Chapter 15 - The Secret Ledger
|
I woke up the next morning alone in Leandro’s massive bed.
The spot next to me was cold, but there was a note on the nightstand, written in sharp, elegant handwriting:
Stay in the room. Don't open the door for anyone but me. — L
I wrapped myself in one of his heavy silk robes and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows. The estate below was swarming with armed guards. Twice as many as yesterday. Something was wrong.
I couldn't just sit there. I began pacing the room, my nerves completely fried.
That's when I noticed the painting above his fireplace was slightly crooked.
Curiosity got the better of me. I walked over and gently pushed the heavy canvas frame. It swung open silently on hidden hinges, revealing a small wall safe.
The safe wasn't fully closed.
My heart hammered against my ribs. Leandro was meticulous; he never left things undone. Unless he left in a rush.
I hesitated, then pulled the heavy metal door open. Inside were stacks of passports with different names, bundles of foreign currency, and a small, leather-bound black notebook.
I reached for the notebook.
As I flipped through the pages, my blood ran cold. It wasn't a diary. It was a ledger. But not for the Perry family business.
It was a list of names, dates, and massive wire transfers.
The names were politicians, judges, and rival mob bosses—including the Rossi syndicate. And at the bottom of every page, approving the transfers to the people trying to destroy Arthur Perry, was one signature.
Leandro Perry.
I gasped, dropping the book.
Leandro wasn't protecting his father's empire. He was systematically dismantling it from the inside. He was funding his father's enemies.
Suddenly, the heavy bedroom door rattled. Someone was trying the knob.
"Maya?" a voice called out.
It wasn't Leandro. It was Mrs. Gable, the house manager.
"Mr. Arthur Perry has requested your presence in the study," she said through the wood. "Immediately."
I stared at the black ledger on the floor. If Arthur knew about this, Leandro was a dead man. And if Leandro knew I had seen it, I was a dead woman.
"I'm getting dressed!" I yelled back, my voice shaking.
May you like
I frantically shoved the notebook back into the safe, closed the painting, and ran to the closet.
The game hadn't ended last night. It was only just beginning.
