Chapter 2 - The Cracks in the Timber
Daniel didn't tell Emily immediately. He wanted to shield her, to keep the light in her eyes alive for just a little longer. But Emily was not a woman who could be easily deceived.
At breakfast, as she poured Lily’s orange juice, she noticed the slight tremor in Daniel’s hand as he held his coffee mug. She waited until Lily ran upstairs to pack her school bag before she crossed the kitchen, placing her hands firmly on his shoulders.
"Daniel," she said softly but with an underlying steel. "You're slipping back into your silent-soldier routine. What is it?"
Daniel closed his eyes, leaning back into her touch. He knew better than to lie to her. "Julian called."
Emily stiffened, her fingers tightening on his shoulders. "Julian? The police have federal warrants out for him."
"He doesn't care. He's back in the state, or close to it," Daniel sighed, turning to face her. "He claims our father hid a secondary ledger beneath the ruins of the old manor. He's blackmailing us, Emily. He's threatening to frame you for the firm’s historical laundering schemes using forged documents if I don't deliver it to him."
Emily’s face went pale, but her eyes remained fierce. "He wants to drag us back into the mud so he can negotiate a plea deal with the DA using the corrupt officials' names. If he hands over that ledger, he gets immunity, and we become his scapegoats."
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"I won't let him touch you, Emily. Not after everything we fought for," Daniel said, his jaw clenching.
"We face this together, Daniel," Emily insisted, lifting his chin so he had to look her in the eye. "No more solitary sacrifices. We go to the old manor. We find that ledger before he does, and we hand it directly to the federal prosecutors ourselves."
