Locations.
Numbers.
But never a complete explanation.
On the fourth night, she found something.
A sentence written in the margin.
Richard trusted the wrong man.
Underneath:
Victor knows where the ledger is.
Naomi stared.
The ledger.
That word appeared repeatedly throughout the journal.
She called Henry.
“Do you know about the ledger?”
There was silence.
Then:
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because we didn't know where it was.”
“My mother did.”
“She suspected.”
“What is it?”
“The original Northstar ledger.”
Naomi sat up.
“What does it contain?”
“Every transaction.”
“Every one?”
“Every payment. Every shell company. Every politician.”
“Then it could destroy Victor.”
“Yes.”
“And that's why people killed for it.”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
Henry exhaled.
“We think Richard hid it.”
“Where?”
“We don't know.”
Naomi looked at the journal.
“I think my mother knew.”
She returned to the Ferry Building.
The room where they had found the metal case had been searched.
Someone had broken in.
Documents were scattered across the floor.
The metal case was gone.
Naomi froze.
Henry arrived ten minutes later.
“They found us.”
“No.”
“What?”
“They weren't looking for everything.”
She pointed.
“My mother's journal is gone.”
Henry looked around.
“Anything else?”
Naomi searched.
The photographs remained.
The key remained.
But the journal was gone.
Then she noticed something.
A small piece of paper under the table.
She picked it up.
Three words.
ASK YOUR FATHER.
James was waiting when she returned.
He looked at the paper.
Then he sat down.
“I knew this would happen.”
“Where is the ledger?”
“I don't know.”
“Dad.”
“I swear.”
“Did Richard give it to you?”
James looked away.
Naomi's voice became softer.
“Please.”
James sighed.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The night before he disappeared.”
“Why?”
“He knew someone was coming for him.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me to protect you.”
“And the ledger?”
“He gave me a key.”
Naomi's eyes widened.
“What key?”
James went to an old cabinet.
He removed a small wooden box.
Inside was a brass key.
Naomi recognized it immediately.
The same key Thomas had given her.
She looked at James.
“You had another one.”
“Yes.”
“Where does it go?”
James shook his head.
“I never used it.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard told me not to.”
“Then what did he say?”
James closed his eyes.
“He said if the day ever came when you discovered who you really were, I should give you the key.”
Naomi picked it up.
“What does it open?”
“A bank box.”
“Which bank?”
“First Pacific.”
Naomi stared.
“That bank closed twenty years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Then the box is gone.”
James shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard knew it would close.”
He smiled sadly.
“He planned for that.”
The following morning, Naomi and Henry located the bank.
It no longer operated publicly.
But the building had been converted into offices.
Old records had been transferred to a storage facility.
They found the box number.
714.
The key worked.
Inside was a single envelope.
Naomi opened it.
A photograph fell out.
She picked it up.
Richard Calloway was standing beside a woman.
Naomi recognized her.
Her mother.
They were holding a baby.
Naomi.
On the back:
My daughter.
Naomi's eyes filled with tears.
There was also a letter.
Claire,
If you're reading this, I failed.
I could not stop Northstar.
But I found the person who can.
Our daughter.
Naomi stopped reading.
Henry looked at her.
“Keep going.”
She did.
She must never know who I am until she is strong enough to survive knowing.
James will protect her.
Victor will search for her.
Samuel will wait.
And when she finally discovers the truth, she must find the ledger before Victor does.
The final sentence was underlined.
The ledger is not in a bank.
Naomi frowned.
“What?”
Henry read the letter.
“Where is it?”
Naomi turned the page.
There was only one word.
TABLE TWELVE.
Naomi stared.
“The restaurant.”
Henry nodded.
“The place where everything began.”
She suddenly understood.
The restaurant wasn't random.
Victor had not chosen Table Twelve randomly.
Richard had hidden something there.
But why?
And how could it have remained hidden for twenty years?
That evening, Naomi returned to the restaurant.
It was closed.
The manager recognized her.
“You shouldn't be here.”
“I need to see Table Twelve.”
He hesitated.
“Why?”
“Please.”
He eventually let her inside.
The dining room was dark.
Naomi walked to Table Twelve.
She touched the wood.
Nothing.
She checked underneath.
Nothing.
Then she remembered Victor's words.
You don't know who you really are.
She looked at the chair.
The chair had a loose screw.
She removed it.
Inside the wooden frame was a small metal compartment.
Naomi's heart raced.
She opened it.
Inside was a flash drive.
And a handwritten note.
Naomi,
If you found this, I am sorry.
I wanted to tell you myself.
Your father, Richard.
Naomi closed her eyes.
For the first time in her life, she felt the presence of a man she had never known.
Not as a stranger.
As a father.
She inserted the drive into her phone.
One file appeared.
NORTHSTAR_FINAL.mp4
She opened it.
Richard appeared on screen.
Older than in the photographs.
Tired.
Afraid.
He looked directly into the camera.
“If Naomi ever sees this, it means Victor failed to find her.”
He paused.
“And it means I am probably dead.”
Naomi covered her mouth.
Richard continued.
“There is one thing you must understand.”
He leaned toward the camera.
“Victor Hale is not the leader of Northstar.”
The screen went black.
Naomi stared.
Then another sentence appeared.
THE LEADER IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST.
THE BETRAYAL
Naomi watched the video again.
Then again.
Then a fourth time.