Novel

Chapter 4: Paper Trail in the Kitchen

Kai returns to the closed ancestral restaurant under family blame and Enforcer pressure. He retrieves the hidden ledger from beneath the old stove using childhood knowledge while evading the Enforcer’s men. The ledger confirms the deliberate poisoning via consortium-controlled suppliers and exposes higher city-level players. Aunt Mei and Cousin Lian witness the evidence; Lian’s contempt begins to crack as she acknowledges Kai’s clinical precision. The discovery sharpens the midnight deadline and widens the threat beyond the restaurant deed.