Chapter 4 - The Vault of SecretsThe steel door of the study safe swung open with a pneumatic hiss, revealing rows of black leather binders, offshore bank account records, and a stack of medical charts bearing Harrison’s own name dating back to his university years.
Harrison flipped open the medical charts. There it was in black and white: unauthorized pharmaceutical alterations, heavy metal toxicity reports, and a signed ledger of payouts to Dr. Alistair Vance totaling over five million dollars across a decade.
"You drugged me," Harrison said, his voice shaking as he looked up at his mother standing in the doorway. "For ten years... you systematically poisoned my endocrine system to keep me impotent and controllable."
"I protected this family!" Eleanor screamed, the veneer of aristocratic composure finally shattering completely. "Your father built this empire on blood and absolute loyalty! You wanted to marry a penniless bohemian who painted murals on subway walls! If you had children with her, the board would have eaten you alive. I kept you on the throne!"
"You didn't keep me on a throne, Mother," Harrison said, his eyes hard as flint. "You kept me in a cage."
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the study burst open. Detective Vance stood there, flanked by three uniformed officers and a digital forensics unit.
"Mr. Bennett," the detective said, panting slightly. "We intercepted an automated transmission from the flash drive your daughter gave you. It was programmed to auto-upload to federal prosecutors the moment it was unsealed. Your mother’s accounts have just been frozen by order of the SEC and the Federal Prosecutor's Office."
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Eleanor staggered backward, clutching her chest, but before she could speak, Olivia walked past Harrison, stopped in front of the formidable matriarch, and looked up with her mother’s fierce, unblinking eyes.
"Mommy said bad people always lose," Olivia said quietly. "She said you're out of time."
