I open the top drawer. Pens. A spare magazine for his Glock. A lighter.
I open the bottom drawer. It’s locked.
I try the brass key. It doesn't fit.
I look around. Think, Ivy. Where would he hide the things that matter?
My eyes land on a filing cabinet in the corner. It’s old-fashioned, steel disguised with wood veneer.
I walk over to it. Unlocked.
I pull open the top drawer. Files. Hundreds of them. Organized alphabetically.
A... B... C...
I flip through them, my fingers trembling.
R.
Ross.
There are two files labeled Ross.
One saysROSS, MARCUS. The other saysROSS, IVY.
I pull them both out. My hands are shaking so badly I almost drop them. I sit down on the Persian rug, spreading the files out in a pool of light from the desk lamp.
I open my father’s file first.
It’s a catalog of failures. Gambling debts dating back twenty years. Loan shark agreements. Medical records showing liver damage. Police reports for drunk driving that were mysteriously expunged.
And then, a section labeledLIQUIDATION ATTEMPTS.
I frown. Liquidation?
I read the first entry.
Date: May 12, 2022.Creditor: The Albanian Cartel.Debt: $45,000.Proposed Payment: One female dependent. Age 18.
My stomach drops. The date... that was my senior prom. I remember my dad was acting strange that week. He bought me a dress. He told me to look pretty.
I read the resolution.
Intervention: S.V.Action: Debt paid in full via shell corp. Warning issued to Albanians. Asset remains with father.
I blink, re-reading the line.Intervention: S.V.
Silas Vane.
He paid forty-five thousand dollars to stop the Albanians from taking me. Four years ago.
I turn the page.
Date: August 4, 2023.Creditor: Local Bookie (Gambino ties).Debt: $12,000.Proposed Payment: Asset transfer (Ivy Ross).Intervention: S.V. Debt cleared. Bookie hospitalized.
There are five entries. Five times my father tried to sell me. Five times Silas stepped in, paid the debt, and kept me safe.
I didn't know him then. I was just a student, worrying about grades and painting, oblivious to the fact that I was being traded like cattle in the underworld.
