Chapter 2 - THE BRASS KEY'S SECRETThe safe house in downtown Norfolk smelled of stale coffee and diesel exhaust. Outside, rainfall hammered the glass panes. I sat at the metal desk with Commander Ethan Hale and Special Agent Vance from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI).
The flash drive my mother left me had unlocked a ledger containing hundreds of digitized invoices dating back fifteen years.
"Your father wasn't just running an automotive supply business, Major Bennett," Agent Vance said, tapping a red line on the monitor. "Bennett Defense Logistics was a primary subcontractor for Navy marine hardware in the late 2010s."
Ethan leaned over the desk, his eyes widening. "Wait. The winch cable during Harbor Lantern..."
"It was rated for twenty tons," I said, my thumb tracing the thick scar under my sleeve. "When we dropped into the flooded deck to extract Senior Chief Hale's unit, the cable snapped at eight tons. The winch hook blew out. I had no harness, no spare line. The structural beam was settling on six men. I wrapped the raw steel cable around my forearm and used my own body as a manual anchor against the winch gear while the hoist dragged them up."
"The cable didn't fail due to stress," Agent Vance said coldly. "It failed because Gordon Bennett substituted military-grade forged steel with cheap, recycled alloy from offshore suppliers. He pocketed a four-million-dollar profit margin on that single batch."
My stomach turned. My own father had manufactured the defective equipment that tore the skin and muscle off my arm. He knew it. That was why he spent years calling my scar a "bar fight injury." He wasn't just insulting me—he was covering up his own corporate treason.
Suddenly, a loud banging rattled the heavy steel door of the safe house.
Ethan drew his sidearm, moving to the side of the entrance. "Who is it?"
"Avery! Please! Open the door!"
It was Madison.
I signaled Ethan to hold his fire and unlocked the deadbolt. Madison stumbled into the room, her mascara smeared, wearing an oversized raincoat over her torn engagement dress. She looked terrified, her hands shaking violently.
"He’s gone crazy, Avery," Madison sobbed, dropping to her knees on the linoleum floor. "Dad went to the house. He started burning files in the backyard fireplace. When I tried to stop him, he hit me!"
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She pulled down her collar, revealing a dark purple bruise forming across her jawline.
"He said it was my fault," Madison wept. "He said if I hadn't insisted on having the party at the Regency, Ethan’s uncle would never have seen you. Avery... he told me we’re bankrupt. He put all the corporate debt and the illegal military bills in my name!"
