Chapter 9 - The LedgerWe escaped through the chapel basement and returned to the estate through a service tunnel.
My mother refused to speak.
I kept thinking about what my father had said.
The original ledger.
Hidden in my grandmother's room.
We entered the house from the rear.
The security system was offline.
The halls were dark.
We went upstairs.
My grandmother's room remained exactly as it had been before her death.
Perfume.
Old books.
Photographs.
And the antique mirror.
Or what remained of it.
I looked at the shattered frame.
Then I remembered something.
My grandmother's last words to me.
She had been sick.
Barely conscious.
She told me:
"Never trust what's behind the glass."
At the time, I thought she was talking about the mirror.
I touched the frame.
One side moved.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside lay a black ledger.
Andrew took it.
The pages were filled with dates.
Names.
Transfers.
Payments.
Then we found the first entry.
Sebastian Voss.
The next page.
Eleanor Whitmore.
My mother.
I turned faster.
There were signatures.
Bank account numbers.
Shipping routes.
Names of missing children.
And one line that made my hands freeze.
Andrew Whitmore: eliminate if necessary.
Below it:
Alexander Whitmore: maintain innocence.
I looked at my mother.
She covered her mouth.
"Tell me the truth."
She didn't answer.
"Did you order Andrew's death?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Then why is your signature here?"
"I didn't sign it."
Andrew stared.
"It was forged."
Our father took the ledger.
He turned several pages.
"There."
A second signature.
It belonged to someone else.
Eleanor Whitmore Voss.
I looked at my father.
"Voss?"
He nodded.
"My mother was secretly married to Sebastian's brother before she married me."
I stared.
"That means..."
"Sebastian is your uncle."
The room went silent.
I thought of everything.
The family.
The business.
The lies.
The money.
The disappearances.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A video began automatically.
No sound at first.
Then I saw Noah.
He was sitting in a chair.
His hands tied.
My heart stopped.
"Let him go."
A man's voice came through the speaker.
Sebastian.
"You have something I want."
"The ledger?"
"No."
"What?"
"You have Andrew."
I looked at my brother.
Sebastian continued.
"I don't care about the ledger anymore."
"Then what do you want?"
"I want the witness."
I stared at the screen.
"Who?"
The camera moved.
Maria appeared.
Alive.
Terrified.
Then Sebastian whispered:
"Bring me Maria."
The video ended.
My father shook his head.
"He's setting a trap."
Andrew looked at me.
"Don't go."
"We're not letting her die."
Our mother suddenly spoke.
"There is another way."
We turned.
She was holding a small key.
"I know where Sebastian keeps his people."
"Where?"
May you like
She looked down.
"Under the old Whitmore factory."
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