Chapter 4 - The Man Behind ArthurBy sunrise, Arthur Sterling was under federal arrest.
The city woke to headlines.
JUDGE ARTHUR STERLING ARRESTED AFTER ESTATE RAID.
CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION EXPANDS.
MILITARY GENERAL RETURNS TO PUBLIC EYE.
But those headlines meant nothing to me.
Because Julian was still missing.
And my father had refused to tell me who was hunting me.
We were inside a government-secured residence when I finally confronted him.
“You owe me the truth.”
Victor stared through the window.
“You're right.”
“Then tell me.”
He turned.
“Your mother found the Black Ledger seventeen years ago.”
“What was in it?”
“Names.”
“Whose names?”
“Judges. Senators. CEOs. Intelligence officials. Generals.”
I stared at him.
“Why would they care about me?”
Victor paused.
“Because the ledger wasn't the dangerous part.”
“What was?”
“The copy.”
I frowned.
“There was a duplicate?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Victor looked at my mother.
She slowly walked toward us.
“I had it.”
My stomach dropped.
“Mom…”
“I hid it.”
“Where?”
She hesitated.
“In your childhood bedroom.”
I laughed.
“You're serious?”
“Yes.”
Victor nodded.
“When Arthur realized the ledger existed, he tried to find it.”
“And failed.”
“Because your mother hid it inside your toy chest.”
I stared at him.
“That was destroyed.”
“No.”
Victor placed a photograph on the table.
It showed our old house.
The toy chest.
And a small metal plate beneath it.
My heart raced.
“What is that?”
“A vault.”
I looked at Mom.
“You knew?”
She nodded.
“I knew the whole time.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Arthur had people watching you.”
Victor added quietly:
“Someone tried to kill you when you were twelve.”
I froze.
“What?”
“The car accident.”
I remembered it.
The crash.
The broken glass.
The months of nightmares.
Arthur had told everyone the driver had been drunk.
Victor shook his head.
“The brakes were cut.”
My knees weakened.
“And today?”
Victor's expression darkened.
“They're escalating.”
A knock came at the door.
An agent entered.
“General.”
Victor turned.
“We found Julian.”
My heart jumped.
“Where?”
The agent looked at me.
“At Saint Agnes Church.”
Victor went still.
“The church.”
“Yes.”
“Alive?”
The agent hesitated.
“We don't know.”
My father grabbed his coat.
“Let's go.”
The church was abandoned.
Rain fell heavily as we arrived.
Security surrounded the building.
Inside, the air smelled of wet stone and candle wax.
We found Julian in the basement.
He was tied to a chair.
Blood covered his shirt.
My mother screamed.
Victor rushed toward him.
“Who did this?”
Julian looked up.
His eyes were terrified.
“He came back.”
“Who?”
“He said…”
Julian started shaking.
“He said the Sterling family had served its purpose.”
Victor crouched.
“Where is the ledger?”
Julian laughed weakly.
“Gone.”
“Where?”
“Under the altar.”
Victor stood.
We searched the church.
Nothing.
Then I noticed something.
A small red mark carved into the wooden altar.
The same symbol appeared on the photograph from the childhood file.
A circle crossed by three lines.
I touched it.
A hidden compartment clicked open.
Inside was a black envelope.
Victor stared at it.
“Don't touch it.”
I stopped.
He opened the envelope with gloves.
Inside was a list.
Names.
Dates.
Amounts.
And beside each name, one letter.
Victor read the page.
Then froze.
I looked over his shoulder.
At the bottom of the list was one name.
VICTOR VANCE.
Next to it:
STATUS: ASSET COMPROMISED.
Then another.
LENA VANCE.
Next to mine:
STATUS: SUCCESSOR.
I looked at my father.
“What does successor mean?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, his phone rang.
He answered.
“Vance.”
A distorted voice spoke.
Victor's face became expressionless.
“Who is this?”
The voice laughed.
“You've always been slow when it concerns your family.”
Victor tightened his grip.
“What do you want?”
“Not what.”
A pause.
“Who.”
Then the caller said one sentence.
“Ask your daughter why Arthur wanted her alive.”
The line went dead.
Victor slowly lowered the phone.
I stared at him.
“Dad?”
He looked at me.
And I realized he was hiding something again.
Something enormous.
Something that could destroy all of us.
“What did he mean?”
Victor said nothing.
“Dad!”
He finally whispered:
“You were never their victim, Lena.”
I stared at him.
May you like
“What?”
“You were their target.”
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