Little Black Book

Little Black Book

“We all have our own little black book.” The lawyer’s stoic tones did little to mask the audacious taunt of the lifelong recluse. Even in death, the old man made sure to keep his family angry. “We may not add to it often, but it steadily grows with each sordid little secret. Our family has so many that my little black book is no longer so little.”

“May we skip over the formality?” asked Lori Carter, the eldest of three – her greatest accomplishment. “We’ve had enough of Dad’s incessant rambling over the years.”

“This is the last will and testament of Henry Carter. I assure you, this is not a formality. I have been specifically instructed to read you all this letter before we proceed with reading the will.” The lawyer glance up, his eyes darting between the three Carter children.

“When did the old man even give you this?” Christopher, or Chris as he insisted, asked, slumping in his father’s office chair. He lazily regarded the letter, hand-written and wax sealed, before returning the lawyer’s stoic gaze. “He locked himself in that room for years, and I know he hasn’t updated his will.”

There was a loud knock on the door, the came another. It sounded as if someone was dragging chains on the ground, and a raspy and coarse voice wailed as someone knocked on the door again. A total of seven knocks.

Chris rolled his eyes, “Calm the hell down, you damn drunk! We’re busy in here! Come back in a bit!” He turned back to the lawyer and shook his head, “People go crazy with free liquor. Go on, man.”

“Henry wrote this letter five years ago, just before he went into isolation.” The lawyer continued before anyone could interrupt, “Nothing has changed from then. The will is the same as it was five years ago.” He gave a soft sigh as his eyes lowered, “I’ve known your father his whole life, and this has always been his plan.”

“Funny, then why have none of us ever even heard of you?” asked Emily Carter, the sullen middle child. “All his business holdings go through Bradley and Co.; we’ve been using them for decades.” She daintily regarded the lawyer’s business card, “And I’ve never heard of Charon Consultancy.” She sat tall, resting her hands on her crossed legs, “Pardon me, Mr. Charon, but lawyers don’t usually show up at their client’s wake unannounced.”

“Again, I am only doing as Henry instructed.” Charon returned Emily’s challenging gaze, “You may not have heard of me, but I know all of you.” His blank brown eyes shifted from person to person as he set the letter down and reached for his personal notebook, “Lori Carter, the, and I quote, “highly ambitious daughter with delusions of grandeur and just enough competence to plan a party”, end quote.” He continued despite Lori’s scathing glare, “Emily Carter, the smartest of my three children.” He stared at Emily’s thinly veiled smirk, “But not nearly smart enough for her ego. She would sooner see my company end than to listen to someone smarter.”

Emily slammed her delicately manicured hand onto the desk, “How dare you?! We don’t have to sit through this!”

“Christopher Carter,” Charon continued, ignoring the flaring woman, “My youngest and my most spoilt. He faults aren’t completely his own; I take some responsibility for him.” Chris rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he stared at the lawyer. “But ultimately, there was no big loss. If I were to give him more responsibility, with his apathetic nature and weakness to every pretty woman, my life’s work would eventually end up in the hands of some social climber.”

Chris scoffed and muttered, “Old man just had to get in the last word.”

“None of you were there for his last words.” Charon commented, ignoring the glares and scoffs as he returned his attention to the letter. “I assure you, Emily, I was officially sought out and hired by your father. My company is not well known, but that is by design. You can say that we offer our clients a unique and singular experience.”

“Fine,” Lori managed as she calmed, “Just get this over with.”

“Very well.”

Charon cleared his throat and returned to the letter.

“Some of you may remember me telling you this when you were young: secrets are the most valuable asset you could own. I built our family’s empire almost entirely by cashing in the secrets in my little black book. Oh, each one more delectable than the last; they are all so scandalous and terrible. The Kings and Queens of industry; the superstars and global phenoms; and the politicians, so many politicians! I’ve owned so many of them that I could have had entire cities named after our family. They were always my favourite.”

Christopher sat up, “This is…this is not what I was expecting.

Emily glanced at Lori, both sharing a look of concern. “Dad wasn’t like this. Sure, he was arrogant and self-obsessed, but we’re a clean company.”

“Clearly there is a lot you don’t know about your father.” The lawyer rested against his chair, dragging their undivided attention close. “Carter and Co. Holdings is far from the ethical beacon you think it is.”

“Be careful, Charon.” Lori muttered, her lips thin and pursed. “I do not take slander lightly.”

Charon simply gave a small smile, “Let us continue.”

“We dabble in currency and commodities and everything we can get our hands on, but I’ve always focused on secrets. None of you know, of course, so I imagine you’ll all be quite surprised right now. I meant to hide this from you, which certainly wasn’t hard to do. You three hardly ever looked beyond the dinner table. At one point, I did hope that one of you would smarten up and wonder how we managed to hoard so much wealth, but as expected, not one of you did. Well, you know now.”

Chris gave a mirthless chuckle, “Come on, this is bullshit.”

Charon merely glanced at the man before continuing. “Ever since the 70s, I’ve been blackmailing business magnates and politicians. I can’t even remember the number of governors, senator and judges that were in my pocket. Nothing was impossible; I saw through people and the world like glass. Our expansion into Europe and Asia was not because of our goodwill or reputation, like you three imbeciles seem to think. I know so much about their leaders over there – I was practically family. No one even dared to challenge our position over there, all because I knew every single one of their dirty little secrets – each written into the little black book in my mind.”

“Even if this is true, how did dad even find these secrets?” Lori shifted uncomfortably in her seat, obviously intimidated by this new reality. “He stayed in his room most of the time!”

Charon smiled and continued, “Our family’s empire has grown too large for one generation. I had hoped that one of you could possibly inherit my work, but it seems I was hoping for too much. None of you could possibly do it.” The lawyer looked at Lori as he read, “You two younger ones don’t know, but Lori likes to spend her time fooling around with her young assistant, only when she’s not also having her way with the driver. I don’t even know the last time she even looked at our finances.”

“W-What…” Lori stuttered as her siblings looked to her, “No!”

“Emily, you were my best hope. Yet you lost over a billion dollars investing in hollow company. You did manage to hide it well, but you were so easily swindled by such simple tactics. You obviously aren’t ready. Also, for future references, never hire cheap assassins.”

Emily rubbed her arms as she slumped into her chair, “H-How did he find out? It’s impossible.”

“Chris…oh, Chris. I understand the occasional fling. You’re a young man and you’re sowing your wild oats, but you’ve become consumed. That woman, Donna? She stole the locket your mother left you. I can even forgive the sentimental objects, but at least have some responsibility for your children.” Chris squirmed in his chair, hands shaking. “Yes, I know about Ben and Jenny, my grandchildren! You think you can just throw money at the mothers of your children and forget about everything? No, it never works that way.”

“Okay, who the hell are you?” Chris stood and stared down at Charon. “There is no way he could have found out about all this in his goddamn bedroom.”

Charon stood to return the stare but returned his focus to the letter. “It’s obvious, all three of you are too much like me.”

All three Carter children flinched.

“I was the same when I was young. I enjoyed the occasional fling or two; I lost most of the money my father left me. I just had help. You need help.” Charon made his way around the desk and rested against the front, looking directly down at the three shaken people. “I met a man in my twenties, drunk out of my mind. He told me that if I paid him $20,000 and my soul, he would grant me the power to see into people’s minds, find their deepest and most desperate secrets. All I had left was $20,000. I saw it as my last chance, so I accepted the offer.” Charon stared into their trembling eyes, “Clearly, it’s made my life. I am one of the wealthiest people in the world and I have more power than I can ever hope to use. But now that I am nearly the end of my life, I’m a little scared. I don’t know what would happen when I die. I did sell my soul. I promise, if I can, I will let the three of you know of the consequences. I’ll come back and tell you. Just make sure you answer the door when I get there. I’ll knock seven times.”

All three Carter children grew pale as Charon looked up from the letter.

“And that’s the end.”

Chris staggered back and fell into his chair, looking over at his sisters. “What the hell is going on?”

Lori shook her head as Emily remained silent.

“Now, the will is very simple. All of Henry Carter’s personal holdings – all his cash and valuables – will be held in trust by me, his personal attorney. Each of you will be given a one-time lumpsum of $20,000 each.”

They stared up at Charon, who stood directly above them, a grin plastered on his pale face.

“If I may offer my services to each of you, just like I did your father.” He chuckled as sounds of chains dragging approached the door, carrying a painful groaning sound. “I’m quite cheap, just $20,000.”

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