Chapter 5 - My Father's Name in a Locked Ledger
I had always known my father as Daniel Donovan, the man who repaired broken kitchen appliances for neighbors and never missed my birthday. At the police station, I learned he had also worked as a safety inspector for a warehouse leased by Moretti Logistics.
Six years earlier, he had reported falsified shipping records. Two days later, the warehouse burned.
Luca came to the station with his attorney and a sealed ledger he said had been found in an old company archive. He gave it directly to Detective Price.
“Why now?” I asked.
“Because your father's name appears in it,” he said. “And because I should have looked years ago.”
“You owned the warehouse.”
“My uncle ran that division. I inherited the business after his death.”
I wanted to hate him. It would have been simpler than seeing genuine shame on his face.
Detective Price found repeated payments to a company called Ashcroft Consulting. The same company appeared on the forged transfer document.
Then the detective showed us a grainy photograph taken the night of the fire. A woman stood beside the warehouse gate.
May you like
Vanessa Bellini.
She looked younger, but the face was unmistakable.
