Chapter 10 - The Woman in the Old Photograph
That night, I returned to Clara's storage unit alone.
I told Maya I needed a few hours to think.
The truth was, I needed to breathe.
For the first time since I had been thrown out of the Blackwood mansion, I had reached a point where the immediate danger seemed to be over.
Daniel was in prison.
Richard had lost control of the company.
Patricia had been forced out of the estate.
The pension fund had been restored.
Blackwood Manufacturing was recovering.
I had rebuilt my life.
So why did Daniel's letter bother me so much?
Because of one sentence.
There is a second set of books.
I kept hearing it.
The storage unit was dark except for the small lamp I had brought.
Boxes covered the walls.
Clara had kept everything.
Old contracts.
Photographs.
Letters.
Tax records.
Personal journals.
I searched through several boxes before finding an album I had never seen before.
The cover was black.
No title.
No label.
I opened it.
The first photographs showed Clara at company events.
Then Richard Blackwood.
Then Arthur Sterling.
Then several investors.
One man appeared repeatedly.
A younger version of Victor Sloan.
I stopped.
Victor Sloan.
The same man who had approached me only days earlier offering to "save" Blackwood Manufacturing.
The same man who had claimed my company was in trouble.
I looked closer at the old photograph.
Victor wasn't standing with the Blackwoods as an outsider.
He was sitting at their table.
Beside Richard.
Beside Nathaniel Cross.
Beside Arthur.
They weren't competitors.
They had been partners.
I turned the photograph over.
Clara had written something on the back.
He knows about the second ledger.
My pulse accelerated.
I opened another photograph.
Clara stood outside a Blackwood factory with Victor.
On the back:
He believes Nathaniel buried the truth.
Another:
Victor is still searching.
Another:
Never let him near the family trust.
I sat down.
For years, Victor Sloan had presented himself as a powerful businessman who wanted to acquire distressed companies.
Now I understood.
He had spent years circling Blackwood.
Waiting.
Watching.
Looking for something.
The second ledger.
I called Maya.
She answered immediately.
“Did you find something?”
“Victor.”
Silence.
“What about him?”
“He was involved with Richard and Nathaniel.”
“What are you saying?”
“I found photographs.”
I sent them.
A minute passed.
Then Maya said:
“Evelyn, don't go anywhere.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm sending someone to you.”
“Who?”
“The private investigator we used on the offshore accounts.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Victor has been buying properties connected to Blackwood for years.”
“How many?”
“Seven.”
My stomach tightened.
“All around the city?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“We don't know.”
I stared at the photograph.
“Maybe I do.”
“What?”
“The second ledger.”
Maya went quiet.
“You think Victor is looking for it.”
“Yes.”
“And if he finds it?”
“I don't know.”
That was the truth.
I didn't know.
But I knew something else.
Clara had hidden the information for a reason.
And she had specifically warned me about Victor.
Twenty minutes later, Maya arrived with Detective Marcus Vance.
He looked at the photographs.
“Where did you get these?”
“My aunt.”
“When were they taken?”
“Ten to fifteen years ago.”
He studied Victor's face.
“He hasn't changed much.”
“What do you mean?”
“Same expression.”
I laughed.
“That's not helpful.”
He pointed at one photograph.
“Look at the building behind him.”
I looked.
Blackwood Manufacturing's old research facility.
The one that had been closed before Daniel became CEO.
The one my aunt had once told me never to enter.
“That's where the second ledger is?”
“Maybe.”
We drove there that night.
The building had been abandoned for years.
Broken windows.
Rusting doors.
Overgrown weeds.
But one security light was still working.
Marcus noticed it immediately.
“Someone has power.”
We entered through the rear.
The building smelled like dust and oil.
Maya followed closely behind.
The old research floor was empty.
We searched offices.
Nothing.
Then Marcus stopped.
“There.”
A small metal door was hidden behind a filing cabinet.
The lock had been forced recently.
We opened it.
Inside was a narrow stairwell.
It descended into darkness.
At the bottom was a concrete room.
There was a desk.
A chair.
And a steel filing cabinet.
The top drawer was empty.
The second contained old invoices.
The third contained nothing.
Then Maya noticed something on the floor.
A loose tile.
She lifted it.
Underneath was a metal box.
My heart began pounding.
I opened it.
Inside was a black ledger.
The second ledger.
I turned the first page.
Names.
Accounts.
Dates.
Payments.
Everything Clara had suspected.
Everything Daniel had hidden.
But one name appeared again and again.
Victor Sloan.
And beside his name were transfers that dated back twenty-three years.
Millions of dollars.
Then I saw something that made my blood run cold.
A payment made twelve months after Clara died.
The amount was enormous.
The recipient name was abbreviated.
E.V.
Maya stared at it.
“Who is E.V.?”
I didn't know.
But I had the horrible feeling that we were about to find out.
Then the lights went out.
All of them.
Marcus drew his weapon.
Somewhere above us, a door slammed.
Then footsteps began descending the stairs.
May you like
Someone knew we were here.
And they wanted the ledger.
