The rain was coming down harder now, washing over the windshield in heavy sheets.

I ran back across the street and entered the shop.

Sophia was exactly where I left her, her hands wrapped tightly around the black book.

I sat down and pushed the papers toward her.

“Sign both,” I said. “One is for you, one is for my attorney.”

She took the pen and signed her name with a shaky hand.

“Sophia Vance,” she wrote, her signature small and uneven.

I signed below her name, validating our receipt of the agreement.

I took one copy, folded it, and put it in my coat pocket.

Then, I took the black ledger.

I held it in my hands, feeling the weight of it.

This was the key to everything.

This was the evidence that would strip the Carter family of their wealth, their reputation, and their freedom.

“Thank you, Sophia,” I said, my voice quiet.

“He is going to hate me,” she whispered.

“He will be too busy dealing with the federal investigators to worry about you,” I replied.