Chapter 2 - Shadows at the WindowPanic surged through me like an electric shock. Jerry let out a low, guttural growl, his stance lowering into an attack position.
"Jerry, quiet," I hissed under my breath, snatching the black ledger and the USB drive, shoving them into my backpack.
The deadbolt clicked unlocked.
I grabbed Jerry by his harness, bolted toward the kitchen, and threw open the fire escape window. Cold night air blasted into my face. The front door swung open behind me with a loud BANG!
"Clear the living room! Secure the package!" a harsh, gravelly voice echoed through my apartment.
I swung my legs over the fire escape frame, pulling Jerry down with me onto the metal grating just as footsteps thundered into the kitchen.
"Heâs on the fire escape! Move!"
We scrambled down the iron stairs in total darkness, rain slicking the metal treads. We hit the alleyway below just as flashlight beams cut through the gloom above us. We sprinted through the shadows, dodging garbage cans and slipping through narrow alleyways until the distant shouts faded into the ambient hum of the city.
Safe inside an all-night diner three miles away, my hands shook so violently I could barely hold my coffee cup. Jerry sat under the booth table, resting his chin on my knee, vigilant.
I opened the black ledger under the dim neon lights. Page after page listed high-profile public figures, corporate CEOs, judges... and my late father's name, David Sterling.
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Ten years ago, my father vanished without a trace, leaving behind millions in alleged missing funds and a ruined reputation. The police called it a fraud-and-flee case. But as I flipped to the back of the ledger, a handwritten note from my father fell out:
"If you are reading this, Ethan, Jerry led you to the truth. Trust no one in the department. The furniture was never meant to hide money. It hides the kill list."
