Everything that proved where power began and where it ended.
“What’s missing?” I asked.
Daniel removed his glasses, cleaned them with a shaking hand, then put them back on.
“The blue ledger.”
I stared at him. “What blue ledger?”
He looked older suddenly.
Much older.
“Your father’s private succession ledger.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“I know.”
The words landed heavily.
“Daniel.”
He closed the empty drawer. “Your father created it during the last year of his life. It contained contingency instructions. Personal notes. Certain legal instruments that were never meant to be activated unless specific conditions were met.”
“What conditions?”
Daniel did not answer quickly enough.
The cold feeling in my stomach spread.
“What conditions?” I repeated.
He looked toward the open vault door, as if afraid the walls themselves might hear.
“If your marriage became a threat to the company.”
I stepped back.
“My father knew?”
“He suspected Evan’s ambitions.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
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