Chapter 10
The heavy thudding against the front door downstairs rattled the glass panes in the master bedroom, followed by a booming voice announcing the presence of the county sheriff's department.
"Open the door! Search warrant! Open up or we will force entry!"
Elena scrambled to her feet, the leather ledger clutched tightly against her ribs like a shield. Her heart hammered against her sternum as she looked from Marcus to Sarah, the reality of the situation crashing down around them with crushing finality.
"They must have tracked the delivery driver's phone when he fled down the street," Sarah said, her voice remarkably calm despite the flashing red and blue lights now casting erratic shadows across the bedroom ceiling through the window blinds. "Someone in the neighborhood called in a break-in."
"Stay here," Marcus instructed, his voice firm as he grabbed the heavy cedar chest and pushed it back into place at the foot of the bed to hide the scattered photo albums. "I'll go down and meet them. I'll explain what's happening."
"No," Elena said, her voice cutting through the rising panic with unexpected steel. "We go down together. If I hide upstairs with this ledger, they'll think we're destroying evidence. We give them the book voluntarily."
Marcus hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded. "Okay. But let me do the talking. You're too emotionally compromised."
They descended the stairs in a tight group, Sarah trailing a few steps behind them. When they reached the ground floor, three uniformed deputies stood in the entryway with their hands resting near their holstered sidearms, flanked by a tall, silver-haired detective wearing a rumpled gray suit and a badge that gleamed under the hallway chandelier.
"Detective Miller, county sheriff's office," the detective said, his eyes sweeping over the three of them with practiced clinical detachment. "We received a 911 call reporting an active burglary in progress, and our automated plate reader just flagged a vehicle fleeing this residence associated with a federal embezzlement investigation."
Marcus raised his hands slowly, palms open, stepping forward to place himself between the deputies and Elena.
"There was an intruder, Detective," Marcus said evenly, his voice devoid of panic. "He broke in through the master suite upstairs. We caught him, but he dropped his bag and ran out the back before we could detain him."
Detective Miller narrowed his eyes, stepping closer and noting the tension in their postures. "Is that right? And what about the federal embezzlement investigation? Because my dispatch center just linked this address to a corporate fraud case involving two missing millions."
Elena stepped past Marcus, her shoulders squared and her chin held high, despite the tremor in her hands. She extended the thick leather ledger toward the detective, holding it out like an offering.
"You don't need to look for warrants or search the house," Elena said, her voice steady and clear. "Everything you are looking for is right here in this book. Every transfer, every forged document, and the name of the person who orchestrated the entire thing."
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Detective Miller looked down at the worn calfskin cover, then slowly raised his gaze to meet Elena's eyes. He didn't reach for the ledger immediately. Instead, he signaled to the deputies behind him with a subtle flick of his wrist.
"Secure the perimeter," Detective Miller ordered quietly, before turning his full attention back to Elena. "All right, Mrs. Vance. Who's name is on the very last page of that ledger?"
