She Fell for the College Janitor Everyone Looked Down On
Chapter 7
Caldwell was carrying a lantern.
Behind him came Eleanor’s father.
Samuel felt Eleanor’s hand close around his.
They remained silent.
Caldwell approached the desk.
“She’s been asking questions,” he whispered.
Her father answered, “Then we must find out how much she knows.”
Samuel’s stomach tightened.
Caldwell placed several papers on the table.
“She found Reed’s records.”
“Where?”
“Here.”
Her father sighed.
“Find them.”
They searched.
Eleanor held her breath.
Samuel’s hand remained over hers.
Finally, her father said, “If Reed has his father’s notebook, we have a problem.”
Caldwell looked worried.
“Could he expose us?”
“Not without the ledger.”
“What if he finds it?”
“Then he becomes a very dangerous man.”
They left.
Eleanor waited until the door closed.
Then whispered, “My father knows.”
Samuel nodded.
“We need to leave.”
“No.”
“Eleanor.”
“If we leave now, they’ll destroy the evidence.”
“They may destroy us.”
She looked at him.
“Then we find it first.”
They reached the bell tower before dawn.
The old staircase groaned beneath their feet.
At the top, Samuel searched behind the wooden beams.
Nothing.
Eleanor examined the floor.
Then noticed an iron ring beneath the dust.
She pulled.
A panel opened.
Inside was a narrow compartment.
There was a ledger.
Samuel lifted it carefully.
The cover was black.
He opened the first page.
Every payment was recorded.
Every name.
Every bribe.
Every false examination.
Every land transfer connected to college property.
And there, in unmistakable handwriting, was the signature of Eleanor’s father.
She stared at it.
Her face went pale.
Samuel closed the book.
“We have to go.”
Before they could move, the bell above them began ringing.
Neither had touched it.
Footsteps thundered up the stairs.
Samuel grabbed the ledger.
Eleanor reached for his hand.
The tower door opened.
Caldwell stood there.
Behind him were two men.
“Give me the book,” he said.
Samuel stepped in front of Eleanor.
Caldwell smiled.
“You really should have stayed a janitor.”
