Chapter 14: Ashes and Lies

The news broadcast continued playing while none of us spoke.

Flames consumed the upper floors of Romano Logistics Headquarters.

Firefighters rushed in every direction as thick black smoke covered the skyline.

My hands began trembling.

"Maria was inside..." I whispered.

Vincent muted the television.

"Not necessarily."

"The report only says she's missing."

"Missing after an explosion isn't exactly comforting."

Lucas's phone buzzed again.

He answered immediately before walking toward the hallway.

A minute later, he returned.

"The New York police confirmed it wasn't a gas leak."

"It was a controlled explosion."

"Someone planted explosives on the eighteenth floor."

Alexander leaned back against his hospital bed.

"That's where Romano Logistics keeps its financial archives."

Vincent looked at him.

"How do you know that?"

"Because my company negotiated a shipping contract with them last year."

"Their executives gave me a tour."

I felt a knot form in my stomach.

"Financial archives..."

"Someone wanted records destroyed."

Vincent nodded slowly.

"Or someone wanted us to believe they were destroyed."

An hour later, Vincent arranged for Alexander to remain under heavy security while the three of us boarded the private jet back to New York.

The entire flight was silent.

I stared out the window while replaying every event in my head.

The bracelet.

Grace's disappearance.

Evelyn's confession.

The attack on Alexander.

Now an explosion.

It no longer felt like separate incidents.

Someone was cleaning up loose ends.

By the time we landed, it was almost midnight.

The streets surrounding Romano Logistics were blocked by emergency vehicles.

Bright floodlights illuminated the damaged building.

Reporters crowded behind police barriers.

Vincent showed his credentials, allowing us through the restricted area.

The smell of smoke filled the air.

Broken glass covered the pavement.

"Stay close," Vincent warned.

I nodded.

Inside the damaged lobby, firefighters continued searching through the rubble.

One investigator approached Vincent.

"Mr. Moretti."

"Any survivors?"

"Three people were rescued."

"Two remain missing."

"Maria?" I asked.

"Still unaccounted for."

"And the second?"

"Chief accountant Daniel Brooks."

Vincent exchanged a glance with Lucas.

"The accountant."

"Exactly," Lucas replied.

"If financial records were the target, he'd know why."

The investigator handed Vincent a plastic evidence bag.

"We found this near the server room."

Inside was a partially burned security badge.

I frowned.

"That's not Maria's."

"No," Vincent said.

"It's Evelyn Carter's."

My heart skipped.

"She was here?"

"Looks that way."

"But she was supposed to be under protection."

"Apparently someone reached her first."

Before anyone could respond, another firefighter emerged from the debris.

"We found a survivor!"

Everyone rushed toward the collapsed hallway.

A woman covered in dust was carried out on a stretcher.

It wasn't Maria.

It was Evelyn.

She was unconscious but alive.

"Get her to the ambulance!" someone shouted.

I hurried after the medical team.

"Evelyn!"

Her eyelids fluttered.

For a brief second, she looked directly at me.

"Miss... Sophia..."

"I'm here."

She weakly grabbed my wrist.

"Don't trust... the ledger..."

"What ledger?"

"Basement... vault..."

"Evelyn!"

Her grip loosened.

The paramedics immediately pushed us back.

"We need room!"

She was rushed into the ambulance before saying another word.

Vincent looked at me.

"Basement vault."

"She was trying to tell us something."

"Let's find it."

Despite the damage, emergency crews allowed Vincent to inspect the lower level.

The basement had escaped the explosion.

Dust covered everything, but the vault door remained intact.

"Can you open it?" Lucas asked.

"Stand back," Vincent replied.

Using an emergency override code provided by the investigators, the heavy steel door slowly opened.

Inside were shelves filled with files.

Most appeared untouched.

At the very back stood a small black safe.

"That's new," I said.

"It isn't listed on the inventory," Lucas added.

Vincent forced the safe open.

Inside was only one item.

A thick leather ledger.

Its cover carried no title.

Only a silver raven embossed into the leather.

The same raven Alexander had described from the attacker's tattoo.

Vincent carefully opened the first page.

Rows of handwritten names filled the paper.

Business executives.

Politicians.

Judges.

Large payments were listed beside every name.

"These are bribes," Lucas whispered.

"Not just bribes," Vincent corrected.

"Look closer."

I scanned another page.

Beside several names were single words.

Silenced.

Removed.

Resolved.

My stomach turned.

Those weren't financial records.

They were death records.

"Who kept this?" I asked.

"Whoever controls the raven organization," Vincent answered.

Then we reached the final page.

Unlike the others, it contained only three names.

Alexander Sterling.

Sophia Romano.

Vincent Moretti.

Each name had a date beside it.

Alexander's date matched the highway attack.

Mine was scheduled for two weeks later.

Vincent's was listed one day after mine.

Lucas stared in disbelief.

"This isn't a payment ledger."

"It's a hit list."

A cold silence filled the vault.

Someone had planned all of this months in advance.

Not just to destroy reputations.

Not just to steal money.

But to eliminate every person standing in the way.

Suddenly, Vincent's phone rang.

He answered immediately.

"Yes?"

His expression changed within seconds.

"What do you mean she's gone?"

"How long ago?"

He slowly lowered the phone.

"The ambulance transporting Evelyn never reached the hospital."

"It disappeared halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge."

I felt a chill run through my entire body.

The one witness who could expose the truth...

Had vanished into the night.