Chapter 5 - The Safe House
Mr. Vance drove us to a dilapidated motel on the outskirts of the city.
It was the kind of place that only took cash and asked zero questions.
We locked ourselves in a small, damp room that smelled of old cigarettes and bleach.
I sat on the edge of the sagging mattress, staring at the ledger in my hands.
"Why did Grandma have offshore accounts?" I asked, feeling completely lost.
"Your grandmother wasn't hiding money for herself," Mr. Vance explained as he bandaged his forehead.
"She was hiding it from the cartel your father got involved with."
I dropped the ledger on the bed as if it had caught fire.
"Cartel?" I repeated, my voice cracking.
"Your father's business debt wasn't a bad real estate investment," the lawyer sighed.
"He was laundering money for a criminal syndicate, and he lost a shipment."
My grandmother had spent the last five years of her life secretly moving her own assets to protect me.
She knew that when she died, my father would sacrifice me to save his own skin.
I opened the real ledger and flipped to the very last page.
There was a list of names, dates, and massive monetary transfers.
At the bottom of the page, there was a handwritten note from Grandma Ruth.
"To the FBI, this is the proof of John's money laundering operations."
She had gathered enough evidence to put my father and his bosses away for life.
"We have to take this to the authorities right now," I said, standing up.
Mr. Vance shook his head slowly.
"We can't trust the local police," he warned.
"Your Uncle Ray is a detective in the precinct, and he has been feeding your father information for years."
Before I could respond, the motel room door violently rattled.
Someone was picking the lock from the outside.
May you like
I grabbed the ledger and backed away toward the bathroom.
The door burst open, and my mother stepped into the room, holding a silenced pistol.
