Chapter 36 - Confronting the Ghost
Without saying a single word, Hannah picked up the digital drive from the mahogany table. Her hands were steady, carved from the granite resilience she had forged during her years of struggling alone in Cicero.
“Hannah,” Ethan said softly, reaching out to touch her arm. “Let me handle this. You don't have to go out there.”
“No, Ethan,” Hannah replied, her voice dangerously calm, carrying an icy, unyielding strength. “This is my family’s history. And it ends tonight.”
She turned on her heel and walked out of the library, her footsteps echoing down the grand hallway toward the service exit. Ethan didn't hesitate; he fell into step right beside her, while Arthur Vance slumped into a chair, muttering apologies into his hands.
The crisp night air hit them as they stepped out onto the gravel path leading toward the converted carriage house at the edge of the estate. A single warm light glowed from the second-story window, where Victoria Caldwell now lived in quiet isolation.
Hannah didn't knock. She reached out and pushed the heavy wooden door open, stepping uninvited into the dimly lit living room.
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Victoria, who had been sitting by a small reading lamp with a book in her lap, looked up in shock as the door swung open. When she saw Hannah and Ethan standing in the doorway—and the metal data box in Hannah’s hands—the color drained completely from her face.
“Hannah... Ethan,” Victoria whispered, her voice trembling as she stood up slowly from her chair. “What is the meaning of this?”
