Chapter 9 - The Butler’s Ledger
The next morning, Ethan drove back to the perimeter of the Carrington estate, meeting Marcus in the quiet, tree-covered alley behind the carriage house. The old butler stood wrapped in a dark woolen coat, his hands trembling as he held a small leather-bound ledger against his chest.
Marcus confessed that he had been the one who hid the note inside the handle of the decorative cane, knowing Ethan would inevitably grab a weapon when he saw Eleanor hurting Emma. He explained that Catherine, Ethan’s late father’s sister, had left behind full documentation of how Eleanor had systematically liquidated external family trusts to fund her own lavish lifestyle.
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The ledger contained signatures, bank stamps, and personal letters written by Eleanor herself, detailing how she had paid off local auditors to ignore the discrepancies. Marcus handed the book to Ethan, his eyes filling with tears as he begged Ethan to end the corruption before Eleanor managed to silence Emma permanently.
Ethan took the ledger, inspecting the yellowed pages with a cold, methodical eye. Every piece of evidence was meticulous, legally binding, and completely devastating. But as he flipped to the final page, he noticed a name that didn't belong to the Carrington family—a name that belonged to the current district attorney currently handling Eleanor’s assault case.
