Ride With Me (Paige and Jace) novel Chapter 381

CHAPTER 208-2

“Richard Hale.” She said and Charles went still as I watched his face carefully.

“You know him.” Jace said as Charles nodded.

“I knew him.” Charles said/

“Did you do business with him?” Jace asked.

“Yes.” Charles said.

“What kind?” Jace asked.

“Industrial supply contracts.” Charles said as Ethan brought the paperwork over.

“Ridgeway Industrial Supply.” Ethan said as Charles looked at the documents.

“That was Richard’s company.” Charles said.

“Was?” Ethan asked.

“He sold it years ago.” Charles said as Ethan frowned.

“To whom?” Ethan asked.

“I don’t remember.” Charles said.

“Can you find out?” Ethan asked and Charles nodded.

“Yes.” Charles said.

There was no hesitation. That surprised me and Charles pulled out his phone.

“I’ll contact my old accountant.” Charles said as Paige watched him.

“You’re willing to give Ethan everything?” Paige asked and Charles looked at her.

“Everything I have.” Charles said which she seemed caught off guard with.

“I don’t want anyone thinking I’m hiding something from you again.” He added.

The words hung between them and I looked away.

There were things I had done that couldn’t be undone, but watching my father willingly open his records made me realize that people really could choose differently.

Ethan sat with Charles and began going through the old records.

The process took hours. Invoices were pulled up. Contracts were located. Bank statements were requested. Emails from years ago were retrieved and Charles answered every question.

When Ethan asked about payments, Charles explained them.

When Ethan asked about Richard, Charles provided every detail he could remember.

1/4

CHAPTER 200

There was no defensiveness. There was no attempt to hide anything.

At one point, Charles looked at Paige.

“I should have paid-more attention.” Charles said as Paige stared at him.

“To what?” She asked.

“My businesses.” Charles said and she remained quiet.

“I trusted people because I thought I understood them.” He continued.

“I didn’t.” He added and Paige’s expression softened slightly.

“You didn’t know.” She said.

“I should have known.” Charles said.

I watched her face. She wanted to believe him. I could see it.

She wasn’t ready to forgive him completely, but she was starting to believe his regret was real.

That mattered.

After another hour, Ethan found something.

“Wait.” Ethan said and everyone looked at him and he was staring at the laptop.

“What did you find?” Paige asked.

“There was a transfer.” Ethan said and Charles leaned closer.

“From when?” Charles asked.

“Eight years ago.” Ethan said as he opened another document.

“Richard Hale transferred ownership of several assets before Ridgeway Industrial Supply changed names. Ethan added as Charles frowned.

“I don’t remember that.” Charles said.

“You weren’t involved?” Ethan asked.

“Not directly.” Charles said as Ethan looked through another record.

“Then this is interesting.” Ethan said.

“What?” Charles asked.

“One of the companies receiving money from Ridgeway was Blackstone Logistics.” Ethan said and Charles stared at him.

“I’ve never heard of it.” Charles said.

“You wouldn’t have.” Ethan said as he pulled up another transaction.

214

CHAPTER 2009

“This happened before Victor Kane was running the Black Reapers.” Ethan added and my stomach Tightened.

“So this goes back further than Victor.” Paige said.

“Yes.” Ethan said as Jace leaned over the desk.

“How far?” Jace asked as Ethan continued following the transactions.

“Eight years.” Ethan said and then he found another payment.

“Seven years.” Ethan said. And then another.

“Six.” Ethan said.

The trail continued. Year after year.

Money moved through different companies, different accounts, and different owners, but the pattern remained.

“This was happening while Dad was doing business with Richard.” I asked as Charles looked at me.

“I didn’t know.” Charles said.

I believed him. For once, I had no reason not to and Ethan kept tracing the payments.

“They weren’t just moving money through companies.” Ethan said.

“What were they doing?” I asked.

“They were paying for transportation.” Ethan said.

“Transportation to where?” I asked.

He opened another document. Then another and his expression changed.

“That’s not possible.” Ethan said as Jace looked at him.

“What?” Jace asked while Ethan enlarged the map on the screen.

Clam

The financial records showed payments to a transportation company that had handled shipments near the coast.

I recognized the location before he even said it.

“The harbour.” Ethan said and everyone became silent as Ethan nodded.

“The same harbour where Jace and the others were ambushed.” Ethan added as Charles stared at the

screen.

“That warehouse district?” Charles asked.

“Yes.” Ethan said.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify