Chapter 2 - The Bloodline Ledger
By 2:00 a.m., Hallowmere Manor was drowned in a suffocating, rain-drenched stillness.
Corrie stood by the arched window of her modest second-floor bedroom in the east wing, clutching the three sheets of paper. The relief was so intense it felt physical, like a heavy iron plate being lifted from her collarbones.
She unfolded the documents under the warm light of her bedside lamp.
There was Lily’s birth certificate. The medical consent form signed by the state trustee. And a third document—one she had never seen before.
It was an official deed of trust.
Corrie’s eyes scanned the black ink.
Property: 412 Maple Street, Providence, RI. Beneficiary: Lily Eleanor Hayes. Trustee: Domenico Antonio Moretti. Date of Execution: November 14, 2022.
Corrie gasped, dropping the papers onto her bed.
2022. Four years ago. Before she had ever set foot in Hallowmere Manor. Before Lily was even born.
Her mind reeled in absolute chaos. Why would the most powerful syndicate boss in New England hold a private trust in her daughter’s name four years before she was hired as an archivist? Why had Whitlock been keeping these papers in his personal desk?
A soft knock at her bedroom door broke the silence.
Corrie froze. She looked at the brass handle.
“Corrie,” a quiet, familiar voice called out from the hallway. It was Rosa.
Corrie rushed to the door and unlocked it.
Rosa slipped into the room, holding a tray with a steaming mug of tea and a small brass key. She quickly closed the door behind her and turned the bolt.
“Drink this,” Rosa whispered, pushing the mug into Corrie’s hands. “You look like a ghost.”
“Rosa,” Corrie said, her voice shaking violently as she pointed to the desk. “Look at this. Look at the date on the trust deed.”
Rosa took a glance at the paper on the bed, but her expression didn't change. She didn't look shocked. She looked heavy with an old, dangerous sorrow.
“I know what it says, child,” Rosa said quietly, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
Corrie sat beside her, her heart hammering against her ribs. “What is happening here, Rosa? Who was Whitlock working for? Why did Domenico give me these papers tonight?”
Rosa took a deep, shuddering breath, her gnarled hands folding together in her lap.
“Domenico’s father, Don Eduardo, died five months ago,” Rosa explained softly, keeping her voice low enough that it barely carried past the door. “When Eduardo died, the family business split into two factions. Domenico took Hallowmere Manor and the harbor operations. But his cousin, Matteo Moretti, took the financial networks in Boston.”
Rosa looked at Corrie with dark, warning eyes.
“Whitlock wasn't Domenico’s man, Corrie. Whitlock was put in this house three years ago by Matteo to spy on Eduardo. And when you applied for the archiving job, Whitlock recognized your last name.”
“My last name?” Corrie repeated, bewildered. “Hayes? My father was a high school history teacher in Warwick. My mother was a nurse.”
Rosa reached out and took the small brass key from her tray, slipping it into Corrie’s palm.
“Your father was not just a teacher, Corrie,” Rosa whispered. “Thirty years ago, before you were born, your father worked as the chief record-keeper for the Moretti family’s legitimate shipping lines. When Don Eduardo went to prison in 1998, your father hid the family’s original ledger—the record containing every bribe, every land deal, and every secret offshore account the Moretti family ever owned.”
Corrie stared at the small brass key in her palm. It was ancient, with intricate scrollwork around the bow.
“Where is it?” Corrie whispered, cold terror washing over her.
“Your father buried it in the floorboards of the east wing library before he died,” Rosa said. “Whitlock knew it was somewhere in that room. That’s why he made you scrub the floors every night. He was searching for the floorboards that had been disturbed.”
Corrie felt the air leave her lungs.
All those four months. All those late nights kneeling in the cold dark, scrubbing oak panels until her knees bled.
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She hadn't been hired to catalogue maritime history.
She was the key to a bloodline war.
