Chapter 3 - the encrypted ledger
Bianca pressed her back against the locked door, tears of rage and frustration welling in her sharp eyes. "You think you're so noble, Lorenzo! You were going to give everything to that girl! Our father built this empire with blood and iron, and you were going to hand half of our holdings to a helpless orphan with no family legacy!"
"That 'orphan' was my wife," Lorenzo growled, his hand slamming against the wooden door right beside Bianca's head, making her jump in terror. "You locked an innocent woman in a cellar for three years because of your own pathologically ruthless greed."
"I saved this family from bankruptcy!" Bianca shrieked, dropping all pretense of elegance. "The Vance family was going to declare war on us three years ago! My deal secured a truce! If I hadn't given them those shipping routes, you would have been dead on your wedding day!"
Lorenzo stared at his sister with disgust. "You sold my wife to save your own skin."
Before Bianca could respond, a heavy knock sounded on the other side of the locked door.
"Lorenzo! It's Dr. Hayes!" a calm, professional voice called out.
Lorenzo unlocked the door and pulled it open. Dr. Hayes, the family's trusted physician, stepped inside carrying a dark medical bag. His face was pale and serious.
"How is she, Nicholas?" Lorenzo asked immediately.
"She is severely malnourished, dehydrated, and suffering from severe psychological trauma, but physically she will recover," Dr. Hayes reported softly. "However... while examining her, I found something stuffed inside the inner lining of her dress seam."
Dr. Hayes pulled a small, silver micro-flash drive out of his pocket and handed it to Lorenzo.
"What is this?" Lorenzo asked, turning the tiny metal drive over in his hand.
"It’s an encrypted financial ledger," Dr. Hayes explained. "Evelyn told me she managed to snatch it off the cellar desk three years ago right before Bianca’s men trapped her inside the secret room. It contains every transaction, every name, and every bribe paid by Bianca over the last five years."
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Lorenzo looked up, his eyes fixing on Bianca, who looked as though she had been struck by lightning.
"It seems Evelyn didn't just survive three years in the dark," Lorenzo said softly. "She kept the evidence that will destroy you."
