“It’s hidden behind the mahogany bookcase near the east window.”

“He kept a physical ledger in there.”

“He told me once that digital files leave too many footprints.”

“He said paper is the only thing you can truly control.”

I heard Sullivan typing rapidly on a keyboard.

“A physical ledger,” Sullivan murmured.

“If he’s operating a shadow set of books, that would be the holy grail.”

“He was terrified of me finding it,” I said.

“He changed the locks on his office door at home, and he never left his briefcase unattended.”

“If he’s embezzling to cover his own personal debts, he would need my trust fund to replace the missing corporate money.”

“That’s his motive,” Sullivan said.

“He didn’t just want your money for greed.”

“He needed it to keep himself out of federal prison.”

“And when you wouldn’t give it to him, he let his mother do his dirty work.”

The realization hit me like a physical blow.

Ethan hadn’t just stood by and let Margaret attack me.

He had facilitated it.

He had cleared the house, turned off the security cameras, and left me alone with her.