Chapter 5 - THE LEDGER
The ledger existed only on paper.
Max did not trust digital records.
Rebecca had discovered it accidentally while looking for tax documents.
It contained payments.
Consultants.
Shell corporations.
Political donations.
Private investigators.
And one recurring name:
V.C.
Vanessa Cole.
Ethan looked at Rebecca.
“How much?”
“Over four million dollars.”
“What for?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel did.
“Influence.”
He studied the copied pages Rebecca had photographed before Max disappeared.
“Your wife wasn’t trying to steal the company alone.”
Ethan said nothing.
Daniel continued.
“She was buying leverage.”
Vanessa had paid private investigators to collect information on board members.
Affairs.
Debt.
Addiction.
Tax problems.
Anything useful.
She had been creating votes.
Ethan understood the scale.
“This wasn’t a backup plan.”
“No,” Daniel said. “It was the plan.”
Rebecca looked sick.
“My husband helped her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Daniel glanced at her.
“Money.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“No. Max had money.”
“Then power.”
Rebecca looked toward the window.
“No.”
Ethan watched her.
“What?”
She turned.
“Vanessa had something on him.”
That evening, Rebecca remembered a locked drawer Max never allowed anyone to touch.
Police would not search without cause.
So Rebecca did something reckless.
She returned to the house.
Ethan went with her.
They entered through the garage.
The drawer was empty.
But beneath it was a taped envelope.
Inside:
A photograph of Max with a young woman.
A hospital bracelet.
And a birth certificate.
The child was seven years old.
Father:
Max Turner.
Mother:
Sophie Lane.
Rebecca stared.
“I know that name.”
Ethan waited.
“She died.”
“When?”
“Five years ago.”
Rebecca turned the certificate over.
On the back, someone had written:
HE OWES ME FOR WHAT I CLEANED UP.
Initials:
V.C.
Rebecca’s face changed.
“Vanessa knew.”
Ethan asked, “Knew what?”
Rebecca whispered:
May you like
“Max had another family.”
Then the garage door began to open.
