Starving Girl Cookies

My 4-Year-Old Daughter Called Me During an $80 Million Meeting

Until the lights went out.

And this time, the gunfire started.