Chapter 4 - The Black Ledger
Cindy did not move.
Nathan tapped his phone.
A photograph appeared.
Cindy entering Carter Logistics six months earlier.
Another.
Cindy leaving a restaurant.
Another.
Her apartment.
Andrew’s expression darkened.
“You’ve been watching her.”
Nathan shrugged.
“She manages your schedule, communications, legitimate companies, travel, attorneys. She knows more about Andrew Carter than almost anyone alive.”
Cindy’s voice remained steady.
“You wanted my credentials.”
“Yes.”
“Why use David?”
“Because obsessed men are cheap.”
Andrew stepped forward.
Cindy caught his arm.
“Wait.”
Nathan laughed.
“She still thinks she controls this.”
Cindy looked at him.
“I do.”
She turned toward Lucas.
“Lock the building.”
Nathan’s smile faded.
Lucas looked at Andrew.
Andrew said nothing.
Lucas understood.
“Done.”
Cindy continued.
“You wanted the Black Ledger because you’ve been stealing from Andrew.”
Nathan smiled again.
“Guessing.”
“No.”
She opened several accounting windows.
“You moved money through Carter Maritime, then buried the discrepancies under seized cargo losses.”
Andrew stared at the figures.
Cindy continued.
“The shipping dispute Andrew was handling tonight?”
Nathan stopped smiling.
“That was yours.”
Andrew slowly turned.
The pieces connected.
The missing cargo.
The false invoices.
The attempted ledger access.
David attacking Cindy.
Nathan needed chaos.
Cindy pointed toward the screen.
“You wanted access under my credentials. Then when the money was discovered, everything pointed toward me.”
Nathan looked at Andrew.
“You trust her over blood?”
Andrew answered immediately.
“Yes.”
The word surprised everyone.
Even Cindy.
Nathan’s jaw tightened.
“You’ve become weak.”
“No,” Andrew said.
“I became careless.”
He looked at Cindy.
“She noticed what I didn’t.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“So what now? You kill me?”
Andrew’s eyes became unreadable.
“That depends.”
Cindy turned toward him.
“No.”
Nathan smiled.
“There she is. Your conscience.”
Andrew looked at Cindy.
She shook her head.
“Evidence. Accounts. Police where possible. Internal removal everywhere else.”
Nathan stared at Andrew.
“You’re letting your secretary give orders?”
Cindy corrected him.
“Executive assistant.”
Andrew almost smiled.
Nathan suddenly lunged toward the computer.
Lucas intercepted him.
A chair overturned.
Nathan struggled.
“Get off me!”
Andrew stepped closer.
For one terrible second, Cindy saw the old Andrew return.
The man who solved threats permanently.
Nathan saw it too.
His confidence vanished.
Then Andrew stopped.
He looked at Cindy.
She said nothing.
She did not need to.
Andrew stepped backward.
“Take him downstairs.”
Nathan stared in disbelief.
“That’s it?”
Andrew’s voice remained calm.
“No.”
He picked up the Black Ledger drive.
“You wanted my empire?”
Nathan said nothing.
Andrew handed the drive to Cindy.
“Help me dismantle the parts that created men like you.”
Cindy stared at him.
“Andrew—”
“I’m serious.”
Nathan laughed.
“You’ll destroy everything.”
Andrew looked at him.
“Maybe some things deserve destroying.”
Lucas escorted Nathan away.
The office became quiet.
Cindy sat down.
Andrew leaned against the desk.
“You knew Nathan would take the bait.”
“I suspected.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“You would have locked me upstairs with twelve guards.”
“Eight.”
She stared.
Andrew sighed.
“Twelve.”
“Exactly.”
He looked at her bruise.
“You could have been hurt.”
“I already was.”
“That isn’t funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
Andrew fell silent.
Cindy softened slightly.
“You saved me tonight.”
“I nearly killed David in front of you.”
“But you stopped.”
“Because you told me.”
“That’s the point.”
Andrew frowned.
Cindy stood.
“You keep thinking protection means removing every danger before I can choose anything.”
“It usually works.”
“For your warehouses.”
A pause.
“Not for people.”
Andrew looked away.
“What do you want from me?”
Cindy answered quietly.
“Trust.”
He looked back.
“And if trusting you scares me?”
“Then be scared.”
She picked up the drive.
May you like
“But don’t turn fear into a cage.”
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