Ms. CEO’s Baby Daddy Is the Merchant of Death – Episode 39
Bennett gave Scarlett two hours to withdraw every accusation. If she refused, Stephen would die and the ledger would burn. If she complied, Bennett promised to release him after taking control of Asterion.
Connor expected Scarlett to feel no duty toward the man who had beaten and betrayed her. Instead, she said Stephen’s crimes did not give Bennett permission to murder him. She would save her father without surrendering the truth.
Cypher traced the video’s network route through six countries. Voss had constructed the encryption. His presence confirmed that Bennett still possessed the stolen Aegis fragment.
Summer overheard enough to understand that her grandfather was in danger. She asked why Scarlett would save someone who had hurt them. Scarlett explained that justice was different from revenge.
Connor recognized the lesson was meant for him as well. He promised to bring Stephen back alive if possible. Scarlett made him promise that Bennett would also face a court, not an execution.
The Whitmore vehicle logs offered a physical clue. Every abduction van had visited the same abandoned financial data center outside the city. The site once housed private banking records before Whitmore Holdings purchased it.
Lily remained with Summer while Richard mobilized legal pressure against Whitmore assets. Regulators froze domestic accounts, forcing Bennett to rely on the data center’s hidden reserves. The move also prevented him from hiring reinforcements.
Scarlett recorded a public statement appearing to accept Bennett’s terms. She announced that she would suspend litigation and meet him alone. The false surrender bought Cypher time.
Bennett ordered her to the data center. Connor concealed a transmitter inside the Reed pendant, and Scarlett wore it openly. Richard objected to risking a family heirloom until Summer reminded him that people mattered more than things.
Scarlett entered the building carrying the original trust documents. Bennett waited beside Stephen and the burning ledger. Voss watched remotely through security cameras.
Bennett demanded her signature transferring Asterion. Scarlett asked why he had chased her four years ago if he claimed to love her. His answer revealed that he had feared Evelyn’s research would make Scarlett impossible to control.
Cypher captured every word through the pendant. Connor and Dominion operatives entered through the obsolete cooling tunnels. Whitmore guards never saw them cross the lower level.
Stephen apologized to Scarlett while Bennett prepared the contract. He confessed that greed had made him ignore every warning about Whitmore. He had sold his daughter piece by piece before realizing Bennett wanted all of her.
Scarlett told him apology would not erase the past. Stephen accepted that and shifted his chair toward the nearest guard. When Scarlett refused to sign, he threw himself into the man’s weapon.
The shot struck Stephen’s shoulder instead of Scarlett’s chest. Connor breached the room as alarms erupted. He reached Bennett while Scarlett pulled her injured father behind cover.
Bennett triggered an Aegis-controlled defense system, but Cypher corrupted its targeting with Guardian. The weapons locked onto empty corridors. Voss severed his remote link and abandoned Bennett.
Connor disarmed Bennett and drove him to the floor. Years of threats, kidnappings, and attacks ended beneath his fist. One more blow could have ended the man himself.
Scarlett called Connor’s name. He stopped, restrained Bennett, and stepped away. Choosing her version of justice required more strength than killing ever had.
Police secured the center. Medics stabilized Stephen, and investigators recovered the ledger from its fireproof inner binding. It contained Bennett’s authorization for the attack four years earlier.
As Bennett was taken outside, he laughed at their victory. Voss had copied Aegis completely, he said, and Dominion’s oldest directors had already paid to turn it into something no Reed could control.
