Chapter 5: The Ledger in the Velvet**
Julian gently tucked the blanket around Clara’s shivering shoulders. He could hear the wheeze in her lungs; she needed antibiotics and a hospital immediately. But taking her to a local clinic meant leaving an electronic trail that Kane’s corrupt network would intercept within minutes.
“Clara, what ledger are you talking about?” Julian asked, his voice steadying into the calm, analytical tone of the investigator he used to be. “I never had Kane’s financial records. I only had witness statements.”
Clara gave a weak, breathless laugh, coughing softly. She reached down and picked up Lily’s battered teddy bear.
“You didn’t have it,” Clara whispered. “I took it.”
Julian’s eyes widened.
Clara traced the thick, uneven stitching running down the bear’s back. “The night before the fire, my brother—who worked in Kane’s accounting firm—copied Kane’s private offshore accounts and bribe ledgers onto a micro-drive. He slipped it into my bag before Kane’s security executed him in the alley. That’s why they burned our house down, Julian. They weren’t trying to kill you. They were trying to erase me.”
With trembling fingers, Clara pulled at a loose thread on the bear’s spine. The fabric parted, revealing a tiny metallic drive encased in waterproof resin, tucked safely amidst the cotton stuffing.
“Every corrupt judge, every dirty cop, every offshore shell company Kane owns is on this drive,” Clara said, pressing the cold piece of plastic into Julian’s palm. “It’s our freedom, Julian. Or our death sentence.”
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Suddenly, the beam of heavy headlights sliced through the cracked slats of the boarded-up florist window. Tires crunched slowly over wet gravel outside.
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