Chapter 5 - The Secret Ledger In The Safe
Before I could formulate a reply to his words, a sharp, frantic knock echoed at the heavy library doors. Damon’s jaw tightened, the dark amusement vanishing instantly from his features, replaced by the lethal coldness of the pakhan. "Enter," he commanded without breaking his gaze from mine. Kirill slipped into the room, his face paler than usual, holding a secure encrypted tablet in his hands. "Boss, we have a breach," Kirill said quickly, his eyes darting toward me before returning to Damon. "The federal taskhouse in downtown Chicago just seized a shipping container registered under our front company in Cicero. Inside were the primary transaction ledgers for the entire Eastern seaboard distribution network. They have names, dates, and bank routing numbers." Damon’s eyes narrowed into slits of pure ice. The temperature in the room plummeted instantly. "Whose signature authorized the transfer of that specific container to Cicero?" Damon asked, his voice deathly quiet. "Your uncle, Viktor," Kirill answered grimly. "He’s positioning himself to take over the board tonight at the summit. He thinks you're weakened from last night's ambush." A terrible, silent stillness settled over the library. Damon didn't shout. He didn't rage. He simply walked over to his massive oak desk, spun a small brass dial on the side panel, and popped open a hidden wall safe embedded behind a heavy oil painting. Inside sat a thick, leather-bound ledger with a gold embossed seal—the original master ledger that contained every single financial secret of the Volkov empire, a book that Viktor would kill a thousand men to possess. Damon pulled the book out, turned around, and walked straight toward me. He didn't hand it to Kirill. He held it out and pressed the heavy leather tome directly into my hands. My arms dipped slightly under its unexpected weight, my eyes widening in sheer terror. "Mr. Volkov—what is this?" I gasped, looking from the book to his face. "Viktor has spies everywhere in this mansion," Damon said, his voice dropping into an absolute, unyielding command. "He has corrupted half the kitchen staff and at least three of the guards on the second floor. I cannot trust the safe, and I cannot trust Kirill’s men to move this out of the estate before the raid tonight. But Viktor doesn't look at maids. He doesn't think a girl who cleans silver is worth noticing." "You want me to hide the master ledger?" I breathed, the sheer insanity of the request washing over me. "I want you to take it down to the servant’s wing, lock it in your trunk beneath your dresses, and act like the most terrified, ignorant girl in this house," Damon said, stepping close enough that I could see the tiny silver flecks in his gray eyes. "And if anyone touches you, or if Viktor so much as looks at your door... you use this." He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a small, heavy silver-plated pistol, pressing it firmly into my hand alongside the book. "Put it against your skin, Alina. And if they try to take what is mine, you pull the trigger."
