Chapter 4 - TRAPPEDThe vault door slammed shut.
Brianna screamed.
Damian rushed toward it.
He tried the handle.
Nothing.
Marcus checked the mechanism.
"Someone activated the emergency lock."
"Can we override it?"
"Not from here."
The air inside the vault was cold and still.
Brianna looked around.
"How long can we stay here?"
Marcus checked his phone.
"No signal."
Damian banged on the steel door.
"Open the door!"
Nobody answered.
Minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Then forty.
Brianna began to panic.
"What if they leave us here?"
Damian turned to her.
"They won't."
"How do you know?"
"Because whoever trapped us wants something."
Brianna looked at him.
"What?"
"Maybe they want us to find it."
They searched the vault again.
This time, Marcus noticed a hidden panel beneath a cabinet.
Behind it was a narrow ventilation shaft.
"Someone designed this vault for emergencies."
They opened it.
A tunnel led upward.
Damian helped Brianna climb first.
After several minutes, they emerged behind the estate library.
The house was empty.
Everyone had been evacuated.
But someone had left a message written across the wall.
STOP DIGGING.
Brianna stared at it.
Damian stepped closer.
Then he noticed something beneath the message.
A photograph.
He picked it up.
It showed Brianna's mother standing beside a man.
The man wasn't Brianna's father.
It was Ethan.
Brianna's heart stopped.
"Ethan?"
Damian stared at the photograph.
His brother looked much younger.
The photograph had clearly been taken years ago.
Brianna whispered,
"What does this mean?"
Damian didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because he suddenly remembered something.
On the morning of the wedding, Ethan had disappeared for six hours.
He had claimed he was out of town.
But the photograph proved he had been close to the family.
They returned to Damian's house that evening.
Brianna found Ariana's old phone hidden in one of the drawers.
She had kept it because she never knew what to do with it.
Damian switched it on.
There was one unsent message.
I know what Dad did.
That was all.
The timestamp was the morning of the wedding.
Then another file appeared.
An audio recording.
Brianna pressed play.
Ariana's voice filled the room.
"If anything happens to me, it's because they found out I know the truth."
She sounded terrified.
"I thought Dad was only stealing money."
A pause.
"But it's much worse."
A door slammed in the recording.
Ariana whispered,
"Someone is coming."
The audio ended.
Brianna stared at Damian.
"She knew."
"Apparently."
"And she was afraid."
Damian nodded.
Suddenly his phone received a message.
A photograph.
Brianna opened it.
It showed Ariana sitting inside a dark room.
Her hands were tied.
Brianna gasped.
"She's alive."
A second message appeared.
Bring the trust documents.
Damian's eyes hardened.
Another message followed.
Come alone.
Brianna shook her head.
"They have Ariana."
Damian looked at her.
"Yes."
"They'll kill her."
"Not if we move carefully."
Then a third message arrived.
You have six hours.
Bring Brianna.
Damian's blood ran cold.
"They don't just want the documents."
Brianna looked at him.
"They want me."
Before Damian could answer, the lights in the house went out.
The entire mansion fell into darkness.
A sound came from upstairs.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Someone was inside.
Damian pulled Brianna behind him.
Marcus reached for his weapon.
The footsteps stopped.
Then a woman's voice came from the hallway.
"Brianna."
She froze.
The voice was familiar.
Very familiar.
It was Ariana.
But Ariana was supposedly being held captive.
The voice called again.
"Brianna, come out."
Damian whispered,
"Stay here."
Brianna shook her head.
"No."
The bedroom door suddenly opened.
Ariana stood in the darkness.
Her clothes were torn.
Blood stained her forehead.
She stared at Brianna.
And whispered:
May you like
"They're coming for you."
:::
