Chapter 5 - THE VAULT
“My sister.”
Elena repeated the words, but they felt foreign in her mouth. She looked at her father, who was still hiding his face in his hands.
“You knew,” Elena accused, her voice trembling with a rage she had never felt before. “You left her here with these monsters. You let Isabella raise your own flesh and blood?”
Thomas looked up, his eyes bloodshot. “I thought she was dead, Elena! For ten years, I thought my eldest daughter died in that crash. It wasn't until Isabella cornered me about the shipping ports that she brought Victoria into the room. She used her to force my hand.”
“Isabella held me hostage,” Victoria explained gently, stepping closer to Elena. “She told our father that if he didn't sign you over to Marcus, she would kill me. He didn't sell you for money, Elena. He traded your freedom for my life.”
Elena’s head spun. She looked at the rosary in Victoria’s hand, then grabbed it, holding the smooth wooden beads against her chest.
“Marcus knew?” Elena asked, looking at her husband.
“I found out four years ago,” Marcus said, holstering his weapon. “I caught Victoria going through Isabella’s private ledgers. She was trying to find evidence of her kidnapping. Instead of turning her in, I helped her. We realized that if we worked together, we could tear my mother’s empire down and free both of you.”
Heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway outside the study.
Someone pounded on the heavy oak door.
“Marcus! Open the door. Do not make this harder than it has to be.”
It was Isabella’s top enforcer, a brutal man named Carlo.
“We have three minutes before they breach that door with explosives,” Victoria said, her tactical demeanor snapping back into place.
“The vault,” Marcus said, moving toward the massive fireplace at the end of the study. “Isabella keeps the master ledger down there. It has the names of every corrupt politician, every judge, every hit she’s ever ordered. If we get that ledger to the Commission, they’ll strip her of her power and execute her.”
“How do we get in?” Thomas asked. “Isabella is the only one with the code.”
Marcus reached under the mantle of the fireplace, pressing a hidden switch. The stone hearth ground loudly, sliding backward to reveal a dark, narrow staircase leading into the catacombs of the estate.
“We don't need a code,” Marcus said. “We have a key.”
He looked at Thomas.
Thomas reached into his pocket and pulled out an ancient, heavy iron key. It looked like it belonged to a medieval dungeon.
“Isabella’s husband gave this to me as a twisted token of our deal,” Thomas explained, handing it to Marcus. “He said it was the key to my cage.”
“Go,” Thomas said, backing away from the secret staircase.
Elena froze. “What are you doing? Come with us.”
Thomas shook his head, picking up a heavy bronze statue from the desk. “I’m slowing them down. If they follow you down that staircase, you’ll be trapped in the vault. I have to lock the hearth from up here.”
“No!” Elena screamed, lunging for him. “I just got you back! I won't lose you again!”
Thomas caught her, pulling her into a tight embrace. It smelled like the cologne she remembered from her childhood.
“I failed you, Elena,” he whispered fiercely into her hair. “I failed your mother. I couldn't protect our family. Let me do this. Let me buy you the time you need.”
He pulled away, looking at Victoria. He reached out, hesitantly touching her cheek. “I love you, Victoria. I am so incredibly sorry.”
Victoria swallowed hard, tears tracing down her makeup. “I know, Dad. I know.”
“Take care of your sister,” Thomas ordered.
The heavy oak door of the study splintered inward as an axe bit through the wood.
“Go!” Thomas roared, shoving them toward the stairs.
Marcus pulled Elena into the darkness, Victoria right behind them.
May you like
As they descended, Elena looked back just in time to see the stone hearth slide shut, sealing them in the dark.
The last thing she heard was the deafening crash of the study door giving way, and her father’s furious, fearless scream.
