Chapter 10 - The Hidden Ledger
Inside the iron safe sat three thick, black leather-bound ledgers, a manila envelope sealed with red wax, and several glass vials containing a clear, unlabeled liquid.
I reached in and pulled out the manila envelope first.
I broke the red wax seal with my thumb, pulling out a stack of financial documents and a handwritten letter bearing my father's distinct, elegant handwriting.
The letter was dated three weeks before his death:
"To whoever finds this letter when I am gone,
If you are reading these words, it means my suspicions were correct and my time has run out. For the past six months, my wife, Evelyn, and my youngest son, Nathan, have been systematically siphoning funds from our family's primary commercial trust into offshore shell accounts in Panama.
When I confronted them with the audit reports, Evelyn threatened to destroy our family's public standing. But worse, I have recently developed severe, unexplained neurological tremors following my nightly tea.
I suspect they are poisoning me with a synthetic paralytic compound known as Tetrodotoxin-B. If I die suddenly of 'heart failure,' do not allow an autopsy to be skipped. They are destroying everything I built."
I felt the air leave my lungs in a cold, ragged gasp.
My father hadn't died of a natural heart attack.
He had been murdered by my own mother and brother for control of the Sterling family trust.
And Claire—my brave, perceptive wife—had found this exact letter three nights ago while searching for baby photos.
May you like
She had realized the truth about my father's death.
And when she threatened to go to the authorities before my flight landed, Evelyn and Nathan had used the exact same synthetic toxin on her.
