Chapter 5 - The Ledger of the Lost
Maxwell’s study was dark, the only light coming from the green banker's lamp on his desk and the soft glow of the fireplace.
He sat behind the desk, his charcoal jacket discarded, his white shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows. He was holding the small gold earring, his thumb gently rubbing the cracked diamond in the center.
"He was in the greenhouse, Maxwell," I said, standing before his desk. I had not changed out of my dirt-stained clothes from the garden. "He said if you don't drop the charges against Jennifer, he will publish the ledger."
"He doesn't have the ledger, Lily," Maxwell said, his voice flat and hard as iron. "He has the earring because his men stole it from your mother's body at the mortuary. He wants us to think he has the book so we will stop looking."
He stood up, walking to the bookshelf behind his desk. He reached behind a thick, leather-bound volume of old maritime law and pressed a hidden button.
With a soft, hydraulic hiss, a small steel safe slid out of the wall.
Maxwell entered a code, and the door clicked open. He reached inside and pulled out a thick, black leather-bound notebook with yellowed pages. It was covered in my mother’s neat, tiny handwriting—columns of numbers, dates, and account names written with the absolute precision of a master accountant.
"This is it," Maxwell said, setting the book on the desk. "My legal team spent the afternoon verifying the transactions. Harold Vance didn't just steal from my clean energy project, Lily. He used my company’s logistics network to move illegal cargo through the Port of Newark."
"What kind of cargo?" I asked.
"Industrial chemicals," Maxwell said, his eyes dark with a cold fury. "Banned pesticides and manufacturing waste that he was shipping to developing countries under the guise of agricultural aid. He was making millions from the disposal fees, and he was using my ships to do it."
He looked down at the ledger, his face tight.
"Your mother found the shipping manifests," he continued. "She realized the weight of the containers didn't match the declarations. She was going to the federal EPA when she was... taken."
"We have to give it to the police," I said.
"If we give it to the local police, Vance’s lawyers will have it suppressed before it reaches a judge," Maxwell said. "Harold Vance has three former state senators on his payroll, and his brother is a federal judge in the Southern District. We have to go higher."
He walked to the window, looking out at the dark river.
"There is a congressional subcommittee meeting in Washington on Monday," Maxwell said. "They are investigating clean energy fraud in the logistics sector. I have been called to testify. I am going to take this book, and I am going to read your mother's notes into the congressional record."
He turned back to look at me, his eyes softening.
"But it will be dangerous, Lily," he said. "Vance knows what’s in this book. He will do anything to stop us from reaching Washington."
"I'm not afraid," I said.
Maxwell walked over and knelt in front of me, his hands resting on my shoulders.
"You should be, Lily," he said gently. "But you don't have to be alone anymore. I’ve hired a private security transport team. We leave at dawn tomorrow. And you and Ethan are staying in a secured safehouse in Virginia until the testimony is finished."
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He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, silver chain. He slid my mother’s gold earring onto it and fastened it around my neck.
"Keep it close," he whispered. "She was a brave woman, Lily. Just like her daughter."
