Chapter 8: The Ledger and the Appraiser

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This entry is part 8 of 16 in the series My Stepfather Sent Me To Patrol A Forest Sector With Standalone Wooden Stairs, Then Erased My Coordinates From The Dispatch Server

My Stepfather Sent Me To Patrol A Forest Sector With Standalone Wooden Stairs, Then Erased My Coordinates From The Dispatch Server

Chapter 1: The Stairs in Sector Four

Chapter 2: The Unseen Foundation and Cut Connections

Chapter 8: The Ledger and the Appraiser

Chapter 9: The Glaring Expiration

Chapter 13: Arthur’s Deepest Secret

Chapter 15: The Final Reckoning

Chapter 16: The Unchanged Woods

With Leo’s master keycard, Jonah slipped into the Sector 4 maintenance shed. The air inside was thick with the smell of motor oil and sawdust. Arthur was away on a perimeter check, the shed quiet and empty.

Jonah found the breaker box. Behind it, in the wall cavity, was a small, hidden space. He reached in, his fingers closing around a worn, black leather ledger.

He pulled it out, flipping through the pages. Sixteen years of handwritten entries. Exact coordinates of anomalous forest sites. And next to them, an astonishing sum: $320,000 in uncashed federal indemnity checks, all made out to ghost corporations. Arthur wasn’t just leveraging the land; he was hoarding the proceeds.

The shed door creaked open. Appraiser Gregory Coyle walked in, a clipboard under his arm, his eyes adjusting to the dim lantern light. He mistook Jonah for Arthur.

“Arthur? Didn’t think you’d be here so early,” Coyle said, a nervous edge to his voice.

Jonah turned around slowly, holding the black ledger in plain view. He opened it to page forty-two. His voice was flat, devoid of emotion, as he read aloud the exact dollar amounts credited to Coyle’s private offshore account numbers.

Coyle stopped dead, his face draining of all color.

➡️ Read CHAPTER 11 to continue the story.

👉 Previous Decision: You chose to confront Arthur and Gregory Coyle directly inside the maintenance shed.