Chapter 4 - THE WORKERS ERASED FROM THE LEDGER.
The original ledger was hidden in the mansion’s wine cellar behind a wall built during the bankruptcy.
Gloria knew where because her husband had installed it and died before the Whitmores paid him.
Inside were payroll records showing employees had surrendered wages, pensions and health contributions to save the company.
Eleanor called them temporary deductions.
Gloria replied, “Temporary lasted thirty years for us. Your comfort never missed one month.”
The ledger gave workers forty-nine percent ownership. Isaiah held two additional shares in trust, giving employees control if the family violated the agreement.
Judge Bell had filed a replacement ledger calling the deductions charitable donations.
Maya looked at Ryan.
“You called my father grateful while your family turned stolen wages into generosity.”
Ryan claimed he never saw the original.
Investigators found his fingerprints on its cover.
He admitted taking it after Isaiah’s funeral.
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The last page listed Isaiah’s death as a triggering event.
Beside it, Eleanor had written: “Handled through St. Catherine’s.”
