THE BILLIONAIRE’S FORBIDDEN BRIDE

The Ledger

By morning, Elena had already made up her mind. She was going to find the ledger before Alexander Blackwood did. She had barely slept, and the few hours she managed to spend in bed had been filled with fragments of her father's voice, the warning he had given her seven years ago, and the image of the transaction she had discovered the previous night. The ledger was not just another piece of evidence. Daniel had been searching for it before his death, Marcus Blackwood had sent Alexander to retrieve it, and someone had spent years making sure nobody found it. If that ledger still existed, it could finally answer the question that had haunted Elena since she was seventeen. Why had her father really died?

She sat at the edge of her bed and looked at the folder resting on the table. She had copied everything she had found into it and left the originals where they belonged. She knew better than to remove anything that could later alert someone to her investigation. Before leaving the apartment, she checked the folder twice, slipped it into her bag, and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked tired, but the fear she had felt the night before was gone. In its place was determination. She had spent seven years preparing for this moment. She was not going to let Alexander Blackwood, his family, or whoever had been hiding the truth stop her now.

At almost the same time, Alexander was leaving the Blackwood estate. He had spent most of the night going through old records and questioning people who had been close to his father. He had found almost nothing. Every trail connected to the ledger seemed to disappear around the same period. Marcus had left no clear record of where it had gone, and anyone who might have known had either died, disappeared, or suddenly developed a remarkable talent for forgetting. Alexander hated unanswered questions. He hated them even more when his mother refused to answer them. Victoria had known about Elena before Elena ever walked into Blackwood Corporation. She had known Daniel was innocent. She knew the ledger had never been destroyed. Yet every time Alexander pushed for details, she gave him another warning instead of an answer.

He stopped beside his car and looked back at the estate. Somewhere inside that house was a piece of his father's past that had been hidden from him for seven years. He could still remember Marcus sending him to Daniel Carter's home when he was nineteen. At the time, Alexander had thought his father was asking him to retrieve a business document. Daniel had treated the request differently. He had looked at Alexander with a strange mixture of disappointment and pity before telling him that he was too late. The ledger was already gone. Alexander had never understood what that meant. Now he did. Someone had taken it before he arrived, and whoever had taken it had known exactly how important it was.

His phone rang.

Victoria.

Alexander answered. "What?"

"Where are you going?"

"To the office."

"Alexander, listen to me."

"I've been listening to you for seven years."

Silence followed.

His voice became colder. "You told me the ledger was never destroyed."

"I said your father hid it."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I expect you to understand that knowing where something was hidden and knowing who is searching for it are two different things."

Alexander frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means you should be careful."

"Mother, someone threatened me last night because I was investigating Elena."

Victoria went silent.

Alexander noticed.

"You knew this would happen."

"No."

"Then why did you sound frightened when you asked where she was?"

"Because I know what happens when people get too close to the truth."

"Who are you protecting?"

"I am protecting this family."

Alexander's jaw tightened. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of."

He ended the call before she could respond.

Across the city, Elena arrived at Blackwood Corporation with one objective. She needed access to the old financial records without drawing attention to herself. The restricted archive had already been compromised once, and after the attack, she knew someone was watching the area. She could not simply walk back in and expect nobody to notice.

She headed toward the records department instead.

The moment she stepped out of the elevator, she saw Alexander.

He was standing near the windows with his phone in his hand, dressed in a dark suit that somehow made him look even more intimidating than usual. His eyes found hers immediately.

Elena almost turned around.

Almost.

Instead, she kept walking.

"Good morning," Alexander said.

"Is it?"

His mouth twitched slightly.

"You seem tired."

"So do you."

"I had a long night."

"So did I."

His gaze sharpened.

"What were you doing?"

"Working."

"At home?"

"Do you usually question every employee about what they do after office hours?"

"Only the ones who break into restricted archives."

Elena stopped.

He had lowered his voice, but the words still struck her.

"I didn't break into anything."

"You were inside an area you weren't authorized to enter."

"And you were there."

"I was."

"Then you know I wasn't alone."

His expression hardened.

"I know."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Elena looked around the corridor before lowering her voice. "Did you find out who that man was?"

"No."

"Then why are you here?"

"I work here."

"You know what I mean."

Alexander studied her face.

"You haven't told me everything."

"Neither have you."

"I never claimed I had."

"At least you're honest about that."

He took a step closer. "Elena."

She looked at him.

"Whatever you're searching for, someone else is searching for it too."

"I know."

His eyes narrowed. "How?"

She realized her mistake too late.

"You said someone attacked me because of the archive."

"That doesn't explain how you know."

"It doesn't have to."

Alexander watched her carefully.

He knew she was hiding something.

She knew he was doing the same.

Their silence became more revealing than words.

Then Elena said, "I need to get back to work."

She walked past him.

Alexander let her go.

But he did not take his eyes off her.

Something had changed.

She was no longer simply investigating Daniel Carter's case.

She had found something.

And whatever it was, she was determined to keep it from him.

Elena reached the records department and requested access to archived financial transfers from seven years earlier. She had prepared an explanation in advance, but the clerk barely looked at her before granting access. She spent the next hour searching through files, comparing dates, names, account numbers, and authorization codes.

Nothing.

She almost gave up when she noticed a reference number she had seen the night before.

It was attached to a transfer made three days before Daniel was accused.

Her pulse quickened.

She followed the reference through three separate records.

The trail led to an inactive holding account.

Then another transfer.

Then nothing.

Elena frowned.

Someone had deliberately broken the chain.

She searched the account number manually.

A file appeared.

It was not a financial statement.

It was a property record.

Elena stared at the screen.

Blackwood Estate.

Her heartbeat accelerated.

The transfer had been connected to a property account belonging to the Blackwood family.

She quickly copied the reference and closed the file.

She had found a connection.

But it was not enough.

She needed to know what had been stored there.

And there was only one place that might contain that answer.

The old estate archives.

Elena stood and slipped the copied information into her folder.

She had barely reached the door when a voice came from behind her.

"Leaving already?"

She froze.

Alexander.

She turned slowly.

"I've finished what I came to do."

"You found something."

It was not a question.

Elena's eyes narrowed. "You seem very certain."

"I am."

"You should work on being less predictable."

"I could say the same about you."

He walked toward her.

She did not move.

"Why are you searching the old records?" he asked.

"I'm curious."

"Curiosity gets people hurt."

"Maybe people should stop hiding things."

His expression changed.

For the first time, something close to anger appeared in his eyes.

"You think this is a game."

"No."

"Then stop acting like you're invincible."

"I don't."

"You walked into a restricted archive alone after someone threatened you."

"I survived."

"That isn't the same as being safe."

Elena stared at him.

There was something different in his voice.

Not authority.

Not irritation.

Concern.

And she did not know what to do with it.

"You don't need to worry about me," she said quietly.

Alexander's gaze held hers.

"I wish I didn't."

The words caught her off guard.

For a moment, the corridor seemed strangely quiet.

Elena looked away.

"I have to go."

She walked past him.

Alexander reached for her arm but stopped himself before touching her.

He watched her disappear around the corner.

Then his phone vibrated.

A message.

Unknown number.

THE LEDGER IS NOT WHERE YOU THINK.

Alexander stared at the screen.

A second message arrived.

SHE IS CLOSER THAN YOU ARE.

His expression turned cold.

He immediately called his security chief.

"Find out who sent this."

"Yes, sir."

"And pull every security record from the estate archive seven years ago."

There was a pause.

"Every record?"

"Every one."

Alexander ended the call.

For the first time, the possibility occurred to him that someone might be deliberately pushing Elena toward the ledger.

But why?

Was the person trying to help her?

Or was someone leading her into a trap?

Later that evening, Elena sat in her apartment with the lights off, studying the information she had copied from Blackwood Corporation.

She had discovered where the money trail led.

Blackwood Estate.

She knew getting inside would be difficult.

But she also knew she could not wait.

If the ledger was there, she had to find it before someone moved it.

Her phone buzzed.

She looked at the screen.

Unknown number.

Her heart stopped.

She opened the message.

YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE BLACKWOODS ALONE.

A second message appeared.

THIS TIME, WE WON'T JUST WARN YOU.

Elena stared at the words.

Then another message arrived.

ASK ALEXANDER WHAT HIS FATHER WAS HIDING.

She slowly lowered the phone.

Someone knew exactly what she was doing.

Someone knew about Alexander.

And someone wanted her to ask him about Marcus.

Elena looked toward the folder on the table.

For seven years, she had believed the Blackwoods were the enemy.

Now she was beginning to wonder if the truth was much worse.

Maybe the person who destroyed her father had been hiding behind the Blackwood name all along.

And if that was true, then getting closer to Alexander might be the most dangerous thing she could do.

Or the only way she could finally uncover the truth.