Chapter 19 - The Ledger Found
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My heart hammered against my ribs. A hidden safe. Arthur had literally built a secret into the foundation of our home.
The safe didn't have a keypad; it had a fingerprint scanner. My stomach dropped. If it required Arthur's print, I would have to hire a professional safecracker, which would take days I didn't have. Desperate, I pressed my right thumb against the glass scanner.
A red light blinked. Denied.
I cursed under my breath. Then, a memory hit me. When Arthur installed the new alarm system years ago, he always programmed my thumbprint as the primary override, insisting the "Commander" should always have final access.
I wiped my thumb, took a deep breath, and pressed it against the glass again, shifting the angle slightly.
The light flashed green. A heavy mechanical click echoed in the quiet study.
I pulled the small steel door open. Inside rested a velvet bag containing my grandmother’s wedding ring, a stack of emergency cash, and a thick, blue, leather-bound accounting ledger.
I pulled the ledger out, carrying it to Arthur’s mahogany desk like it was a live bomb. The cover was worn from years of handling. I opened it to the first page.
It was entirely filled with Arthur’s neat, cramped handwriting.
It wasn't just a financial log. It was a diary.
October 14th: Evan came to the house today asking for another bridge loan. I refused. He threatened to tell Eleanor about the original Harbor Point buyout. He is a parasite. David is blind to him.
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November 2nd: I managed to copy Evan’s hard drive when he left his laptop in the guesthouse. I have the original loan files. Evan forged the collateral. He used Harbor Point's deed. I have printed the proof. It is taped to the back pages of this book.
I flipped frantically to the back of the ledger. There they were. Folded legal documents, signed by Evan, proving he was the mastermind of the illegal loans. Victoria’s blackmail material against David was now completely useless. I had the kill shot.
