Chapter 12:The chase...

The sound of hooves pounding against the cobbled streets filled the night as Carter drove the carriage through the city's winding roads. I kept my head down, gripping the edge of my seat, trying to process everything.

Radcliffe was dead.

We had lost the one man who could have given us answers. But in his final moments he had given something else - a clue.

"Find the ledger."

Lillian sat beside me, silent,her hands trembling in her lap. Her usual sharp tongue was gone, replaced by wide haunted eyes.

Carter cursed under his breath. "We need to lie low. Thompson's men won't stop hunting us after what happened."

I lifted my gaze. "We don't have time to hid."

His grip on the reins tightened. " Then what do you suggest? Because right now, we're one step away from being corpses."

I clenched my fists. "Radcliffe wouldn't have told me about the ledger if he didn't believe it was important. If Thompson is willing to kill over it,then it holds something - evidence, names, something that could take him down."

Carter exhaled sharply but didn't argue. That alone told me he knew I was right.

Lillian finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "Where do we even start looking?"

I reached for the bloodstained journal. "Radcliffe's name is here....and he must have kept records of his work somewhere."

Carter's expression darkened. " If he did,it won't be in plain sight."

A thought struck me. "Radcliffe's home looked abandoned, but it wasn't. What if ledger is still there?"

Lillian paled. "You want to go back?"

Carter's jaw tightened. " That's suicide."

I met his gaze. "We don't have a choice."

We approached Radcliffe's estate with caution, the carriage hidden in the shadows of a nearby alley. The night was eerily quiet, the house dark and lifeless.

I gripped Carter's arm. "What if they're still inside?"

His expression was grim. "Then we don't make a sound."

Lillian hesitated at the doorway. Everly,if we do this...."

"I know," I said. "Stay close."

The three of us slipped inside, careful not to disturb anything. The scent of gunpowder still lingered,a reminder of the chaos that had unfolded hours earlier.

Radcliffe's body was gone. Thompson's men had already been here.

Carter scanned the room. "If they searched the place, they would've taken anything important."

"Not if they didn't know where to look."

Lillian frowned. "You think Radcliffe hid it?"

I nodded. "He had to."

We moved cautiously through the house, searching every drawer. Minutes stretched into what felt like hours, frustration mounting.

Then-

Lillian gasped. "Here!"

I turned to find her near the fireplace,her hands running over the wood paneling. "There's something behind this," she said. "I can feel the hallow space."

Carter stepped forward, pressing against the panel. A soft click sounded, and the wood gave way. A small compartment was hidden within the wall. Inside, wrapped in old parchment,was a worn leather - bound book.

My breath caught,

The ledger.

Carter pulled it out carefully, flipping through the brittle pages. His face darkened with each turn.

Lillian peered over his shoulder. " What does it say?"

Carter's voice was tight. " It's a record of everything.

I leaned in, scanning the pages. Names,dates, payment. Each entry detailed the assassinations orchestrated by Thompson - all disguised as illness, accidents, disappearance.

And then...

My heart stopped.

Daniel's name.

Beside it, written in cold, precise ink, was the date of his death. The cause? inconclusive poisoning.

Lillian covered her mouth, horror flashing across her face.

Carter muttered a curse.

I stared at the words,my hands shaking. My husband's murder had been recorded like a transaction in a ledger.

Cold rage burned through me.

Thompson had killed Daniel.

And now, I had the proof.

"We have what we need," Carter said. Now we leave.

But as we turned for the door... The floor creaked. The hair on my neck stood on the end.

A shadow moved in the doorway.

Then - a gunshot.

Carter shoved me down as the bullet shattered the wooden panel behind us.

Lillian screamed.

The second shot never came. Instead,a deep voice cut through the darkness.

"I'd advise against running."

My blood ran cold.

Ethan Thompson stepped into the dim light, flanked by two armed men. His expression was calm - too calm. He adjusted his coat. "I thought you might come back here." His gaze flicked to the ledger in my hands. "And it seems I was right."

Carter positioned himself between us. "How did you find us?"

Thompson chuckled. " Please. You think I don't know my own city?"

I gritted my teeth. "You murdered my husband."

Thompson signed. "I did what needed to be done."

Something inside me snapped.

"You're a monster."

His smile didn't falter. "And yet, here you are playing a game you can't possibly win."

I clenched the ledger. "The book says otherwise."

Thompson tilted his head. " That depends. Do you really think you'll live long enough to use it?"

My heart pounded.

Then....

A gunshot. Not from Thompson,

But from Carter.

He fired at the lantern, plunging the room into darkness.

*Run!" He shouted.

I grabbed Lillian's hand, and we bolted.

Gunfire erupted behind us, bullets splintering wood as we fled through the narrow halls. Thompson's men were fast, their footsteps closing in.

Carter fired blindly behind us, buying time. Then - the back door. We burst through it, into the open night.

The carriage was waiting.

Carter leaped on to the driver's seat, snapping the reins. The horses bolted forward just as more shots rang out. I clutched the ledger against my chest. We had it.

We had everything.

But Thompson knew now.

And he wouldn't stop until we're dead.