Chapter 6 - THE VAULT OF SECRETS
By 9:00 AM the next morning, my fever had broken into a cold, exhausting sweat.
I sat in the sterile, marble-floored lobby of First National Bank, waiting for the vault manager. I had spent the night in a cheap motel, going through every page of the ledger, piecing together Marcus's betrayal.
The manager, an older man named Mr. Higgins, finally approached.
“Ms. Vance,” he said politely. “It’s been years. We assumed box 404 would remain dormant.”
“I found the key,” I said simply.
He led me into the heavily armored vault, unlocked the secondary latch with his master key, and left me alone in the private viewing room.
I placed the long metal box on the table. My hands shook as I opened the lid.
Inside was a single manila folder.
I opened it.
The first document was an investigative report hired by my father a month before he died. The subject of the investigation was Marcus.
My stomach dropped as I read the pages. My father had discovered Marcus’s gambling addiction long before we were even married. But it was worse than that. Marcus hadn't just gambled away money; he owed millions to a syndicate running illegal development deals in the city.
The second document was a draft of my father’s new will, completely cutting Marcus out and placing my inheritance in an ironclad trust.
My father was going to expose Marcus. Three days later, my father’s brakes failed on a steep mountain road.
Marcus had murdered my father.
Tears finally spilled hot and fast down my cheeks. Three years of marriage to a monster. Three years of letting Vivian treat me like dirt, while they lived in a house paid for by my father’s blood.
At the bottom of the box was a flash drive and a handwritten note.
Nora, if you are reading this, I am gone. The drive contains audio of Marcus threatening me. But it requires your biometric thumbprint to unlock the encryption. Do not trust Vivian. She is the architect.
I gripped the edge of the table.
Suddenly, my cell phone buzzed in my pocket.
An unknown number.
I answered it.
“Hello, Nora,” Marcus’s voice slithered through the speaker. He sounded completely calm.
“You killed him,” I whispered, the rage finally overtaking the grief.
“Your father was a stubborn old man,” Marcus sighed. “But let’s not dwell on the past. I’m standing in the lobby of your bank, Nora. And I’m not alone.”
My blood ran cold.
“I found Clara,” Marcus said. “She was trying to buy a bus ticket. Such a stupid girl. Leo is with me right now. He’s eating a lollipop by the teller window.”
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“Don't you touch him,” I growled.
“Bring the ledger and whatever you just found in that box to the lobby,” Marcus ordered. “Or I walk out of here with my son, and you will never see him or his mother again.”
