Chapter 12 - BEHIND THE RESTAURANT WALL
The secret had been inside Sterling House the entire time.
While I carried trays past politicians and billionaires, evidence powerful men had searched for over thirty years sat behind a wall less than sixty feet away.
Daniel led us downstairs.
The wine cellar smelled of oak and stone.
He pointed to a decorative panel beneath a carved S.
“The contractors replaced this section.”
Viktor examined the edges.
“Recently?”
“Six months.”
We removed the panel.
Nothing.
Empty stone.
My stomach sank.
Tomas had gotten there first.
Then I remembered Grandma's letter.
Trust the language, not the translation.
Trust the seal, not the signature.
Maybe location worked the same way.
I examined Mom's handwritten Hungarian notation beside the address.
It didn't say behind the letter S.
It said beneath the sign of Saint Stephen.
There was an old Hungarian medallion mounted across the cellar.
Saint Stephen.
We pulled it away.
Behind it sat a narrow metal compartment.
Inside was a ledger wrapped in plastic.
Viktor didn't touch it.
Neither did Pierce.
I opened it.
Names.
Companies.
Account numbers.
Transfers.
Signatures from Viktor's father.
Tomas's father.
Several council members.
And pages of handwritten notes from Ilona.
The evidence didn't merely show old theft.
It showed Tomas had continued the scheme.
He had been moving money through dormant companies for nine years.
Pierce looked sick.
“He used my acquisition funds to cover these accounts.”
Viktor's voice became very quiet.
“Where is Tomas?”
Daniel answered.
“He left before you arrived.”
Of course he had.
Then my phone rang.
Tomas.
Viktor signaled for everyone to remain silent.
I answered.
“Mara.”
His voice was calm.
“You found the ledger.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Ilona always preferred riddles to locks.”
“What do you want?”
“What should have belonged to my family.”
“You mean Viktor's companies?”
“I mean justice.”
“No. You mean revenge.”
For the first time, his voice sharpened.
“You sound exactly like her.”
Then he said six words that stopped my heart.
“I have your mother's final recording.”
He sent an audio file.
Mom's voice filled the cellar.
May you like
“Mara, if you're hearing this, Tomas found you.”
Then the recording cut off.
