Chapter 334: Enough To Kill For

"W-What ledger?" Izumi’s voice shifted nervously.

"Don’t even try to pretend." Yohan easily saw through her act. "We know you have it. Why else would you run to a place like this?"

"Because I was scared for my life?! I watched my grandfather get shot... four times!"

That was another obvious lie, but Yohan couldn’t say anything to that.

’I have to agree, four was overkill. I would have stopped at two if I wasn’t nervous’

He let out a quiet sigh.

"I saw you grab it," Jenna said casually, giving her a knowing look, "Just admit it. It’s not like we’re going to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Izumi scoffed. "You think I’m scared of you two? With one scream, I can have this place surrounded in under thirty seconds. Yohan might be strong, but these guys here are fast."

"Why don’t you call them and see?" Yohan’s cold gaze made Izumi’s body stiffen as the tension in the atmosphere thickened.

"Okay, I took it." She lowered her gaze and pulled the book from beneath the cloth tied around her waist. "But how is it any of your business? It doesn’t belong to you..."

She waved the small green book in the air.

"That doesn’t matter to me. There are people who want that book, and they’re threatening to hurt the people I care about because of it." Yohan was already growing impatient.

As he stepped forward, prepared to snatch it from her, Jenna jumped in front of him with her hands spread wide.

"Yohan, we never discussed anything like this. We only came here to make sure Izumi was safe and see if she really has the ledger"

"When did I agree to that?" Yohan asked with a serious expression.

He looked past Jenna at Izumi.

"Izumi, you shouldn’t involve yourself in the sins of your grandfather. That book is only going to bring you trouble, so just hand it over."

"So you can what? Give it to the people you spoke about? The ones who are willing to kill for it? Do you even care what they’re going to do with it?"

"I don’t know."

Yohan barely gave her words a thought before answering.

"And I don’t know if I’m going to hand it over. What I do know for sure is that it would be dangerous if you don’t."

"Yohan..." Even Jenna was starting to look worried. She turned toward Izumi, panic written all over her face.

"That’s enough. You’re scaring her."

"Maybe that’s what’s needed to make her understand that people’s lives are in danger."

"It’s not her fault. There’s no need to take things this far."

"But what if it is?" he replied coldly. "What if she has been working together with Hatoru and we’re the ones who have been fooled this whole time?"

Somehow, the thought made him even angrier.

There was already so much guilt building inside him. He had been feeling sorry for Izumi, thinking of her as an unfortunate victim of his revenge, while she could have been plotting against him the entire time.

"The fact that she took Hatoru’s ledger is enough evidence that she’s not just some innocent damsel. She’s just too good at pretending."

His gaze hardened.

"He must have been instructing her on how to become his protégé and take over from him. She would have continued hiding your family and doing the terrible things Hatoru would have done."

His words were enough to make Jenna doubt herself.

She gave Izumi a questioning look.

"Even if that’s the case, we have to at least hear what she has to say."

They went quiet and turned toward Izumi.

"I don’t see why I have to explain myself..." she said, folding her arms.

But after a moment, her expression shifted.

Then she let out a sigh.

"I took the book because I didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands."

"Yeah, I’m sure it would be a shame if someone else got hold of the book that holds the key to Hatoru’s criminal empire." The sarcasm in Yohan’s voice became even more obvious. "Who better to keep it than his precious granddaughter? I’m sure she wouldn’t follow in his footsteps."

"That’s not why I did it..."

Izumi paused before letting out another sigh.

"I overheard my grandfather talking with someone on the phone when I was younger. They were talking about controlling the real-estate market in the city."

Yohan’s expression changed slightly.

"They were planning to artificially alter the supply, demand, and prices of certain properties. That would affect the general cost of living in our city."

She tightened her grip on the ledger.

"They wanted to force poor people out and make the city more presentable for the rich. They would turn it into their playground while deciding who gets to own what."

"Is something like that even possible?" Yohan wondered with concern

"With enough money and the right connections."

Izumi looked at him.

"My grandfather has the money, while the mayor would pull the strings to make it possible. It’s already happening as we speak."

"Look at the East District. Half those buildings are empty because ’renovations’ keep getting delayed. Nobody wants to say why the permits never clear."

Yohan’s jaw tightened.

He had walked past those boarded-up storefronts a hundred times without giving them a second thought.

Now it made sense why Hatoru had always been so eager to get his store.

But that also meant the danger hadn’t fully disappeared.

"The ledger has it all," Izumi continued. "Names, dates, how much money changed hands, and who signed off on it."

Her voice became quieter.

"It also has evidence that the police have been working with Hatoru to acquire some of these properties by force."

Yohan’s eyes narrowed. It was indeed just as Helen had predicted.

"They made up charges against people who wouldn’t sell. Or they looked the other way when ’accidents’ happened to those who refused."

Izumi’s voice had steadied now. The fear had been replaced by something colder and more deliberate.

"That’s the real reason people are willing to kill for it."

She held up the green book.

"It’s not just a list of properties. It’s a list of officers, judges, and city officials who took money to make it happen."

Her eyes met Yohan’s.

"If that gets out, half the department goes down with him."