Chapter 12 - The Ghost's Ledger
The next forty-eight hours were a blur of shadows and hushed, furious conversations. Dominic was rarely home, spending his nights in emergency meetings with his top lieutenants and high-priced lawyers.
I was left alone in the massive compound with Noah and Tyler. But I couldn't just sit still while the foundation of my new life crumbled around me.
Late at night, while Noah was sound asleep, I slipped down into Dominic’s private study. The door was locked, but I still remembered the master codes Mrs. Hargrove had accidentally revealed months ago.
The heavy oak door clicked open.
The study was dark, illuminated only by the city lights reflecting off the lake. I walked up to Dominic’s desk, my heart hammering in my chest. I opened the top drawer, searching through the encrypted files, looking for answers.
Underneath a stack of real estate deeds, my fingers touched a thick, leather-bound notebook.
The Ledger.
It was the secret account book Marcus Moretti had tried to kill for—a detailed record of every bribe, every illegal shipping route, and every corrupt official in Chicago. But as I flipped through the pages, my blood ran cold.
The handwritings changed halfway through the book.
The first half was written in Dominic’s sharp, precise print. The second half was written in a delicate, elegant cursive.
Lydia's handwriting.
"She didn't just leak the routes," I whispered to myself, turning a page dated three years ago—long before the 'ambush' that allegedly killed her. "She was running the entire black market network with Moretti from the beginning!"
Lydia wasn't a victim trapped in a basement. She was the architect. She had staged her own death, framed Moretti when he became too greedy, and used Mrs. Hargrove to poison Noah so Dominic would be too distracted by his son's 'madness' to notice millions of dollars being drained from his accounts.
"You shouldn't be reading that, Clara."
I spun around, dropping the book.
Dominic was standing in the doorway, framed by the darkness of the hallway. He didn't look angry. He looked exhausted, his tie loosened, a shadow of dark stubble lining his jaw.
"She used you," I choked out, pointing at the ledger. "She used Noah! She poisoned her own child just to keep you blind!"
Dominic walked into the room slowly, picking up the ledger from the floor. He closed it with a soft thud.
"I knew," Dominic said quietly.
I stared at him, stunned. "You... you knew?!"
"I found out two weeks ago," Dominic replied, looking out the window at the dark lake. "When the doctors in Switzerland examined her blood, they found traces of the same toxin Mrs. Hargrove was feeding Noah. But Lydia hadn't been force-fed it. She was taking it in micro-doses to fake symptoms of trauma."
"Then why are you still going through with the wedding?!" I shouted, tears of frustration spilling over. "Why are we playing happy family while she's plotting with the FBI to destroy you?!"
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Dominic turned to me, stepping close enough that I could feel the intense heat radiating from him. He cupped my face in his large, calloused hands.
"Because the wedding is a trap, Clara," he whispered, his eyes burning with a dark, ruthless fire. "And she is about to walk right into it."
