Chapter 9: Framed in Flames

👉 Previous decision: Ethan Gable revealed Mara’s deception and swore to help you.

Ethan drove me to a safehouse flat near Mount Zion Cemetery, a nondescript building tucked away on a quiet street. “Nobody looks for anything in a graveyard,” he’d muttered, handing me a blanket.

As dawn broke, my phone buzzed with news alerts. Julian Cross’s real-estate office, the very place I’d signed my lease, had burned to the ground overnight. The headlines screamed about arson.

A second alert, even more chilling, flashed across the screen. Police found my bankruptcy paperwork, the exact documents detailing my $180,000 collapse, sitting neatly inside a fireproof safe at the arson origin point.

An active arrest warrant had been issued. For me. Leo Kaczmarek.

“Julian,” Ethan growled, pacing the small living room. “He framed you. Made it look like you torched the place for insurance after you lost your money. It’s how he covers his tracks.”

He ran a hand through his hair, his face etched with grim determination. “We have to act fast, Leo. Before the cops find you, before Mara covers everything else up. Julian keeps his master double-entry accounting ledgers inside a private vault. In the brownstone basement.”

He looked at me, his eyes unwavering. “Those ledgers will have everything. Proof that Mara is skimming from Kostov, proof of Julian’s shell corporations, everything. It’s the only way to clear your name and expose them both.”