Chapter 10 - The Secret Ledger
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We returned to the house while Victor's SUVs disappeared back down the mountain road.
"What secrets was Victor talking about?" I asked Thomas as we gathered in Ethan’s private study.
Thomas pulled a key from his pocket and opened Ethan’s floor safe hidden behind the bookshelf. He retrieved a heavy leather-bound ledger and laid it on the desk.
"Ethan knew your father was running money for local cartels through his construction business," Thomas explained grimly. "That’s why Ethan was trying to buy those ledgers from Victor—to hand them directly to the FBI and put Richard away for life so he could never threaten you again."
I turned the yellowed pages of the ledger. Inside were handwritten transaction logs detailing money laundering schemes dating back ten years.
"If the FBI gets this," I realized, "my father doesn't just go to state prison for assault. He goes away to federal prison for the rest of his life."
"And so does Victor Vance," Logan pointed out, leaning against the doorway. "Because Victor was the bank facilitating those transactions. That’s why Victor wants the debt paid—he wants to buy back his own exposure before the federal authorities catch wind of it."
Suddenly, the house power flickered and shut off entirely, plunging the study into absolute darkness.
The red emergency backup lights clicked on a second later, bathing the room in an eerie glow.
"Logan!" Hector’s voice cut through the comms radio with static urgency. "Sensors cut on the north ridge! Someone’s inside the perimeter!"
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The sound of shattering glass echoed from the basement floor below.
They were inside the house.
