Chapter 7 - THE LEDGER THAT MADE CHILDREN DISAPPEAR
The ledger was small.
Black leather.
Worn corners.
Nothing about it suggested it had destroyed families.
But inside were names.
Payments.
False identities.
Shipping records.
And transfers connected to fraudulent adoptions.
Detective Bennett examined the copies while Roman stood near the window.
His expression was dark.
"My father ran this?"
The detective looked at him.
"The records suggest he controlled significant parts of the operation."
Roman closed his eyes.
For years, he'd defended the Moretti name.
Built businesses.
Maintained loyalty.
Punished betrayal.
Now he was discovering that his father's legacy contained crimes against children.
I looked toward Owen.
He was watching the detective's lips carefully.
I signed a summary so he wouldn't miss anything.
His expression tightened.
Did they hurt Elena too?
Roman turned sharply.
"What did he ask?"
I translated.
Roman swallowed.
"Yes. That's what we're trying to determine."
The investigator continued.
The ledger appeared to have been copied by a financial officer named Thomas Hayes.
My father.
Or the man I'd called Dad.
He had worked for the Moretti family years earlier.
When he discovered the illegal adoption scheme, he tried to expose it.
But someone found out.
His children became targets.
Margaret agreed to help protect us.
Then the records were manipulated to conceal our identities.
I felt sick.
"Thomas wasn't our biological father either?"
Detective Bennett looked at me gently.
"He appears to have been your legal guardian. We need to verify the underlying records."
I stared at the table.
The people who raised me had lied.
But perhaps they'd lied because they were trying to keep us alive.
That distinction mattered.
I remembered Margaret brushing my hair.
Thomas teaching me how to ride a bicycle.
Owen laughing in our kitchen.
Those memories were real.
Even if the documents weren't.
Then Roman's phone rang.
His security chief.
"Boss, we found Elena."
Roman stopped breathing.
"Where?"
"Connecticut. Same center as Owen."
His hands began shaking.
"Is she alive?"
"Yes."
I watched Roman close his eyes.
For a moment, he looked as though he'd been holding his breath for thirty years.
Then the security chief continued.
"There's a complication."
Roman's expression tightened.
"What?"
"Elena doesn't want to see you."
The words struck him.
"Why?"
A pause.
"She believes you knew what your father did."
Roman stepped backward.
His voice broke.
"I was ten years old."
The security chief hesitated.
Then added:
"She says she remembers something from the night she disappeared."
Roman swallowed.
"What?"
May you like
The answer came quietly.
"She remembers you opening the door for the men who took her."
