Chapter 8: The Vault
Marcus wanted to put me in a patrol car.
I refused.
Victor wanted to take me to the storage facility.
Marcus refused.
For almost two minutes, the three of us argued while rain battered the windows.
Then Margaret said, “Stop.””
We all looked at her.
“She doesn't want Elena dead.””
Marcus frowned.
“That's your conclusion?””
“If Diane wanted her dead, she would have done it already.””
Margaret pointed toward the children.
“She wants Elena frightened enough to open the vault.””
Victor's expression hardened.
“That's why she mentioned Leo.””
I felt sick.
Marcus nodded slowly.
“She knows we have the key.””
I touched the little brass key in my pocket.
“Then we use it.””
“No,” Marcus said.
“We need the evidence.””
“We need to protect you.””
“We need both.””
Marcus stared at me.
Then he picked up his phone.
“I'll have units secure the facility.””
Victor shook his head.
“If Diane has someone inside the police department, she'll know.””
Marcus went quiet.
That possibility had become impossible to ignore.
Finally, he said, “Then we don't tell anyone where we're going.””
We left through the rear entrance.
An unmarked sedan waited in the alley.
The children stayed with Margaret at the station.
I hated leaving them.
But I knew something worse was coming.
Victor sat beside me.
Marcus drove.
For ten minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Victor said quietly, “Thomas loved you.””
I looked out the window.
“Don't.””
“He did.””
“You don't know what he did.””
“I know exactly what he did.””
I turned toward him.
“He lied to me.””
“To protect you.””
“He disappeared.””
“To protect you.””
“He let me believe he was dead.””
Victor's jaw tightened.
“Because Diane threatened to kill you.””
I stared at him.
“Did she threaten you too?””
“Yes.””
“What did she have?””
Victor looked down.
“Proof.””
“Of what?””
“That I was alive.””
I frowned.
“She knew?””
“She found me years ago.””
“Then why didn't she kill you?””
“She needed me.””
“For what?””
Victor didn't answer.
Marcus glanced into the rearview mirror.
“We're here.””
The storage facility was nearly empty.
Rows of metal doors stretched beneath fluorescent lights.
Marcus checked the street.
“No movement.””
Victor walked toward Unit 214.
I followed.
The key fit.
Inside was a single wooden trunk.
No lock.
No dust.
Someone had opened it recently.
Victor noticed it too.
“Thomas came here.””
“How do you know?””
“Because he never trusted digital storage.””
I opened the trunk.
Inside were passports.
Bank cards.
Photographs.
And a sealed envelope.
My name was on it.
I opened it.
Elena,
If you found this, you're closer than Diane wants you to be.
The vault is not in a bank.
I looked up.
Victor was reading over my shoulder.
“What does that mean?””
I continued.
It's beneath the first house my father ever owned.
A street address followed.
I knew it.
My childhood home.
The house had been sold after my father died.
I hadn't been there in twenty years.
Victor whispered, “That's impossible.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because the house was demolished.””
I turned the page.
There was one final line.
Diane will think the evidence is gone because the house is gone.
A second page had been folded beneath it.
It contained a blueprint.
Marcus spread it across the trunk.
The original foundation was marked.
Beneath the basement was a circle.
A vault.
Victor stared.
“He built it under the foundation.””
“How do we get there?””
Marcus pointed to another marking.
“Old storm drain.””
We returned to the car.
Halfway there, my phone rang.
Diane.
I answered.
“Where are my children?””
“With me,” she said.
I recognized the background immediately.
Our house.
“You're inside my house.””
“I've always been inside your house.””
My throat tightened.
“Let them go.””
“You're going to open the vault.””
“No.””
“Then Leo gets hurt.””
“Touch him and I'll—”
She laughed.
“You'll what?””
Silence.
Then Diane said, “You finally sound like your father.””
I froze.
“What did you say?””
“You heard me.””
“Why did you kill him?””
A pause.
Then her voice became almost conversational.
“Because he refused to give me what belonged to you.””
“What belonged to me?””
“The trust.””
I looked at Victor.
He closed his eyes.
Diane continued.
“Your father didn't leave you money, Elena.””
“Then what?””
“He left you control.””
“Control of what?””
“The company.””
My heart pounded.
“What company?””
She laughed.
“You really don't know.””
The call ended.
Marcus pulled over.
Victor was staring at the blueprint.
“Your father didn't leave you the company.””
“What did he leave me?””
Victor pointed to the foundation plan.
“Shares.””
I frowned.
“Shares in what?””
He looked at me.
“Every company Diane ever stole from.””
The world went silent.
Then Marcus's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
“Detective Reed.””
He listened.
“Repeat that.””
He looked at me.
“The station has been evacuated.””
“What?””
“Margaret is missing.””
My heart stopped.
“And the children?””
Marcus's face went pale.
“They're gone too.””
A text appeared on my phone.
From Diane.
A photograph.
Leo and Maya were sitting on the couch.
Unhurt.
Behind them stood Diane.
And beside her stood Daniel.
The message underneath said:
Bring Victor.
Leave the police.
May you like
Come home.
Or you will never see your children again.
