Chapter 14 - The Doctor's Ledger|
Vincent knelt before the massive oak desk in the center of the room. He inserted the brass key into the bottom right drawer and turned it.
The lock clicked open.
Inside lay a thick, leather-bound ledger covered in a layer of fine grey dust.
Vincent picked up the ledger and opened it under the beam of Paul's flashlight.
The pages were filled with meticulous, handwritten medical notes detailing various chemical compounds, doses, and patient names dating back to 1985.
Vincent flipped rapidly to the entries for the year 2018—the year his father died.
On the page dated September 14, 2018, three weeks before Lorenzo Moretti collapsed, a single entry was written in red ink:
Patient: Lorenzo Moretti.
Administered: Compound A-N (3ml via daily butter intake).
Contracted by: V. Vance.
Vincent stared at the initials printed on the aged paper.
V. Vance.
Victor Vance.
Julianna’s father. The senior appellate judge who had presided over the state's highest courts for twenty years.
The man who had sat at Lorenzo Moretti’s funeral six years ago, weeping openly, hugging Vincent, and promising to use his judicial power to protect the Moretti family from federal indictments.
It was never a mob war. It was never a brother's jealousy.
The Vance family had been systematically culling the Moretti bloodline for over six years to seize control of the waterfront real estate development projects through legal receivership.
"Boss?" Paul asked softly, noticing the terrifying stillness in Vincent's posture. "What is it?"
May you like
Vincent closed the leather ledger with a soft thud.
"Call the team, Paul," Vincent said, his voice dropping into an icy abyss. "We're going to Judge Vance's estate."
