Chapter 7 - The Locked Safe
Ten minutes later, two armed estate security officers escorted Claire and a dazed, bleeding Damon out through the rear entrance of the mansion, keeping them hidden from the press vehicles already beginning to gather near the front gates.
Ethan walked down the long, panelled corridor leading to his father’s private study in the north wing. Lily rested her head against his shoulder, her small hand holding tight to the lapel of his suit coat. She was quiet now, her breathing slow and steady, but her large blue eyes remained wide and alert, watching every shadow on the walls.
They stopped before a heavy mahogany door locked with a digital keypad. Ethan didn't use a code; instead, he pulled a heavy brass override key from his inner pocket—a key his mother had given him years before her death—and turned it in the lock.
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The heavy door swung open, revealing an expansive library wrapped in dark walnut paneling. Sitting on the far wall, concealed behind a sliding painting of the Carrington estate, was a massive wall safe, its steel heavy door sitting slightly ajar.
Ethan approached the safe, pushing the heavy iron door wider with his boot. Inside, the shelves were almost entirely empty—except for a single, ribbon-tied manila folder resting on the bottom metal ledge.
