The Sterling Ledger

The underground parking garage beneath the Sterling building was notoriously dim, echoing with the distant dripping of overhead pipes and the hum of fluorescent lights flickering against concrete pillars.

My footsteps clicked sharply against the pavement as I hurried toward my old sedan parked in Sector C. Every shadow cast by a concrete pillar looked like a threat. The warning phone call still echoed in my ears: *powerful people will ensure that neither you nor your sister survives the weekend.*

I reached my car, fumbled for my keys, and unlocked the driver’s side door. As I pulled the handle, the garage overhead lights suddenly flickered and died, plunging the entire level into near-total darkness.

A pair of high-beam headlights snapped on fifty feet away, blinding me with a glaring, aggressive wash of white light. A heavy black SUV roared to life, its engine revving loud and deep as it accelerated directly toward my position.

I threw myself backward onto the concrete floor just as the SUV slammed into the driver’s side of my sedan, crushing the metal door inward with a sickening crunch of shattering glass and twisted steel.

The SUV reversed rapidly, its tires squealing against the slick pavement, preparing for a second strike.

I scrambled under the chassis of a parked pickup truck, clutching my leather briefcase to my chest like a shield. Dust and gravel bit into my palms, but I didn't dare make a sound.

The black SUV idled ten feet away. Two figures stepped out, heavy boots crunching on glass. Their flashlights swept beam across the concrete floor, searching beneath parked vehicles.

'Check the back seats! If she’s got the ledger, rip it out of her hands!' a gruff voice commanded.

Footsteps approached my hiding spot. A pair of combat boots stopped inches from my fingers. I held my breath, pressing my face against the dusty floor, my heart pounding so hard I was certain they could hear it over the idling engine.

Suddenly, a shrill, piercing siren echoed through the upper levels of the parking structure—security backup summoned by the automated impact sensors on my car.

'Damn it, security! Let's go!' the second voice shouted.

Car doors slammed shut, tires screeched, and the black SUV bolted toward the exit ramp, disappearing into the rainy night.

I waited a full two minutes before crawling out from beneath the truck, trembling, my blouse torn and covered in dust, but clutching the black notebook safely inside my briefcase.

I pulled out my phone, bypassed Ethan Hayes, and dialed a direct, encrypted emergency line to U.S. Attorney Sterling.

'Mr. Attorney,' I said, my voice shaking slightly despite my best efforts. 'The black notebook is real. And someone just tried to kill me to get it back.'

'Where are you?' Sterling asked, his tone instantly sharp and urgent.