Chapter 3 - The Ledger That Started the War
The black ledger was older than Grant's entire empire.
Roman watched the surveillance footage in silence.
Grant stood over the metal box.
Victor Hale wore gloves.
Neither man touched the ledger.
That detail mattered.
“Why aren't they opening it?” I asked.
Roman looked at me.
“Because they're afraid.”
“Of a book?”
“Of what's written inside.”
Victor finally spoke.
His voice was clear enough for the security microphone to capture.
“Arthur should have destroyed this.”
Grant answered, “He didn't.”
“Your sister has it?”
“No.”
“Then why marry her?”
Grant looked toward the cellar door.
“She was the only thing Roman wanted.”
Victor smiled.
“Then she's expendable.”
My stomach twisted.
Roman's expression became murderous.
He motioned for the recording to stop.
“That's enough.”
“No.”
I stepped toward the monitor.
“That is my brother.”
“He doesn't get to decide your life.”
“He already did.”
Roman turned toward me.
“Not anymore.”
I looked at the ledger.
“What is it?”
“Your father started keeping records after he realized Victor was stealing from the operation.”
“So Victor betrayed him?”
“Yes.”
“And Grant knows?”
Roman nodded.
“Grant knows more than he has told anyone.”
A sick feeling spread through me.
“What if Grant isn't just weak?”
Roman was silent.
“What if he's part of it?”
“We're going to find out.”
We left the estate through the rear entrance.
Roman insisted I remain surrounded by security.
I hated it.
But I understood why.
For the first time, I wasn't being guarded because I belonged to someone.
I was being guarded because someone wanted me dead.
At the harbor, Roman took me to a warehouse Luca had once controlled.
The walls were still scorched from the war.
“This was my brother's favorite place,” Roman said.
I walked toward an old office.
“Why bring me here?”
“Because Luca left something behind.”
He opened a desk drawer.
Inside was a photograph.
Luca and my father.
Together.
I stared.
“They knew each other.”
“Yes.”
“He wasn't his enemy?”
“No.”
“Then why did they fight?”
Roman looked down.
“Because Victor made sure both sides believed the other had betrayed them.”
A cold understanding settled over me.
The war hadn't begun because my father hated Luca.
It had begun because someone had fed both families lies.
“Who benefits?”
“Victor.”
“Only Victor?”
Roman paused.
“No.”
“Who else?”
He looked toward the harbor.
“People in politics. Union leadership. Port officials. Men who made fortunes every time another warehouse burned.”
I remembered the wedding.
Judges.
Politicians.
Shipping executives.
Men who had smiled while my family surrendered me.
Suddenly, the guest list looked different.
“They were watching to see who won.”
“Yes.”
I turned to him.
“And you married me in front of them.”
“I needed everyone to believe the feud was over.”
“Why?”
“Because if they thought I had forgiven your family, they'd stop watching me closely.”
I stared.
“And if they believed I wanted revenge?”
“They would expose themselves trying to help Grant.”
I understood.
The wedding wasn't surrender.
It was bait.
That night, one of Roman's men found us.
“Boss.”
Roman turned.
“We found another recording.”
He handed Roman a drive.
Roman played it.
My father's voice came through.
“I know what Victor is doing.”
Then Luca answered.
“You can't fight him alone.”
My father's voice became quieter.
“I won't.”
There was a pause.
Then my father's final words:
“Take care of Evelyn if anything happens to me.”
I covered my mouth.
Roman looked away.
He had heard it before.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your father sent it to Luca the week before the ambush.”
“But Luca died.”
Roman nodded.
“He gave the message to me before he died.”
I stared at him.
“And you kept it?”
“Yes.”
“For three years?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought your father used my brother.”
Roman's voice cracked slightly.
“I thought he wanted Luca close so he could kill him.”
“And now?”
“Now I think Luca was helping your father expose Victor.”
The truth was becoming unbearable.
That meant Roman had spent three years hunting the wrong enemy.
Or perhaps he had always known there was more.
A phone rang.
Roman answered.
His expression changed.
“Where?”
He listened.
“Don't touch anything.”
He hung up.
I asked, “What happened?”
“Your brother came here.”
I froze.
“Grant?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He left something for you.”
Roman led me into the office.
On the desk was a small velvet box.
Inside was my mother's wedding ring.
She had died when I was seventeen.
I had never seen it after her funeral.
Underneath the ring was a note.
I unfolded it.
Evelyn,
I was a coward.
I let Victor convince me that if I obeyed him, he would leave you alone.
I was wrong.
The ledger isn't the only thing he has.
He has the original recording of what happened the night Luca died.
If you find it before he destroys it, you'll know who ordered the ambush.
At the bottom was one final sentence.
Don't trust me until I tell you where I was that night.
I looked at Roman.
“Grant knows something.”
May you like
Roman nodded.
“And now we find out what.”
