Chapter 6 - The Ghost in the Ledgers
Late that night, the mansion was bathed in shadows. A heavy winter storm battered the stained-glass windows, sending cold drafts whistling through the high corridors.
Adeline sat in the small alcove outside Enzo’s study, a single oil lamp lighting her workspace as she mended a torn velvet curtain.
Footsteps echoed softly down the hall.
Adeline looked up to see Eleanor Marchetti’s iron wheelchair rolling slowly toward her. Pushing the chair was not a nurse, but Eleanor herself, her thin arms pulling the wheels with practiced determination.
Adeline stood up immediately, setting her sewing basket aside. "Mrs. Marchetti? It is past midnight. You shouldn't be out of your quarters."
Eleanor stopped her chair in front of Adeline. She looked around the empty hallway before pulling a small brass key from inside her shawl.
"Take this," Eleanor whispered, pressing the key into Adeline’s palm.
Adeline looked down at the cool metal. "What is this for?"
"The floorboard under the Persian rug in Enzo's inner office," Eleanor said, her voice barely audible over the sound of the wind outside. "Inside is an iron box. In that box is my husband's real ledger—the one that records the debt the Ashford family owes to the Marchetti line."
Adeline’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Why are you giving this to me?"
"Camila’s father is coming here tomorrow for the formal dinner," Eleanor said, her eyes burning with urgency. "He plans to force Enzo into signing the final marriage contract before the week ends. If Enzo signs it without seeing that ledger, he will hand over forty percent of our northern shipping lines to a family that betrayed his father twenty years ago."
"Why don't you give it to Master Enzo yourself?" Adeline asked softly.
"Because Enzo believes his father died of natural causes," Eleanor said, her voice breaking slightly. "That ledger proves Hector Ashford poisoned him to steal the port deeds. If Enzo sees it, he will kill Hector in cold blood, and the entire syndicate will descend into a bloody war that will destroy my grandson."
Adeline stared at the old woman. "You want me to hide it?"
"I want you to keep it safe," Eleanor said, grabbing Adeline’s wrist with surprising strength. "You are the only person in this house who cannot be bought by the Ashfords, and the only person Enzo trusts not to lie to him. If things go wrong tomorrow, use that ledger to stop the contract."
Before Adeline could reply, a floorboard creaked at the end of the corridor.
Eleanor instantly pulled her hand back, her face returning to its emotionless mask. "Ensure the curtains are finished by morning, girl," she said loudly, turning her wheelchair around and rolling back toward her quarters.
Adeline stood alone in the dark hallway, her fingers closing tightly around the small brass key.
She walked into the dark study, locking the heavy oak doors behind her. Using her oil lamp, she pulled back the thick Persian rug near Enzo’s desk, finding the loose floorboard just as Eleanor had described. She lifted the wood, revealing a heavy iron box fitted with a brass keyhole.
She inserted the key. The lock clicked open smoothly.
Inside lay a black leather book tied with yellowed ribbon. Adeline picked it up, opening the first page. The handwriting was sharp and dark—the late Don’s script.
As she flipped through the financial entries, her eyes widened. The ledger didn't just contain records of debts and port deeds.
On the very last page, written in dry, faint ink, was a list of names. And at the very bottom of that list was her father's name: Julian Croft — Bookkeeper. Paid in full for keeping the port ledgers hidden from Ashford.
Adeline’s breath caught in her throat. Her knees went weak, and she pressed a hand against the desk to steady herself.
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Her father hadn't died of illness in the West Ward. He had been murdered by the Ashfords because he refused to forge the shipping deeds for Hector Ashford twenty years ago.
She wasn't just a maid who had happened to find a job in the Marchetti house. Her entire life had been shaped by the very war this family was still fighting.
