Chapter 12 - The Blackmail Files
Ethan stared at the glowing red keypad of the hidden wall safe.
He carefully wiped the dust from the digital screen using the sleeve of his jacket.
"This is a biometric and numerical combination lock," Ethan noted grimly.
"It requires a six-digit pin code."
Hannah leaned against the wooden wine rack, watching him intently.
"What numbers would she use?" Hannah asked.
"Her birthday? The day she married your father?"
Ethan shook his head, his fingers hovering over the keypad.
"Beatrice only cares about one thing in this entire world."
"Money."
"She would use a date that represents her biggest financial victory."
Ethan typed in six numbers: the exact date his father's life insurance policy paid out.
The small screen flashed red, emitting a harsh, denying beep.
"Incorrect," Ethan sighed in frustration.
Hannah thought back to the horrifying months she had spent trapped in the house with Beatrice.
She remembered Beatrice gloating over a very specific legal document.
"Try the date she officially forced the board to name her acting CEO," Hannah suggested quickly.
Ethan quickly typed in the new sequence of numbers.
The screen immediately turned a bright, solid green.
A heavy mechanical clunk sounded from deep inside the steel door.
Ethan turned the metal handle, and the heavy door swung open smoothly.
Inside the safe sat a stack of thick manila folders and a small black hard drive.
Ethan carefully pulled the folders out and carried them over to a small wooden tasting table.
He flipped open the top folder, and his breath hitched in his throat.
"These are the original structural engineering reports from the Chicago warehouse project," Ethan whispered.
Hannah stood close beside him, reading the dense technical jargon over his shoulder.
"Look at the signature at the bottom of the second page," Hannah pointed out, her eyes widening.
Ethan flipped the page and stared at the ink signature in absolute shock.
"It wasn't the contractor who ordered the cheap, substandard steel," Ethan read aloud, his voice trembling.
"It was Beatrice."
"She secretly authorized the materials swap using a dummy corporation."
Hannah gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.
"She caused the roof collapse on purpose?"
Ethan's hands were shaking so hard the papers rattled.
"She knew my father was planning to hand the entire company over to me."
"She needed a massive, catastrophic failure to prove to the board that I was incompetent."
"She nearly killed that night watchman just to ruin my reputation."
"And then she blackmailed me with the very disaster she secretly orchestrated."
A profound silence fell over the cold, damp wine cellar.
The crushing weight of five years of guilt instantly lifted from Ethan's shoulders.
He wasn't responsible for the tragedy in Chicago.
He was just another innocent victim of Beatrice's ruthless, sociopathic greed.
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"We have to get these documents to Agent Carter right now," Hannah said urgently.
Before Ethan could even nod in agreement, a heavy footstep sounded on the wooden stairs behind them.
