Chapter 5 - THE VAULT TICKET
I stared at my mother’s handwriting.
My knees felt weak.
She knew.
For ten years, my mother had known something about my father’s death and Mr. Harper, and she had hidden it inside this coat.
Why didn’t she tell me?
Why let me believe we were just a struggling family with bad luck?
I unrolled the small strip of microfilm.
I couldn't read the tiny text, but I could make out the header of a document.
First National Bank of Oakcreek.
It wasn't a safety deposit key they were looking for.
My dad didn't use a key. He used a vault ticket. A secure document code that required this specific film to verify ownership.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
It was a text from an unknown number.
Are you okay? It's Olivia. Davis just left the school in a panic. I think he realized the watch was empty.
I typed back quickly.
I found something. Meet me at First National Bank on 4th Street.
I grabbed my jacket and ran out the door.
The bank was an old, intimidating stone building in the center of town.
I walked through the revolving doors. The air inside was cold and smelled like polished marble.
Olivia was already there, standing nervously near a row of leather chairs. She had changed out of her cheer uniform into a regular sweater, looking completely unlike the girl who ruled the cafeteria.
"What did you find?" she asked as I approached.
I showed her the microfilm.
"My dad didn't use a key," I said.
We walked up to the oldest teller at the counter.
"I need to access a private vault," I said, sliding the microfilm across the counter. "Under the name Brooks."
The teller examined the film. His eyes widened slightly.
"One moment, please."
He walked away and returned a minute later with the branch manager.
"Miss Brooks?" the manager said, looking at me nervously. "This vault hasn't been accessed in a decade. Please, follow me."
He led us past the security gates and down a flight of stairs into the basement.
The vault room was lined with hundreds of metal boxes.
The manager unlocked a large box at the bottom of the wall, pulled it out, and set it on a private viewing table.
"I'll leave you to it," he said, quickly exiting the room.
I looked at Olivia.
We opened the metal lid together.
Inside was a single, thick manila folder.
I opened it.
The first page was an original patent application for a revolutionary medical device.
The inventor listed was my father, Arthur Brooks.
The second page was a contract.
It showed my father agreeing to a 50/50 partnership with Marcus Harper.
But the third page was what made the blood freeze in my veins.
It was a signed transfer of all rights to Marcus Harper.
Dated October 14th.
The exact day my father died.
"He stole it," I whispered. "My dad died, and your father forged this to take everything."
"Look at the signature, Emma," Olivia pointed, her hand shaking.
I looked at the bottom of the page.
Underneath my father's forged signature was a witness line.
The witness who legally verified the transfer.
Thomas Davis.
Vice Principal Davis.
Before I could speak, the heavy steel door of the vault room swung open.
May you like
Standing in the doorway, blocking our only exit, was Marcus Harper.
"You girls are incredibly persistent," Mr. Harper said, straightening his expensive tie. "But playtime is over."
