Chapter 12 - BENEATH BLACKWOODMANOR
The hidden elevator was behind Eleanor’s wine cellar.
Ethan had lived at Blackwood Manor for most of his life.
He had never known it existed.
Eleanor pressed her thumb to a scanner.
The wall opened.
Claire stared at her.
“How many secrets can one house have?”
Eleanor looked exhausted.
“Too many.”
Mara stopped her before entering.
“You’re helping because?”
Eleanor glanced at Ethan.
“Because Julian took everything ugly in me and turned it into something monstrous.”
Claire’s expression hardened.
“You did that yourself.”
Eleanor looked at her.
“Yes.”
The admission surprised everyone.
The elevator descended.
One floor.
Two.
Then stopped.
The underground level looked nothing like the manor.
Concrete walls.
Server racks.
Security doors.
Richard stared.
“I never knew this existed.”
Eleanor laughed bitterly.
“Julian built it while you were supposedly dead.”
“Using foundation renovation budgets.”
Claire shook her head.
“Of course.”
A digital timer on the wall showed two hours remaining.
Mara’s technical team began disconnecting external connections.
“Transmission route is encrypted.”
“We can block some.”
“Not all.”
Claire searched the office.
Invoices.
Backup drives.
Old contracts.
Then she found Marcus Reed.
Alive.
Locked in a glass server cage.
His shirt was stained with sweat.
His hands were tied.
Ethan stared.
“You didn’t run.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Julian took me.”
Mara unlocked the cage.
“Why?”
Marcus looked at Eleanor.
“Because she told him I was cooperating with Richard.”
Eleanor frowned.
“I did no such thing.”
Marcus laughed.
“Still lying.”
He looked at Ethan.
“I worked for Julian.”
Claire’s expression hardened.
“For how long?”
“Three years.”
Ethan stepped toward him.
“You framed Claire.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Julian framed Claire.”
“I authenticated documents afterward.”
“You knew they were fake.”
“Yes.”
Ethan grabbed him by the jacket.
Claire stopped him.
“Ethan.”
Marcus looked ashamed.
“I’m not asking forgiveness.”
“Good.”
Claire’s voice was ice.
“You’re not getting it.”
Mara stepped between them.
“How do we stop the release?”
Marcus pointed toward a locked terminal.
“Julian built the system with two authorizations.”
“His.”
“And Eleanor’s.”
Everyone looked at her.
Eleanor went pale.
“I never approved this.”
Marcus shook his head.
“He copied your biometric signature.”
“When you authorized the original offshore transfers.”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
Claire understood.
“Her fingerprints are the key.”
Marcus nodded.
“But we need Julian’s second authorization.”
Ethan stared.
“Which we don’t have.”
Marcus looked at Richard.
“Maybe you do.”
Richard frowned.
“How?”
“Julian hated passwords.”
“He used family dates.”
“Birthdays.”
“Deaths.”
“Anniversaries.”
Claire looked at Ethan.
“What date matters most to him?”
Ethan shook his head.
“I barely knew him.”
Richard stared at the terminal.
“I know.”
Everyone turned.
“The day our father died.”
Richard entered the date.
Incorrect.
He tried Julian’s mother’s death.
Incorrect.
Then Eleanor whispered.
“The day Ethan was born.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Why?”
Eleanor looked away.
“Because Julian believed Harold’s son would eventually destroy Richard.”
Claire typed Ethan’s birthday.
Access granted.
Everyone froze.
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“That seems healthy.”
Marcus opened the system.
“There.”
The release queue appeared.
Thirty foundation archives.
Some real.
Some forged.
Claire examined the metadata.
“Can we delete the fakes?”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not before four.”
“Then we release everything ourselves.”
Everyone turned.
Ethan understood first.
“With context.”
Claire nodded.
“We publish the original books.”
“Every transfer.”
“Every audit.”
“Every forgery.”
“Before Julian can mix them together.”
Richard stared at her.
“That could destroy the foundation.”
Claire met his eyes.
“Secrecy already did.”
They released the records at 3:41 p.m.
Twenty thousand pages.
Every mistake.
Every theft.
Every cover-up.
Including Richard’s.
Including Eleanor’s.
Including Claire’s false accusation.
Nothing hidden.
At 4:00, Julian’s automated release began.
But it no longer mattered.
Journalists already had authenticated originals.
Federal investigators already had matching evidence.
The fake documents were identified within minutes.
Julian’s final financial weapon failed.
Then Mara received a call.
She listened.
Her eyes sharpened.
“We found him.”
Ethan stood.
“Julian?”
“No.”
“Peter’s kidnappers.”
“Both arrested at the airport.”
“One is talking.”
Claire felt a chill.
“What did he say?”
Mara looked at Eleanor.
“He says Julian wasn’t the person who ordered Claire pushed down the stairs.”
Everyone turned.
Eleanor stared back.
Claire’s face hardened.
“Eleanor did that herself.”
Mara nodded.
“Yes.”
“But according to him, Eleanor wasn’t trying to kill Claire.”
Ethan frowned.
“What?”
Eleanor’s face became white.
Mara continued.
“She was trying to stop Claire from reaching the Blue Room.”
Claire stared at Eleanor.
“We know that.”
Mara shook her head.
“No.”
“You don’t.”
“He says there was someone inside the Blue Room that night.”
Richard looked confused.
“Who?”
Mara looked at Eleanor.
“Ask her.”
Ethan stepped toward his mother.
“Who was in that room?”
Eleanor said nothing.
“Mom.”
Her lips trembled.
Finally she whispered.
“Your sister.”
Ethan froze.
Claire stared.
Ethan’s voice was barely audible.
“My sister died when I was eleven.”
Eleanor shook her head.
May you like
“No.”
“She didn’t.”
