Chapter 4 - The Ledger Beneath the Floor
Claire refused to let Adrian go to the old mill alone.
“You have a wife,” she told him. “That means you no longer get to make reckless decisions by yourself.”
They stood beside the hotel window, watching the gray sedan across the street.
Adrian had spent the morning speaking to Samuel and arranging for a private investigator from Manila to travel to the province. Samuel had also contacted an officer in the provincial police command rather than relying on the local station.
But help would not arrive until evening.
Adrian did not believe they had that long.
Mateo knew Rosa and Ernesto were gone. He knew Adrian had learned about Gabriel. If evidence remained in the locked room, it could disappear before sunset.
“I’m not asking you to come,” Adrian said.
“I know. I’m telling you I am.”
He looked at her.
Claire had tied her hair back and traded her office clothes for jeans and hiking shoes purchased at a market that morning. She did not look afraid.
That made him more afraid for her.
“My parents need you here.”
“They need both of us alive. We’re not confronting anyone. We’re only going to look.”
“Samuel said not to break in.”
“Then we won’t.”
“How do you plan to enter?”
Claire held up the brass key Rosa had worn around her neck.
“Your mother said Gabriel gave her this a week before he disappeared. She never knew what it opened.”
Adrian stared at the key.
Rosa had kept it for seven years.
Perhaps some part of her had known.
They left through the hotel kitchen to avoid the sedan and borrowed an old motorcycle from the hotel owner. Adrian drove while Claire held the map.
The road narrowed until it became a dirt path through tall grass. The old mill stood beside a dry stream, hidden by acacia trees and vines. Its roof had collapsed on one side. Rusted machinery lay scattered outside.
No vehicle was visible.
Adrian parked behind a wall.
The locked room was at the back of the mill.
Its steel door looked newer than the rest of the structure.
Claire handed him the key.
It fit.
The lock opened with a heavy click.
Inside, darkness swallowed the beam from Adrian’s phone.
The room smelled of oil, paper, and damp wood.
Shelves lined the walls. Cardboard boxes were stacked from floor to ceiling. A desk stood beneath the only window, covered by a black cloth.
Adrian removed the cloth.
Beneath it were three old mobile phones, a printer, and several rubber stamps.
Claire opened the nearest box.
Bank statements.
Dozens of them.
Some carried Mateo’s name. Others belonged to companies Adrian did not recognize.
M.R. Agricultural Supply.
Mountain Crest Development.
G. Reyes Transport.
Claire picked up one document.
“These are shell companies.”
Adrian looked over her shoulder.
M.R. Agricultural Supply had received monthly deposits almost identical to the amounts he sent Mateo. The money was then transferred into land purchases, vehicle loans, and private school payments.
“Private school?” Adrian asked.
Claire turned another page.
A child named Sofia Reyes attended an expensive academy in Manila.
Father: Mateo Reyes.
Mother: Vanessa Lim-Reyes.
Adrian stared at the name.
“Mateo’s wife is Teresa.”
“At least the woman everyone in the village thinks is his wife,” Claire said.
They continued searching.
In a metal cabinet, they found photocopies of Ernesto’s land title, altered tax declarations, and a deed of sale transferring the farm to Mountain Crest Development.
The buyer’s representative was Mateo.
The seller’s thumbprint belonged to Ernesto.
The price listed was almost nothing.
Adrian photographed every page.
Then Claire noticed scratches on the wooden floor.
A loose plank beneath the desk.
They lifted it together.
A black ledger lay inside a plastic bag.
The first pages contained dates, names, and payments.
Local officials.
Police officers.
Land assessors.
A doctor.
Each entry recorded money given in exchange for signatures, silence, or false certificates.
Adrian turned the pages until one name stopped him.
Gabriel Reyes.
Beside it was a date from seven years earlier.
Under the name were four words.
Problem handled. Phone recovered.
Claire inhaled sharply.
Adrian’s hands began to shake.
“Keep looking,” she whispered.
The next page showed a payment to a man named Ruben Salazar.
Transportation and cleanup.
Adrian took photographs.
A sound came from outside.
A motorcycle engine.
Claire turned off the phone’s flashlight.
They stood in darkness.
Footsteps approached.
One man.
Then another.
The steel door moved.
Adrian had left it slightly open.
A voice said, “The lock is broken.”
It was the scarred man.
Adrian silently pulled Claire behind the boxes.
The door opened.
Light entered the room.
Two men stepped inside.
“The papers are still here,” one said.
“Boss said burn everything.”
Adrian’s heart pounded.
One of the men carried a red fuel container.
The other began splashing gasoline across the boxes.
Claire gripped Adrian’s arm.
There was no rear exit.
Within seconds, the smell became overwhelming.
The scarred man took out a lighter.
Adrian moved before he could think.
He drove his shoulder into the man carrying the fuel. The container flew across the room. Claire shoved a shelf toward the second man, trapping his leg beneath falling boxes.
The scarred man swung at Adrian.
The punch struck Adrian’s cheek.
Adrian hit back, then grabbed the man’s wrist before he could reach inside his jacket.
A knife fell to the floor.
Claire kicked it beneath the desk.
The second man freed himself and lunged at her.
She threw the black ledger through the open doorway.
The man turned instinctively.
Adrian used the distraction to strike him across the jaw.
“Run!” Adrian shouted.
Claire sprinted outside and grabbed the ledger.
Adrian followed.
They raced toward the motorcycle as the scarred man stumbled from the mill.
A gunshot cracked through the trees.
Wood splintered beside Adrian’s head.
Claire screamed.
They reached the motorcycle. Adrian started it while another shot struck the ground behind them.
The old engine roared.
They escaped down the dirt path, branches whipping their faces.
Adrian did not slow until they reached the paved road.
Claire’s arms remained locked around his waist.
“You’re bleeding,” she said.
“So are you.”
A cut ran along her forearm.
“It’s nothing.”
They returned to the hotel through a different route.
The gray sedan was gone.
Inside their room, Adrian uploaded every photograph to three separate cloud accounts and sent copies to Samuel.
Claire placed the black ledger on the bed.
“This is enough to expose the financial crimes,” she said. “But not enough to prove what happened to Gabriel.”
Adrian opened the ledger again.
Near the back, several pages had been torn out.
One remaining entry included Ruben Salazar’s phone number.
Adrian called Samuel.
“Find this man.”
Samuel wrote down the details.
“Do not contact him yourself,” he warned.
Adrian ended the call.
His cheek was swelling. Claire cleaned the cut on his face while he sat beside the bed.
“You could have been killed,” she said.
“So could you.”
“Yes.”
“You should go back to Manila.”
Claire pressed the cloth harder against his cheek.
He winced.
“That is my answer.”
Despite everything, he almost smiled.
A knock sounded at the door.
Three firm taps.
Adrian rose.
“Who is it?”
“Provincial police.”
He checked through the small viewer.
Two uniformed officers stood outside with a man in plain clothes.
Adrian opened the door.
The plainclothes officer introduced himself as Captain Luis Navarro.
Samuel had sent him.
Navarro examined the ledger, the photographs, and the bank documents.
“This is serious,” he said. “Your brother appears to have bribed officials in at least two municipalities.”
“And Gabriel?”
Navarro’s face remained guarded.
“We need more evidence.”
“My brother’s ledger says ‘problem handled.’”
“That is suspicious, not conclusive.”
“Find Ruben Salazar.”
“We will.”
A siren sounded outside.
Navarro moved to the window.
Smoke rose beyond the town, dark against the mountains.
Adrian knew the direction.
The old mill.
Mateo’s men had returned to finish the job.
Navarro looked at the ledger on the bed.
“They think the evidence is still inside.”
Adrian’s phone rang.
Mateo.
He answered without speaking.
“You broke into my property,” Mateo said.
“You tried to burn it.”
“You have no idea what you found.”
“I found sixteen years of theft.”
“You found numbers. Numbers can be explained.”
“What about Gabriel?”
The silence lasted several seconds.
Then Mateo spoke softly.
“Some questions destroy more than answers.”
“Is he alive?”
Mateo exhaled.
“You should have stayed in Manila.”
The line disconnected.
Captain Navarro had heard the entire conversation.
He took the phone from Adrian and examined the call log.
“We’ll request a warrant,” he said.
“How long?”
“Soon.”
“That means Mateo has time.”
“To do what?”
Before Adrian could answer, another call appeared.
The hospital.
The nurse’s voice was urgent.
“Mr. Reyes, your parents are not in their room.”
Adrian’s body went cold.
“What do you mean?”
“We thought they were with you. Their beds are empty.”
Claire grabbed her bag.
Captain Navarro reached for his radio.
Adrian ran into the hallway.
On the hospital bed, the nurse found a single folded note.
It had been written in Rosa’s handwriting.
May you like
Mateo promised to tell us where Gabriel is.
Please forgive us.
