Chapter 25: The People Behind the Founder

Ava stared at the symbol on the recording device.

The Guardians.

The name meant nothing to her.

But judging by the reactions around the room, it meant everything to everyone else.

Richard looked as though he had seen a ghost.

Elena’s hands were trembling.

Even Ethan seemed unsettled.

Only Damien remained standing, his eyes fixed on the small device lying on the table.

Ava was tired of being the last person to understand what was happening.

“What are the Guardians?”

No one answered.

Her patience snapped.

“Enough!”

The force in her voice startled everyone.

“I’m done with secrets.”

Silence.

Then Richard slowly sat down.

For the first time since Ava had met him, he looked defeated.

“The Guardians were supposed to protect the truth.”

Ava frowned.

“What truth?”

“The truth about the people who controlled everything.”

“The Black Ledger?”

Richard nodded.

“And before the Black Ledger existed?”

Ava leaned forward.

“What do you mean before?”

Richard exchanged a glance with Elena.

Neither looked comfortable.

Then Elena finally spoke.

“The Black Ledger wasn’t the beginning.”

A chill ran through Ava.

“The Founder wasn’t the beginning either.”

The room fell silent.

Ava’s heart started racing.

“Then what was?”

Richard stared at the symbol.

“The organization.”

“What organization?”

Nobody wanted to answer.

That alone terrified Ava.

Finally Damien spoke.

“The Circle.”

The name sent visible tension through the room.

Even Ethan looked surprised.

Ava noticed.

“You know them?”

Ethan nodded slowly.

“I’ve heard the name.”

Richard laughed bitterly.

“Heard the name?”

His eyes darkened.

“The Circle owns politicians.”

“The Circle owns judges.”

“The Circle owns banks.”

“The Circle owns governments.”

Ava stared at him.

“That’s impossible.”

“I used to think so too.”

The room became quiet.

Then Elena spoke.

“The Guardians were created to expose them.”

Ava blinked.

“So the Guardians were the good guys?”

No one answered immediately.

That hesitation told her everything.

“There are no good guys, are there?”

Richard smiled sadly.

“No.”

Hours passed.

Nobody slept.

Nobody could.

The deeper they dug into the truth, the more dangerous everything became.

Ava sat alone in the library.

Lucas’s notebook rested in her lap.

She had read it three times already.

The same names.

The same numbers.

The same cryptic notes.

Yet one page kept pulling her attention back.

A page she had somehow overlooked before.

A page with only three words.

Follow the inheritance trail.

Ava frowned.

Inheritance?

What inheritance?

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up.

Ethan stood in the doorway.

“You should get some rest.”

Ava laughed softly.

“Have you?”

“No.”

He entered the room.

For a moment neither spoke.

Then Ethan sat beside her.

“How are you holding up?”

The question almost made her cry.

How was she holding up?

Her mother wasn’t dead.

Her father was.

The man who raised her wasn’t her father.

A secret organization controlled lives from the shadows.

And somehow she was standing in the center of it all.

“I don’t know.”

Ethan gently took her hand.

For the first time all night, she allowed herself to lean against him.

Just for a moment.

Just long enough to remember what safety felt like.

Then she remembered something.

“Ethan.”

“What?”

“Why me?”

His expression changed.

“What do you mean?”

“Why is everyone after me?”

Silence.

Ava immediately noticed.

“Ethan.”

He looked away.

Her stomach dropped.

“You know.”

“I have a theory.”

“What theory?”

Ethan hesitated.

Then sighed.

“The Founder wasn’t interested in you at first.”

Ava frowned.

“Then why am I involved?”

“Because of your father.”

Again.

Everything always led back to her father.

“My real father?”

“Yes.”

Ava sat up.

“What about him?”

Ethan rubbed his jaw.

“Lucas believed your father hid something.”

“The archive?”

“No.”

“The keys?”

“No.”

Ava stared at him.

“Then what?”

Ethan looked directly into her eyes.

“A beneficiary.”

The word confused her.

“What?”

“A person.”

Ava’s heart skipped.

“What person?”

Ethan remained silent.

That silence terrified her.

“Ethan.”

Before he could answer, the library door burst open.

Damien rushed inside.

His face was pale.

“Ethan.”

Something in his voice made everyone stand.

“What happened?”

Damien swallowed.

“We have a problem.”

Ava’s stomach tightened.

Another one.

“What now?”

Damien held up a document.

An old document.

Yellowed with age.

The same document he had apparently been searching for all night.

Richard entered the room behind him.

The moment he saw the paper, his face lost all color.

“No.”

Ava looked between them.

“What is it?”

Damien slowly placed the document on the table.

A birth certificate.

Ava frowned.

Whose?

Then she saw the name.

And her heart stopped.

AVA ELENA BROOKS

The room fell silent.

Ava stared at the document.

Then at Damien.

Then at Richard.

“Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Nobody answered.

Finally Damien spoke.

His voice barely above a whisper.

“Because your father didn’t leave money behind.”

Ava felt cold.

“What?”

Damien pointed at the document.

“He left ownership.”

The room spun.

Ownership of what?

Then Richard closed his eyes and whispered the words nobody wanted to hear.

“The Circle.”

Ava’s blood ran cold.

And for the first time, she understood why everyone had been trying to find her before she found the truth herself.