Chapter 7 - THE BLACK LEDGERWe found the broken restraints on the floor.
Elaine had escaped through a hidden passage.
Julian was furious.
For the first time, I saw him lose control.
“Find her!”
The armed men scattered.
Mason grabbed my hand.
“We need the ledger.”
“You still trust it?”
“I trust evidence.”
We entered the hidden passage.
It led to a second chamber.
The walls were covered in handwritten notes.
Dates.
Names.
Deaths.
Payoffs.
At the center was a steel safe.
Mason inserted the brass key.
The safe opened.
Inside lay a black leather ledger.
And a videotape.
No.
Not videotape.
A digital drive.
Mason picked it up.
A screen mounted on the wall activated.
Our father appeared.
Older.
Tired.
Terrified.
“If you are watching this,” he said, “then I am dead.”
I covered my mouth.
Mason stared at the screen.
Our father continued.
“Elaine, I am sorry.”
The recording changed.
A second man appeared.
The man from the photograph.
My biological father.
His name appeared on the screen.
Victor Vale.
Julian’s uncle.
I looked at Mason.
“Vale?”
He nodded.
Our father’s voice returned.
“Victor discovered the operation.”
“He wanted to expose his own family.”
“But before he could, he disappeared.”
The screen flickered.
A new file appeared.
A hospital record.
Then another.
A birth record.
Mine.
I saw the date.
The location.
The hospital.
Then I saw the name of the attending physician.
Dr. Elias Mercer.
I knew that name.
Everyone in my family knew it.
He had been Julian’s personal physician for years.
Mason looked at me.
“He delivered you.”
My skin crawled.
“Why does that matter?”
“Because Dr. Mercer signed your birth record.”
A sound came from behind us.
Footsteps.
Julian.
He entered the chamber alone.
No gun.
No men.
Just himself.
He looked at the screen.
“Your father always loved drama.”
“You knew about Victor.”
“Yes.”
“Is he alive?”
Julian hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
“He’s alive.”
Mason moved toward him.
“Where?”
Julian smiled.
“You’re asking the wrong question.”
“What’s the right one?”
“Why do you think he’s still alive?”
A deep metallic clank echoed through the chamber.
Julian looked at the ceiling.
Then at me.
“The shipyard alarm is active.”
“What does that mean?”
“The authorities are coming.”
Mason frowned.
“Who called them?”
Julian smiled.
“I did.”
The warehouse above us exploded with light.
Sirens screamed.
Julian stepped closer to me.
“I’m about to give you something your family never gave you.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
He leaned in.
“You were never the victim.”
May you like
Then he whispered:
“You were the key.”
