Chapter 8 - Adrian raised his gun.Marcus looked amused.
“You always were slow.”
“You killed our mother.”
Marcus shrugged.
“She was in the way.”
Adrian's finger tightened on the trigger.
Evelyn stepped between them.
“Don't.”
“He killed her.”
“And if you kill him, you'll never learn why.”
Marcus smiled.
“Because she knew what I was planning.”
“What were you planning?”
“To take everything.”
Adrian glanced around the vault.
“All this?”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed at the girls.
“The children.”
Adrian's blood ran cold.
Marcus continued.
“Your father designed the network to survive through bloodline inheritance.”
“I don't understand.”
“The system requires an heir.”
Adrian looked at his daughters.
“Me.”
“No.”
Marcus smiled.
“The girls.”
Silence.
“Why them?”
“Because Evelyn changed the inheritance.”
Adrian looked at Evelyn.
“What did you do?”
She lowered her eyes.
“I transferred the controlling authority to the children.”
Adrian stared.
“When?”
“The night I disappeared.”
Marcus laughed.
“Which is why we needed them alive.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“You killed Evelyn to stop it.”
“No.”
Marcus pointed at Evelyn.
“She chose to disappear.”
Evelyn looked at Adrian.
“I had to.”
“Why?”
“Because your father had already ordered your execution.”
Adrian stared.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
The tape recorder crackled.
His father's voice returned.
“If you're hearing this, Marcus has failed.”
Adrian's eyes widened.
The voice continued.
“Adrian, I know you will hate me.”
A pause.
“But I had no choice.”
“You were never supposed to inherit.”
Adrian whispered, “Why?”
“Because your mother chose you.”
Adrian looked confused.
“She believed you could destroy what we built.”
The tape continued.
“That is why Marcus was chosen.”
Adrian looked at his brother.
Marcus smiled.
“You were always the spare son.”
The words cut deeper than any wound.
His father continued.
“Marcus was meant to control the system.”
“But Evelyn discovered the truth.”
“She found the records.”
“She gave them to the children.”
Adrian slowly turned toward his daughters.
“What records?”
Olivia stepped forward.
“We don't have them.”
Marcus smiled.
“You do.”
He pointed at Nora.
“She has them.”
Everyone looked at the little girl.
Nora backed away.
“No.”
Adrian crouched.
“Nora.”
She began trembling.
“Open your hand.”
Slowly, she did.
A tiny brass key lay in her palm.
Adrian stared.
“Where did you get that?”
Nora whispered:
“Mom gave it to me the night she died.”
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“I never…”
Nora looked at her.
“Yes, you did.”
Adrian took the key.
On it were three engraved letters.
E.M.V.
His dead wife's initials.
Marcus lunged.
Adrian fired.
Marcus ducked.
The bullet hit the wall.
Victor appeared behind Marcus and tackled him.
Gunfire erupted.
The vault shook.
Adrian grabbed the girls.
“Run!”
He moved toward the rear exit.
Elena followed.
Evelyn stayed.
Adrian looked back.
“Come!”
She shook her head.
“I have to stop him.”
“Evelyn!”
She looked at Adrian.
“For once, let me protect you.”
Then she closed the vault door.
Adrian screamed.
“No!”
He tried to reopen it.
Nothing.
Inside, gunshots exploded.
Then silence.
Adrian stood frozen.
The girls cried.
Suddenly the brass key in his hand began vibrating.
A tiny red light appeared.
A hidden screen emerged from the wall.
WORDS APPEARED:
AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.
CHILD ONE.
CHILD TWO.
CHILD THREE.
Adrian stared.
The system wasn't asking for him.
It was asking for his daughters.
Then the screen displayed a fourth line.
PARENTAL OVERRIDE.
ADRIAN VALE.
Adrian placed his hand on the scanner.
ACCESS DENIED.
He froze.
He tried again.
ACCESS DENIED.
His own family system didn't recognize him.
Then Nora stepped forward.
The scanner turned green.
ACCESS GRANTED.
The wall opened.
Behind it was a room Adrian had never seen.
Inside sat three old VHS tapes.
One labeled OLIVIA.
One labeled SOPHIE.
One labeled NORA.
May you like
And one final tape.
ADRIAN.
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