👉 Previous Decision: You chose Option A – Grab the burning 1888 ledger out of the plaster wall and run out of the house.
Without thinking, I lunged forward, ignoring the searing heat. My fingers closed around the spine of the old ledger, pulling it free from the burning wall cavity.
The cover was scorched, the leather brittle, but the pages inside remained intact. I clutched it to my chest, turning to Julian.
“Out!” I yelled, pulling him away from the flames. “We need to get out!”
We stumbled up the basement stairs, coughing from the thick, acrid smoke. As we emerged into the cool pre-dawn air, I heard sirens wailing in the distance.
Evelyn Delancey’s car pulled into the driveway, followed closely by Deputy O’Donnell’s cruiser. She jumped out, her face etched with alarm.
“Maeve! Julian!” she cried, rushing towards us.
I held up the charred ledger. “I got it,” I said, my voice hoarse from the smoke.
Evelyn took the book from my trembling hands, her eyes scanning the municipal seal. Despite the fire damage, the 1888 forfeiture clause on page 18, line 7, remained completely legible.
Julian stumbled onto the lawn, his clothes soot-stained, his face ashen. He stared at the house, smoke now pouring from the basement windows.
Fire trucks roared onto the scene, their flashing lights illuminating the chaos. Julian’s smartphone buzzed, vibrating violently in his hand.
He looked at the screen, his eyes widening in horror. Automated corporate defaults cascaded through his notifications.
“No,” he whispered, a guttural sound of defeat. “No, it’s all gone. Everything.”
His business holdings, his fraudulent empire, wiped out in real-time, just as the flames consumed the last vestiges of his secret.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 15 to continue the story
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