Chapter 13 - Dela Refuses to Be Bought
The restaurant was called Hartley House.
Knox had renamed it after purchasing the building nine years earlier.
At the time, he told himself the name sounded respectable.
Now he wondered whether some unconscious part of him had been searching for family even then.
The building occupied a corner near the Chicago River.
Red brick.
Tall windows.
Dark wood interior.
Businessmen filled the dining room at lunch.
Tourists booked tables weeks in advance.
Nobody eating there knew a decades-old ledger might be hidden behind the walls.
Knox closed the restaurant for the morning.
Managers protested.
He ignored them.
Toby arrived with building plans.
Leonard came too.
Bear wandered through the dining room as if inspecting everything.
Dela remained at the hospital with Ruth.
Before Knox left, he tried again to help her.
Not with an envelope.
With a question.
“What do you need?”
Dela looked suspicious.
“What?”
“You said I treat everything like a transaction. Fine. Tell me what you actually need.”
She considered.
“A job.”
Knox blinked.
“You want to work for me?”
“I didn't say that.”
“Then where?”
“Anywhere stable.”
“What did you do before?”
“Hotel housekeeping. Restaurant shifts. Home care.”
Knox immediately said, “You can work here.”
Dela shook her head.
“You didn't even ask if I'm qualified.”
“You cared for my mother.”
“That doesn't qualify me to manage your restaurant.”
“I didn't say manager.”
“What job?”
Knox realized he had no idea.
Dela smiled slightly.
“See?”
He sighed.
“What do you want to do?”
She thought.
“I started nursing school before Emma was born.”
“Finish.”
“That costs money.”
“I'll pay.”
Her expression hardened.
“Knox.”
He stopped.
“Right.”
“No buying.”
“Right.”
“But,” Dela continued, “if you know a scholarship program that I can apply for like everyone else, I'll take the information.”
Knox stared at her.
“You make everything difficult.”
“No. I make you ask the correct question.”
That stayed with him.
At Hartley House, the search began.
Walter had hidden the ledger before Knox purchased the building.
Construction crews had remodeled nearly everything.
Walls opened.
Floors replaced.
Kitchen expanded.
Yet Walter expected the hiding place to survive.
Meaning it had to be somewhere structurally permanent.
Basement foundation.
Old chimney.
Support column.
Safe.
They searched for five hours.
Nothing.
At noon, Bear began scratching near the wine cellar.
Knox looked at him.
“Seriously?”
Toby laughed.
“We should put him on payroll.”
Bear sniffed along a brick wall.
Leonard frowned.
“That wasn't here originally.”
Knox examined the bricks.
They matched the old construction.
But one section had newer mortar.
A contractor opened it carefully.
Behind the bricks sat a rusted metal box.
Knox's heart began pounding.
They removed it.
Inside:
A red leather ledger.
Walter's handwriting.
Silas's handwriting.
Accounts.
Dates.
Names.
Payments.
Bribes.
Properties.
Fraud.
Everything.
Toby turned pages slowly.
“This is it.”
Knox stood over the table.
For decades, Silas had manipulated people because he believed he possessed the only complete record.
He was wrong.
Walter had hidden the truth inside the future he hoped Knox might build.
Knox called investigators.
He did not make copies first.
He did not hide pages that could embarrass him.
He handed over everything.
Toby noticed.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Some names here connect to people we still deal with.”
“I know.”
“This could hurt us.”
“I know.”
Toby nodded.
“Okay.”
That evening, Knox returned to the hospital.
Dela was waiting near the elevators.
“You found it.”
“How do you know?”
“You look different.”
“We found it.”
“And?”
“I gave it to investigators.”
Dela smiled.
“You're learning.”
“Apparently.”
Then he noticed her expression.
“What happened?”
“Ruth had a bad episode.”
His stomach tightened.
“What kind?”
“She didn't know where she was. She thought she was back at Lake Briar.”
“Is she okay?”
“She's sleeping now.”
Knox walked quickly toward the room.
Dela followed.
Before they reached the door, she caught his arm.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“Someone came here.”
Knox stopped.
“Who?”
“A man from your company.”
“Name?”
“Miles Kent.”
Knox's eyes hardened.
Miles was one of the managers who met Silas at the Bellmont.
“What did he want?”
“He said he needed to talk to Ruth.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I told him to leave.”
Knox stared at her.
“Was security here?”
“He showed credentials.”
Knox pulled out his phone.
“Toby.”
“Yeah?”
“Where is Miles?”
Silence.
Then typing.
“He was supposed to be under surveillance.”
“Is he?”
Another pause.
“No.”
Knox's expression changed.
“Find him.”
Toby cursed.
Knox ended the call.
Dela said, “He left something.”
“What?”
She handed him a sealed envelope.
Knox opened it.
One page.
Typed.
Stop helping investigators or the truth about Walter Hartley becomes public.
Knox almost laughed.
“The truth is already becoming public.”
Dela pointed to the bottom.
Another sentence.
Ask your mother what Walter did in 1998.
Knox's smile disappeared.
1998.
He had been seven.
He entered Ruth's room.
She slept.
Bear lay beside her.
Knox sat quietly.
Half an hour later, Ruth opened her eyes.
She recognized him.
“What's wrong?”
He handed her the note.
She read slowly.
Then closed her eyes.
“What happened in 1998?”
Ruth did not answer.
“Mom.”
She looked at him.
“Your father made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“He helped Silas ruin someone.”
“Who?”
“A businessman named Raymond Kent.”
Knox froze.
Kent.
Miles Kent.
“Related to Miles?”
“Raymond had a son.”
Knox sat back.
Silas had not recruited Miles randomly.
Miles carried an old grievance.
Ruth continued.
“Walter forged documents for Silas. Raymond lost his company. His marriage ended. He died a few years later.”
Knox looked sick.
“So Dad ruined him.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Walter spent the rest of his life ashamed.”
Knox thought about the ledger.
The recordings.
Walter was not innocent.
He said so himself.
Now the consequences were returning through the next generation.
Like an unpaid debt.
Dela stood near the door.
Knox looked at her.
“This is what Silas does.”
“What?”
“He takes people's pain and points it at someone else.”
Dela nodded.
“So don't let him.”
Knox called Toby.
“Find Miles.”
“What do you want done?”
Knox hesitated.
Old Knox would have answered immediately.
Instead he said, “Bring him somewhere safe.”
“That's it?”
“I want to talk.”
Toby sounded surprised.
“Okay.”
Knox ended the call.
Ruth watched him.
“You're changing.”
“So everyone keeps saying.”
“Good.”
Knox leaned back.
Then his phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Miles Kent.
His breathing was heavy.
“Knox.”
“Where are you?”
“I made a mistake.”
“Tell me where.”
“I can't.”
“Miles.”
“He knows about Emma.”
Knox stood.
Dela went pale.
“What?”
Miles spoke quickly.
“Silas had people watching Dela before you ever found Ruth.”
Knox's blood turned cold.
“Why?”
“Because Dela had something Ruth gave her.”
Dela stared.
“I don't have anything.”
Miles continued.
“Yes, you do.”
Knox put the call on speaker.
Miles said, “Ruth gave Dela a key months ago.”
Dela froze.
Then slowly reached toward the necklace beneath her sweater.
A small brass key hung from it.
Knox stared.
“What does it open?”
Dela whispered, “I don't know.”
Miles said, “Silas does.”
The call ended.
Knox looked at the key.
Ruth had hidden one final secret in the safest place she knew.
Not a bank.
Not a house.
Not a vault.
With the woman who had cared for her when everyone else disappeared.
May you like
And Silas Crane knew about it.
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