The House in Vermont
Chapter 10 - The House in Vermont
The address led them to a small farmhouse in Vermont.
Leah, Dante, Elena, and Adrian arrived before sunrise.
The house was empty.
Almost.
On the kitchen table sat four cups.
Still warm.
Someone had been waiting for them.
They found the ledger hidden beneath a floorboard.
It contained years of transactions.
Names.
Accounts.
Political donations.
Private foundations.
And payments to a company owned by Marco.
But one page had been torn out.
Dante looked at Leah.
“That's the page we need.”
“Why?”
“Because it will tell us who ordered your mother's disappearance.”
A noise came from upstairs.
Dante reached for his weapon.
Leah grabbed his wrist.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“I can handle it.”
“I know.”
She held his gaze.
“But I'm tired of being the person everyone handles.”
He lowered his hand.
They climbed together.
The room was empty except for an old tape recorder.
A woman's voice filled the room.
Leah knew it immediately.
Her mother.
“My girls,” the recording began.
Leah covered her mouth.
The message explained everything.
Her mother had discovered that Daniel and Marco were working together.
But Daniel eventually turned against Marco.
He tried to expose him.
Bianca helped hide the evidence.
Dante protected Leah.
And the woman who had appeared at the gala was not an enemy.
She was the investigator who had helped Leah's mother disappear.
The recording ended with one final sentence.
“Leah, if you are hearing this, then the man you trust most has finally learned how to let you go.”
Leah turned.
Dante was standing in the doorway.
His face had gone pale.
“Did you know about this?”
“No.”
The tape clicked again.
A second voice appeared.
Dante's.
Recorded years earlier.
Leah looked at him.
“You knew more than you told me.”
Dante's eyes filled with regret.
May you like
“I did.”
And then the farmhouse lights went out.
