Chapter 39

CHAPTER 39

H anna stood in the dimly lit hallway, her back pressed against the cold stone wall, her breaths barely audible. She strained to catch every word being spoken in the room beyond the slightly ajar door.

Edwin’s voice was low, calm and deliberate, but what he said chilled her to the bone. “I’ll distract my father-in-law. You’ll have all the time you need to get into the study. Is breaking in going to be a problem?”

There was a slight pause, then a deep, dark laugh from the man with him—the dark-haired one she had seen before. The sound sent a shiver down her spine.

“Breaking in?” the man scoffed. “We’re professionals. We’ll be in and out, and we’ll find whatever we need. The evidence will be there.”

Hanna felt the air leave her lungs as the gravity of what was happening sank in. Edwin was conspiring to break into her father’s study. The study where so many secrets had been kept locked away, including the original letters—letters that could expose everything. If they found them, her father would be ruined.

Ordinarily, she would not be opposed to this, but with her sister’s happiness and her husband’s life in the balance, she could not let this happen. And if her father discovered what was happening, he would not hesitate to destroy anyone who threatened him.

Her chest tightened, and her heart began to race. Panic clawed at her insides, threatening to overtake her. She could feel the fear clogging her throat, but she closed her eyes, desperate to fight it.

Breathe, Hanna. In. Out. In. Out.

She had been through this before. She knew how to manage it. She had to.

Slowly, her breathing slowed, and the swirling panic inside her began to subside. She couldn’t afford to break down now. She had to act quickly, before Edwin and his men made their move.

Hanna waited in the shadows, listening for the sound of footsteps. After what felt like an eternity, she finally heard them—two sets of footsteps retreating down the hall. She waited until they had faded away before she moved.

Her heart still pounding, she rushed toward the study. When she reached the door, she grabbed the handle, only to find it locked. She cursed under her breath, her pulse quickening again. Of course, her father had locked it—he never left his most private rooms unsecured.

Panic flared in her chest once more, but she pushed it down. She knew where the key was.

She turned and hurried to her father’s bedchamber, her footsteps quick and light as she navigated the maze-like halls. The door to his room was slightly ajar, and as she stepped inside, the familiar smell hit her—bitter and sour. The stench of vomit and alcohol hung heavy in the air.

She covered her nose and mouth with her hand, her stomach churning at the smell. The room was dark, save for the faint moonlight spilling through the window, casting eerie shadows on the walls.

Her father wasn’t here, thankfully. But her foot hit something as she crossed the floor, and she glanced down, her eyes widening in shock. Bottles—several of them—lay discarded beneath the bed. Empty, rolling about on the floor. The sight unsettled her, but she forced herself to focus. There was no time for this now.

She made her way to the nightstand beside his bed. Her hands trembled slightly as she opened the drawer, her fingers brushing against the cold metal of the key. She seized it quickly, her heart pounding in her chest, and without another glance at the room or the evidence of her father’s growing vice, she turned on her heel and raced back toward the study.

Every second counted. Edwin’s men could arrive at any moment. The study door loomed before her once more, and she wasted no time in unlocking it. Her hands shook as the key turned in the lock with a faint click, and she pushed the door open.

Inside, the study was dark and still, the scent of leather and old books filling the air. The faint moonlight streaming in through the high windows illuminated the shelves of books and papers, and the heavy mahogany desk that had always intimidated her as a child.

This room had been her father’s sanctuary, and it held too many secrets.

She knew what she had to do. She had to get the letters—destroy them if necessary—before Edwin’s men found them. But the moment she stepped inside, her pulse quickened again, the weight of the task ahead pressing down on her. If she destroyed the letters, that would be it. The evidence would be gone.

Was she handing her father a victory without being certain that he’d actually keep his word? What if he harmed Edwin regardless? What if he married Emma off to that horrid Whitcombe?

She shook her head, pushing away those thoughts.

No. There’s no time to hesitate . Move.

She made her way toward her father’s desk, her hands immediately pulling at the drawers. Her fingers moved through papers and documents with frantic urgency, but something nagged at the back of her mind. A memory, a detail she had nearly forgotten.

The chest. The letter she had once seen there, with the Duke of Ashford’s broken seal.

Her pulse quickened as she rushed across the room to the large wooden chest that sat near the fireplace. It loomed before her, and her stomach clenched as her fingers gripped the lid. Slowly, she pried it open, cringing at the creak that echoed through the study.

She froze, heart pounding in her chest, listening for any sign of movement in the hall.

No one heard.

She exhaled softly, the tension in her shoulders easing.

Her hands began to sift through the contents of the chest, papers and old documents slipping between her fingers. She pushed aside stacks of old letters and books until she found it—a folded letter with the broken seal she remembered. She pulled it out, her hands trembling as she unfolded the fragile paper, her eyes scanning the words in a desperate rush.

The handwriting was unmistakable—it was Benjamin’s.

Her eyes moved over the lines, her breath catching as she read the words that confirmed everything she had feared. Benjamin had written to her father, furious and filled with disgust.

You have deceived me, Graham. I should have listened to those who warned me, those who knew you for what you truly are. You have used me—manipulated my connections and my trust to deceive our peers for your own selfish ends, to invest in the gambling halls and other enterprises in the rookeries. You’ve stolen funds, and I will not stand by while you ruin the lives of good men—men I hold in high regard .

Her heart pounded in her chest as she continued reading.

I will expose you. I will not let you drag me into this filth. I will not allow you to continue to ruin lives for your own selfish gains. You’ve crossed a line, Graham, and I won’t let this go unpunished .

Her hands shook as she folded the letter back up. Benjamin had been ready to expose her father, to bring everything down on his head. Her father had used him, betrayed him, and this letter confirmed it all. She recognized the handwriting and some of the words. They’d been used by the forgers to create the letters she’d given to Edwin.

The fact that her father had them at the ready had given her pause, as if he’d had them made long ago just in case. For a man who was such a drunkard, such a goosecap, he could be cunning indeed.

Hanna quickly rifled through the chest, finding several more letters from Benjamin, all with similar sentiments. She couldn’t read them all, not now, but the content was clear—Benjamin had been onto her father’s schemes for a long time. She had always known her father was involved in shady dealings, but seeing the anger in Benjamin’s words made it feel even more real, more dangerous.

As she prepared to close the chest, something caught her eye. A crumpled piece of paper lay at the bottom, half-buried beneath other documents. Curious, she reached for it, smoothing it out. Her heart lurched as she recognized her father’s handwriting, the harsh, jagged strokes of anger scrawled across the page.

The words TOO LATE were written in large letters, scratched and slashed through as though her father had been enraged while writing. The paper was full of scribbles and violent strokes, but she couldn’t make out any more of it in her haste. Her father had written this in a fit of fury. Why, she couldn’t know for certain, but it was clear that something had pushed him to the edge.

She didn’t have time to ponder on it now. She folded the letter and slipped it into her pocket along with Benjamin’s, then stood up, her heart racing as she quickly glanced around the study. She had to get out of here before Edwin’s men arrived.

Locking the study door behind her, Hanna hurried down the dimly lit hallway, her breath coming fast as she headed toward her old bedchamber. She needed to hide the letters, keep them safe until she could figure out what to do next.

Her footsteps echoed softly on the floor, her heart pounding in her ears as she moved as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself.

As she rounded the corner toward the staircase, a sudden creaking sound behind her made her freeze. Her pulse spiked in panic, her body going rigid as she slowly turned around, expecting to see one of Edwin’s men creeping up behind her.

Instead, her eyes landed on a maid walking quietly down the hall, her head down, carrying a tray. Hanna’s breath caught in her throat as relief washed over her. It wasn’t Edwin’s men. She was still safe—at least for now.

Without wasting another moment, she hurried up the stairs, her heart still racing as she slipped into her old chamber. Once inside, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it, her chest heaving as she tried to calm her frayed nerves.

Now, she had the letters—the truth. But what she did next could determine everything.