Chapter 7 - The Ledger Beneath the Dead
Rain covered Manhattan the following morning.
Sienna stood inside St. Augustine's beneath stained glass and silence.
Her grandmother's memorial plaque was mounted near the eastern chapel.
Margaret Carter.
1938-2004.
Philanthropist.
Widow.
Beloved grandmother.
Sienna had visited hundreds of times.
She had never noticed the tiny brass keyhole beneath the plaque.
Kira did.
The church administrator produced an old key from church records.
The plaque opened.
Inside was a narrow compartment.
And inside that compartment was a leather ledger.
Sienna opened it.
Pages of handwritten names.
Dates.
Account numbers.
Corporate structures.
Kira turned pale.
"This is not a family trust."
"No."
"It's a private lending network."
The Carter Trust had financed companies for decades.
Quietly.
Aggressively.
Richardson Maritime appeared in records dating back thirty-three years.
Long before Sienna met Julian.
Long before Vantage existed.
Then she found Charles Richardson's name.
Beside it:
CONTROL PARTICIPANT.
Eleanor Richardson appeared several pages later.
BENEFICIARY CLASS B.
Sienna felt sick.
Her grandmother had been financially connected to Julian's parents for decades.
Then she reached the final pages.
Most had been removed.
One remained.
At the top was her father's name.
THOMAS CARTER.
Beside it:
SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE.
Below that was another entry.
DAVID HALDEN.
PROTECTOR.
Sienna closed her eyes.
David had not merely known her parents.
He had worked for her father.
Kira touched another line.
"Look."
Under Thomas Carter's name was a handwritten date.
Three days after his supposed death.
Sienna stared.
"No."
A second transaction occurred five months later.
Signed:
T. CARTER.
Sienna whispered, "My father was dead."
Kira didn't answer.
May you like
Because both women were thinking the same thing.
Maybe he hadn't been.
