Chapter 6 - The Red Ledger
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Helena’s Mansion Service Management office was locked.
Carmine had the master key.
Her attorney objected.
Carmine paused.
Then did it properly.
The office belonged to the family company.
He called corporate counsel.
An internal investigation was formally opened.
Two independent employees entered with him.
Everything was documented.
No accusations.
No shortcuts.
The desk drawer containing financial papers was empty.
But Leo had said red book.
Carmine searched visually.
Bookshelf.
Cabinets.
Safe.
Nothing red.
Then Frank noticed the shelf backing.
One panel sat slightly crooked.
Behind it was a narrow compartment.
Inside—
A red leather ledger.
Carmine stared at it.
Helena’s face, visible from the doorway, went white.
Her attorney whispered something to her.
The ledger contained handwritten entries.
Not company names.
Initials.
Dates.
Amounts.
BRS — 46.8
MS — 22.0
JH — 18.5
LC — 31.2
Beside many amounts was another column:
CASH.
Then:
A.V. — 40%
H.B. — 60%.
Anthony Vale.
Helena Bellucci.
Carmine turned another page.
Entries went back three years.
The numbers totaled far more than one million.
Then he found something different.
LEO — VEHICLE — 46.8.
Written two days before the Bentley was scratched.
Carmine’s jaw tightened.
The accident was not even the beginning.
Helena had already chosen Leo as the person who would be blamed.
But why that day?
He kept reading.
Below Leo’s entry:
C.B. AUDIT DELAY.
Carmine Bellucci.
Audit delay.
Jonathan, the family attorney, looked over his shoulder.
“She expected something involving Leo to delay you.”
“Delay me from what?”
Carmine checked his calendar.
That morning, he had been scheduled to meet the external accountants for the annual Mansion Services audit.
But he canceled when Helena messaged him:
LEO IS SICK. STAY HOME IF YOU CAN.
Leo had not been sick.
Instead, Helena apparently expected Carmine to discover some crisis involving his son.
If he became consumed with that—
The audit might be delayed.
Carmine’s scheduled audit had indeed been postponed six weeks because Helena claimed incomplete files.
She had bought time.
Leo had been part of the plan.
Not financially.
Emotionally.
She knew Carmine would abandon any meeting for his son.
Carmine turned another page.
Then stopped.
There were names of auditors.
Payments.
One name was circled twice.
DAVID KELLER.
Carmine knew him.
The accountant who unexpectedly resigned last year.
Official explanation:
Family reasons.
Carmine called him.
No answer.
He called again.
A woman picked up.
“Mr. Keller died eight months ago.”
Carmine went silent.
Natural causes, she explained.
Heart attack.
Nothing suspicious.
But before Carmine could end the call, she asked—
“Are you calling about the Bellucci file?”
Carmine’s eyes narrowed.
“What Bellucci file?”
“My husband left instructions.”
A pause.
“If anyone from your family ever called asking about mansion expenses, I was supposed to give you a key.”
May you like
👉 The dead auditor Helena thought was permanently silent had left behind something specifically for the day Carmine finally started asking questions.
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