Chapter 10 - The 1998 Ledger
A year passed. Olga’s life in New York was everything she had fought for. She was respected, independent, and completely free from the shadow of the Vance family.
It was late on a Friday evening. The city lights sparkled through the floor-to-ceiling windows of her apartment. Olga was sitting at her mahogany desk, a glass of expensive red wine in hand, reviewing a set of old documents.
When the courts had unfrozen her grandfather’s trust, they had also handed over Arthur Vance’s personal effects—boxes of old tax returns, diaries, and locked briefcases that Jack had never been able to open.
Olga had been slowly digitizing the records for her own archives.
At the bottom of the final box, wrapped in heavily taped plastic, was an old, weathered leather journal. Etched on the cover in faded gold lettering was: Ledger - 1998.
Olga froze. Her grandfather’s dying words echoed in her mind.
“Watch the ledgers, Ollie. The 1998 accounts... don’t let Jack find the black box.”
Her heart began to race. She carefully cut the plastic away and opened the journal. The first few pages were standard bookkeeping for the year 1998—the year she was born.
But halfway through the book, the financial entries stopped. The pages were hollowed out, creating a small, hidden compartment.
Inside the compartment lay a small, brass safety deposit box key, and a folded piece of heavy parchment paper.
Olga set her wine glass down, her hands suddenly trembling. She unfolded the parchment. It was an original birth certificate, heavily stamped and sealed by a hospital in Switzerland.
The name on the certificate was Olga.
But the father listed was not Jack Vance.
Attached to the certificate was a handwritten note from her grandfather, dated just days before his death.
Ollie, if you are reading this, it means you beat him. It means you survived Jack. But you need to know the truth. Jack hated you because he knew you weren't his. I paid him to raise you to hide you from your real father. The money in the trust was never mine—it was blood money sent by him. The key belongs to a box in Geneva. Do not go looking for him unless you are ready for a war much bigger than the Vances.
Olga stared at the faded ink, the air leaving her lungs in a rush.
She wasn't a Vance. The millions in her trust weren't an inheritance; they were a payoff. And the man who truly shared her blood was someone so dangerous that her grandfather had paid a corrupt family just to keep her hidden.
The justice she had fought so hard for was only the end of the first chapter.
Olga picked up the brass key, the cold metal pressing into her palm as she looked out at the sprawling, infinite lights of the city.
May you like
👉 Who is the powerful man in Geneva, and what will happen when Olga puts the brass key into the lock?
What would you do if you discovered your entire identity was a lie created to protect you from your real family? Let me know in the comments!
