Chapter 87: Page Forty-Three

Eleanor placed the blue ledger on the table shortly after sunrise. The book looked disappointingly ordinary for something important enough to bring Victor out of hiding. Its pages contained Charles Stone's handwritten notes about old investments, meetings, and unusual transfers.

Page forty-three was different.

At the top, Charles had written a date from shortly before Freya's parents died. Beneath it were three initials: V.S., R.K., and A.S.

Richard Knox fit R.K. Victor Shaw fit V.S. The third set was less obvious.

Louis read the paragraph beneath them. Charles had recorded a private argument regarding the Stonebridge development accounts. Victor had apparently warned that money was being routed through Ashford Holdings without Charles's approval. Richard Knox denied knowing the source of the transfers.

Then came the final line: 'A.S. authorized access. If true, this is inside the family.'

Freya looked at Louis. 'Who is A.S.?'

He didn't answer immediately.

Eleanor did. 'Adrian Stone.'

Freya searched the original owner's memories and found almost nothing. 'Your uncle?'

Louis nodded. Adrian was his father's younger half-brother. He had left the country years ago after a dispute with Charles and rarely appeared in family discussions.

'I thought he had nothing to do with Stone Holdings,' Freya said.

'Officially, he didn't after my grandfather removed him from management.'

Eleanor explained that Adrian had once overseen several family investment entities, including Ashford Holdings. Charles discovered irregular transactions and forced him to resign, but because Adrian remained a family beneficiary, some legal access survived longer than it should have.

'Where is he now?' Freya asked.

'Switzerland, supposedly,' Louis said.

Eleanor shook her head. 'Not continuously. He returns under private arrangements.'

Derek checked immigration and corporate records. Adrian's movements were difficult to follow because he held multiple residencies, but one fact emerged quickly: a trust connected to him had invested in Greyline's parent company.

The room went silent.

Freya pointed to the ledger. 'Then Adrian could be the anchor.'

'Could be,' Louis said. 'Not proven.'

Eleanor looked troubled. 'Charles feared Adrian was involved, but he never proved how deeply.'

Another note on the next page mentioned Freya's father arranging a meeting to compare contractor records. The meeting was scheduled for the week after his death.

Freya swallowed hard.

Louis closed the ledger. 'We don't jump from suspicious timing to murder.'

She knew he was protecting her from a conclusion the evidence couldn't support.

Still, Victor's warning now made sense. If Adrian had used Ashford Holdings and remained connected to Greyline, the network truly did lead inside the Stone family.

Louis had spent weeks searching among rivals, advisers, and former employees.

The person Charles feared might have shared his surname.

Eleanor also showed them an older photograph of Adrian beside Charles. The resemblance to Louis was faint but undeniable around the eyes. Freya found that unsettling. Fiction made villains visually obvious when convenient. Real families shared faces, memories, and dinner tables long before anyone knew which choices would divide them.

Louis photographed the relevant pages but left the original ledger with Eleanor. Derek created a separate timeline for Adrian, beginning years before Freya's parents' accident and extending through the collapse of Stone Holdings. The investigation finally had a suspect who could connect the oldest records to the newest sabotage, but Louis insisted the word suspect remain underlined twice.