Chapter 3 - THE FAMILY VAULTThe Blackwood vault had been sealed for twenty-seven years.
Nobody in the family had entered it since Damian was a child.
The vault was located beneath the oldest wing of the estate, behind a wall that looked completely ordinary.
Damian inserted the key.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Marcus inspected the lock.
"There's a second mechanism."
Brianna noticed a small metal plate.
"Here."
Damian pressed it.
The wall moved.
A narrow passage appeared.
Cold air rushed over them.
Brianna shivered.
"What is this place?"
Damian looked at her.
"I don't know."
They walked downstairs.
The deeper they went, the darker it became.
Finally, they reached a giant steel door.
There was no keypad.
Only a fingerprint scanner.
Damian placed his finger on it.
The scanner flashed red.
"Access denied."
He tried again.
Still red.
Brianna stepped forward.
"Maybe mine."
She placed her hand against the scanner.
The system immediately turned green.
Damian stared at her.
"Why would the family vault recognize you?"
Brianna's face went pale.
"I don't know."
The door opened.
Inside were hundreds of boxes.
Documents.
Jewelry.
Contracts.
Photographs.
Old financial records.
At the center stood a single safe.
Marcus walked toward it.
"There."
A label had been attached.
FOR BRIANNA.
She stopped breathing.
"This can't be real."
Damian looked at her.
"Open it."
Brianna hesitated.
Then she did.
Inside was a thick envelope.
And a letter.
She unfolded it.
Her hands began shaking.
The letter was written by her grandmother.
It said that Brianna had been born under circumstances the family had deliberately hidden.
She was not simply the younger daughter.
She was the legal heir to a trust worth millions.
A trust that had been created before Ariana was born.
Brianna looked at Damian in shock.
"My grandmother left this to me."
Marcus read the documents.
"The trust becomes active when you marry."
Damian's eyes widened.
"That's why."
Brianna stared at him.
"Why what?"
"That's why they switched you."
A horrible realization hit them both.
Ariana hadn't simply abandoned the wedding.
She had been replaced in the plan.
Brianna had been used because the family believed she would unknowingly activate the inheritance.
Damian opened another envelope.
Inside was a copy of the original wedding agreement.
His eyes widened.
The agreement named Brianna.
Not Ariana.
Brianna grabbed the paper.
"That means..."
"Your grandmother intended you to marry me."
Silence filled the vault.
Brianna felt sick.
"So my family knew."
Damian nodded.
"Probably all of them."
Then Marcus found something else.
A video drive.
He connected it to his laptop.
A woman's face appeared on the screen.
It was their mother.
She looked older than the last time Brianna had seen her.
And she looked terrified.
"My dear Brianna," she said.
Brianna covered her mouth.
"If you're watching this, then the family has already turned against you."
Damian watched silently.
Her mother continued.
"I need you to know that I never wanted this."
Tears filled Brianna's eyes.
"But your father forced me to participate."
The recording shook slightly.
"There is something else you must know."
The woman leaned closer to the camera.
"Ariana was never the person who ran away."
Brianna froze.
"What?"
Her mother continued.
"The man she ran away with was not her boyfriend."
Damian stepped closer to the screen.
"Then who was he?"
The video suddenly glitched.
A loud burst of static filled the room.
Then the screen went black.
Marcus checked the drive.
"Corrupted."
Damian slammed his hand onto the table.
"Can you recover it?"
"I'm trying."
Brianna stared at the dark screen.
Her family had deceived her.
Her sister had lied.
Her marriage had been manipulated.
But one question remained.
Who had Ariana actually gone to meet?
Before anyone could speak, Damian's phone rang.
A private number.
He answered.
"Who is this?"
A distorted male voice replied.
"You opened the vault."
Damian's expression hardened.
"Who are you?"
"You should have left the past buried."
"What did you do to Ariana?"
The man laughed softly.
"You're asking the wrong question."
Damian tightened his grip on the phone.
"Then tell me the right one."
The voice answered:
"Ask who Brianna's real father is."
The call ended.
Brianna stared at Damian.
Her face had gone white.
"My father?"
Behind them, the vault door slowly began to close.
May you like
And neither of them noticed that someone had locked it from the outside.
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