Chapter 4 - The Secret in the Study
I spent the weekend sorting through Arthur’s private study, looking for anything that could help our case. My grandfather was a meticulous man, a retired shipping magnate who kept records of everything.
Behind a false panel in his heavy oak bookcase, I found a vintage steel lockbox. The code, I guessed on the first try, was my grandmother’s birthday. Inside were not just old photographs, but a leather-bound ledger dating back to the late 1990s.
As I flipped through the yellowed pages, my breath caught in my throat. It was a detailed record of Richard’s early business dealings with Arthur. Richard hadn't built his wealth from scratch; he had systematically embezzled over two million dollars from Arthur’s subsidiary companies twenty years ago.
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There was a handwritten note clipped to the last page. “I kept this quiet to protect my daughter's marriage to Richard, and later, Sarah's marriage to Mark. But if they ever cross my Sarah, burn them to the ground. - Arthur.”
Tears pricked my eyes. Even from the grave, my grandfather was shielding me. I immediately scanned the documents and sent them to Sterling. The hunter was about to become the hunted.
