Chapter 5 - The Ledger of Blood
By Sunday evening, an uneasy peace had settled over the estate, but the tension was so thick it felt like breathing underwater.
Every time Leo entered the room to deliver meals or check security logs, my stomach coiled in knots. I played my role to perfection, treating Leo with polite professional detachment while keeping myself permanently stationed between him and Liam’s medication lines. Liam played his part even better—feigning extreme weakness, slurring his words intentionally, and coughing weakly whenever Leo was within earshot.
"Dr. Chen called from the private clinic in Evanston," Leo reported on Monday afternoon, standing at the foot of the bed with a leather folder. "He wants to transfer you for an exploratory laparotomy. He says the infection risks at the estate are too high."
Liam let out a feeble, ragged cough, keeping his eyes half-closed. "No hospitals, Leo. Not yet. Tell Chen... another three days. I can't survive the transport."
"Of course, Boss," Leo said smoothly, but I caught the cold, calculating glimmer of frustration in the enforcer's eyes. "Whatever you say."
The moment Leo stepped out and the door locked, Liam’s posture transformed instantly. The weakness vanished from his spine. He pushed himself up onto his elbows, his jaw set like iron.
"Clara. Bring me the black lockbox beneath the floorboards in the closet."
I went to the walk-in closet, knelt in the corner, lifted the false cedar plank Liam described, and pulled out a heavy steel lockbox. I brought it to the bed, and Liam unlocked it with a small brass key he kept concealed inside the lining of his external leg brace.
Inside lay a thick leather-bound ledger, a satellite burner phone, and a cashier’s check made out to the Swiss Pediatric Oncology Institute in the amount of $600,000.
My eyes widened. My hands flew to my mouth. "Liam... what is this?"
"Tommy’s trial fee," Liam said softly, extending the check toward me. "Signed, verified, and guaranteed by UBS Zurich. It clears tomorrow morning regardless of whether I live or die."
Tears sprang to my eyes, hot and uncontrollable. "I haven't earned this yet. Our agreement was ten thousand a week—"
"Take it," Liam ordered, his tone brooking no argument, though his eyes were softer than I had ever seen them. "If things go sideways when Russo makes his move, I need to know your brother is safe. You gave me your loyalty when my own blood-brothers sold me out for ten cents on the dollar. In my world, loyalty is the only currency that matters."
I took the paper with trembling fingers, pressing it to my chest as a sob broke from my throat. "Thank you... oh God, Liam, thank you."
"Don't cry yet, Clara," he said quietly, opening the black ledger to reveal pages upon pages of encrypted banking routes, corrupt political payouts, and shipping manifests. "This ledger contains every transaction Victor Russo has made for the past eight years. It details his illegal arms shipments, his money-laundering pipelines through Lake Michigan, and the names of four judges on his payroll."
"Why do you have this?"
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"Because three years ago, Russo murdered my younger sister, Elena," Liam said, his voice dropping into a chilling, absolute void of emotion. "He put a car bomb under her vehicle because she discovered his syndicate was trafficking minors through the Port of Chicago. I have spent every waking second since that day building the case to burn his entire empire to ash."
He looked up at me, his icy blue eyes burning with vengeance. "Russo didn't ambush me two weeks ago over territory, Clara. He ambushed me because he knows this book exists. And Leo is here to find it."
