Chapter 2 - What the Ledger Kept Hidden
I stared at the paper in my hands.
The ink seemed to burn my eyes.
Mark stepped closer to the table.
“What is it?” Mark asked softly.
I handed him the birth certificate.
His eyes scanned the black text.
All the color drained from his face.
“This is a fake,” Mark stammered.
“Is it?” I asked, my voice cracking.
Leo looked up at Mark with dark, wide eyes.
“You smell like the picture,” Leo said quietly.
Mark stumbled backward against the counter.
“I never touched your sister,” Mark said.
“Explain this paper!” I screamed.
My voice echoed through the empty house.
Our eight-year-old son, Toby, watched from the stairs.
He was clutching his favorite toy train.
“Mommy, why is Dad crying?” Toby asked.
I couldn’t answer my own son.
Mark wiped his face with shaking hands.
“Clara was sick, Sarah,” Mark said.
“She needed money before she vanished.”
“Money for what?” I demanded.
“She was in debt to dangerous people,” Mark said.
“I signed loan papers to help her.”
“Why is your name listed as the father?”
Mark looked down at the wooden floorboards.
“She used my name to hide from him.”
“Hide from who?” I asked.
“From the man who started the fire,” Mark whispered.
A sudden knock shattered the silence.
The heavy front door swung open slowly.
A tall man stepped into the hallway.
He wore a dark leather jacket.
His face was hard and pale.
It was my uncle, Richard.
Richard had managed my father’s estate for years.
“You shouldn’t be here, Richard,” Mark said.
Richard ignored Mark completely.
He looked directly at young Leo.
“So the boy finally showed up,” Richard said.
Leo shrank behind my legs.
He was terrified of Richard.
“What do you know about this?” I asked Richard.
Richard pulled a black leather notebook from his coat.
“Your sister didn’t die in that fire, Sarah.”
My heart stopped beating for a second.
“What are you saying?” I whispered.
“Clara ran away to protect the boy,” Richard said.
“Protect him from who?” Mark asked.
Richard pointed a finger directly at Mark.
“From you and your reckless debts.”
Mark took a aggressive step forward.
“I paid off every single cent!” Mark yelled.
“With whose money?” Richard asked coldly.
Richard threw the black notebook onto the table.
The pages slid open.
They were account ledgers.
Monthly payments were recorded in fine red ink.
Every payment came from my trust fund.
Mark had been taking my money for seven years.
I looked at Mark in complete horror.
“You stole from me?” I asked.
“I did it to keep her safe!” Mark cried.
“He is lying,” Richard interrupted smoothly.
“Mark paid Clara to leave the city forever.”
Leo gripped my dress tighter.
“She didn’t leave,” Leo whispered.
Everyone turned to look at the little boy.
“She stayed in the old cabin,” Leo said.
“Until the bad man took her away last night.”
A cold draft swept through the house.
Last night, Clara was still alive.
I turned on Mark with pure hatred.
“You knew she was alive,” I whispered.
“I didn’t know!” Mark panicked.
“You paid her every month!” I screamed.
“To keep her away from you!” Mark shouted back.
“Why?” I begged, tears blinding me.
“Because she wanted to take everything!” Mark yelled.
The room went completely dark as thunder crashed outside.
Mark stepped toward me to take my hand.
I recoiled as if he were a snake.
“Don’t touch me,” I said quietly.
“Sarah, think about our son,” Mark pleaded.
“Toby deserves a stable home,” Mark added.
“You built this home on lies,” I said.
Richard took Leo by the hand.
“The boy comes with me now,” Richard said.
Leo pulled back with all his strength.
“No!” Leo cried out.
“He locked Mama in the basement!” Leo shouted.
Leo pointed his tiny finger straight at Richard.
The room suddenly felt ice cold.
May you like
Richard’s face turned stiff as stone.
He reached into his pocket.
