The morning after their narrow escape from Conrad’s trap, Camille sat in the attic of their home, sifting through a box of her late father’s belongings. Dust motes floated in the sunlight streaming through the window, and her fingers trembled as she opened an old leather-bound journal she’d discovered at the bottom of the box.
Inside, the journal was filled with her father’s meticulous handwriting, sketches, and cryptic notes. It spoke of an artifact—a ledger—hidden somewhere far away. As her husbands joined her in the attic, Camille read aloud passages that sent shivers down her spine.
“‘The ledger holds names, transactions, and secrets that could bring down empires,’” she read, her voice shaking. “‘If it falls into the wrong hands, chaos will follow.’”
Noah leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. “That explains why Evelyn and Conrad are so desperate. Your father didn’t just hide this thing for himself. He was protecting everyone.”
Leo crouched beside her, studying a rough map her father had sketched. It pointed to a location in the mountains, marked with a single word: Sanctuary.
“That’s where we start,” Matthew said, his voice firm despite the exhaustion in his eyes. “If this ledger is real, we need to find it before they do.”