He drove slowly out of the boatyard, leaving the gates open.

I waited until the sound of his engine faded into the distance.

Only Caleb was left inside the building with Sophia.

I felt the weight of the syndicate ledger in my inner coat pocket.

It was the only piece of leverage I had left against the Reed family.

Margaret Reed had spent years building her empire on these secrets.

Caleb was the weak link in her chain.

I knew he was drowning in debt, terrified of his mother, and even more terrified of prison.

I walked out from behind the wooden pallets and approached the side door again.

The sliver of yellow light was still falling across the gravel.

Inside, I could hear Caleb pacing, his boots scraping on the concrete.

“We have to move,” Caleb was saying to Sophia. “My mother is going to find out.”

Sophia didn’t answer him.

I reached down and gripped the handle of my pistol.

I took a deep breath, feeling the cold air fill my lungs.

I pulled the ledger from my pocket and held it in my left hand.