{"id":134,"date":"2026-08-27T18:04:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T18:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/?p=134"},"modified":"2026-09-03T16:29:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:29:14","slug":"chapter-6-the-fake-ledger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/chapter-6-the-fake-ledger\/","title":{"rendered":"CHAPTER 6 \u2014 THE FAKE LEDGER"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n \n
\n \u2190 Previous Chapter<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n
\n Next chapter \u2192<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
\n

\u201cWhat ledger?\u201d Rachel closed the curtains. \u201cI used to work for Vince.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cAt the gambling rooms?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWhen people lost money, some of them borrowed.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cLoans got tracked. Payments. Collections. Where money moved.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cYou handled that?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI kept records.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I gave a bitter laugh. \u201cThat\u2019s a nice way to say it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cYou don\u2019t need every detail.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cDad is in some thug\u2019s freezer because of you.\u201d I pointed toward our empty refrigerator. \u201cI think I need some details.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Rachel went quiet. \u201cThe ledger had names.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cAmounts.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cPayments.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWhere certain money went.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cNot all of it legal.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cAnd you stole it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cSo Vince had a reason not to hurt Noah or me.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I looked at the empty refrigerator. \u201cThat worked great.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Her face tightened.<\/p>\n \n

* * *<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cNot your business.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cGive it back.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cThey have Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cDad is dead!\u201d The words slammed into the room.<\/p>\n \n

I stepped toward her. \u201cSay that again.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cDad is dead.\u201d Her voice shook, but she didn\u2019t back down. \u201cNoah isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cSo Dad doesn\u2019t matter?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cThat\u2019s not what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cThen give them the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cAnd after that?\u201d She jabbed a finger toward her chest. \u201cWhat stops Vince from taking my son?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I had no answer.<\/p>\n \n

Mara came out of the bedroom. \u201cBoth of you stop.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

She looked at the empty refrigerator. Then at me. \u201cWhen we started this, I thought we were hiding one thing.\u201d Her voice sounded exhausted. \u201cYour dad died.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cNow Lucy has to stay away from the refrigerator. Noah knows how to keep secrets from his mother. Rachel\u2019s being followed. Your father\u2019s body is gone.\u201d She swallowed. \u201cThis whole family is living around a dead man.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to get him back.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I stared at her. Mara\u2019s eyes filled. \u201cDo you even know what you\u2019re trying to save anymore?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \n

* * *<\/p>\n \n

That night, Dad\u2019s phone buzzed again. Once. Twice. I left it in the drawer.<\/p>\n \n

A second voicemail from the pension plan said the verification request was still outstanding and payments could be reviewed if Dad didn\u2019t respond.<\/p>\n \n

Mara turned away from me in bed. \u201cHow long are you going to keep ignoring them?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cUntil I get Dad back.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Nothing. My whole mind had narrowed to one thought. Get Dad back first. Everything else later. Again. Always later.<\/p>\n \n

* * *<\/p>\n \n

The knock came shortly after nine the next morning. Knock. Knock. Knock.<\/p>\n \n

My body stiffened. I opened the camera feed. Mrs. Keller, our building manager, stood outside beside a uniformed patrol officer. My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n \n

\u201cMr. Mercer?\u201d the officer called through the door. \u201cWe just need to check on Walter Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Nobody in the apartment moved. I opened the door just enough to stand in the gap. The officer introduced himself and said someone who had worked in the home had called because Dad was seriously ill and had apparently disappeared from regular contact.<\/p>\n \n

Diane. She hadn\u2019t gone to the pension office. She had done something simpler and much worse for me. She had asked someone to make sure Dad was alive.<\/p>\n \n

\u201cHe\u2019s okay,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n \n

\u201cCan we speak with him?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cHe\u2019s not here.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Mrs. Keller frowned. \u201cWhere\u2019d he go?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

The old lie came back. \u201cHis hometown.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWith how sick he\u2019s been?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cHe insisted.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

The officer watched me carefully. \u201cCan you have him call you while we\u2019re here?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

My mouth went dry. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t always keep his phone on him.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cThen have him call the building office or the non-emergency number today. We just need to know he\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

The officer didn\u2019t look convinced, but he had no obvious emergency in front of him and no body to find. Before leaving, Mrs. Keller said quietly: \u201cDiane seemed pretty worried.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I remembered Diane standing in my doorway. When somebody else comes asking where Walter is, you can explain it.<\/em><\/p>\n \n

The door closed. I locked it. Rachel stood behind me.<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cGive me the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cThe pension plan is calling. A cop just came looking for Dad. If either one keeps pushing, I\u2019m done.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cThen turn yourself in.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cAnd what about you?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

She went quiet. \u201cWhat happens when the police ask where Dad\u2019s body is?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Rachel\u2019s face changed. We were tied together now. One of us couldn\u2019t fall without dragging the other down.<\/p>\n \n

* * *<\/p>\n \n

That afternoon Rachel took Noah out. I stood outside her room for almost a minute. Then went in.<\/p>\n \n

Inside her travel bag, under folded clothes, I found a dark-covered notebook. Names. Numbers. Initials. Codes. I didn\u2019t understand all of it. I understood enough.<\/p>\n \n

One voice in my head said: This belongs to your sister.<\/em><\/p>\n \n

Another said: Your father is in someone else\u2019s freezer.<\/em><\/p>\n \n

I chose the second voice.<\/p>\n \n

* * *<\/p>\n \n

After midnight, I went into the stairwell and called the number that had sent the threat. Someone answered. No greeting.<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI\u2019m Rachel\u2019s brother.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Silence.<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI have what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

A soft laugh. \u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI want a trade.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I looked up at the lit apartment windows. Mara. Lucy. Rachel. Noah.<\/p>\n \n

\u201cGive me my father back.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

The man paused. \u201cYou sure what you\u2019ve got is real?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I tightened my grip on the ledger. \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

It was the only lie I told that night\u2014without knowing it was a lie.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n \n
\n \u2190 Previous Chapter<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n
\n Next chapter \u2192<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2190 Previous Chapter Next chapter \u2192 \u201cWhat ledger?\u201d Rachel closed the curtains. \u201cI used to work for Vince.\u201d \u201cAt the gambling rooms?\u201d \u201cNot exactly.\u201d \u201cThen what?\u201d \u201cWhen people lost money, some of them borrowed.\u201d \u201cAnd?\u201d \u201cLoans got tracked. Payments. Collections. Where money moved.\u201d \u201cYou handled that?\u201d \u201cI kept records.\u201d I gave a bitter laugh. \u201cThat\u2019s Read More “CHAPTER 6 \u2014 THE FAKE LEDGER”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-https-horrorstories-online-index-php-2026-08-27-grandpa-in-the-fridge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions\/207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}