Chapter 9 - The vault door slammed shut.Adrienne turned to Tony.
“Can you open it?”
Tony tried the mechanism.
“Remote lock.”
“Break it.”
“No explosives.”
Adrienne looked around.
Steel walls.
One entrance.
No exit.
Sofia was clutching Mia.
Adrienne examined the red folder.
The pages contained names.
Politicians.
Bankers.
Judges.
Executives.
People connected to the Moretti empire.
The network was enormous.
But one signature appeared again and again.
Anthony Cole.
Adrienne's so-called uncle.
His father's twin.
The mastermind behind the trust.
Sofia looked at the documents.
“He's been moving the money for years.”
Adrienne nodded.
“He needed Mia.”
“Why?”
Adrienne turned to the birth certificate.
“She is the legal heir.”
Sofia understood.
“And if she dies…”
“The trust can be transferred.”
“To whom?”
Adrienne read the final clause.
His face changed.
“Anthony.”
Sofia whispered:
“He planned everything.”
A loud boom shook the vault.
Bruno barked.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Tony looked up.
“They're drilling through.”
Adrienne searched the walls.
There had to be another exit.
Bruno suddenly ran to the far corner.
He began scratching.
Adrienne followed.
A hidden panel.
Inside was a tunnel.
“That's our way out.”
They crawled through.
The tunnel led beneath the estate.
Adrienne emerged into an old wine cellar.
Mia was still clinging to Sofia.
Bruno followed.
Then Adrienne noticed something.
Bruno was carrying a red ribbon in his mouth.
A ribbon Mia wore earlier that morning.
He dropped it beside Adrienne.
Attached to it was a tiny USB drive.
Adrienne picked it up.
Tony connected it to his laptop.
One video file.
Adrienne opened it.
His father appeared.
Older.
Tired.
Alive.
“Adrienne.”
Adrienne stopped breathing.
“If you're watching this, Anthony has already found you.”
The video continued.
“Do not trust Vivien.”
Adrienne looked at Sofia.
“Do not trust Carlo.”
Too late.
“They were both working for me.”
Adrienne frowned.
His father continued.
“I created the trust to protect Mia.”
“But Anthony discovered it.”
“He couldn't take the money without the child.”
Adrienne looked at Mia.
His father leaned closer to the camera.
“So I created a decoy.”
“The dog was trained to guard the real location.”
Adrienne looked at Bruno.
“And the only person Bruno was trained to follow…”
His father's voice softened.
“…was my son.”
The video paused.
Then resumed.
“You must understand something.”
“I lied to you because I had no other choice.”
Adrienne laughed bitterly.
“Everyone has another choice.”
His father looked almost ashamed.
“Your mother didn't die of cancer.”
Adrienne's face went blank.
Sofia grabbed his hand.
“She was murdered.”
The video ended.
No further explanation.
Adrienne stared at the black screen.
Then the basement door opened.
Vivien walked in.
Blood stained her sleeve.
Adrienne raised his gun.
“You.”
Vivien lifted both hands.
“I came to help.”
“You helped Anthony.”
“I did.”
She began crying.
“I had no choice.”
Adrienne lowered the weapon slightly.
“Where is he?”
“On his way here.”
“How?”
Vivien looked at Mia.
“He knows the tunnel.”
Adrienne's stomach dropped.
“How?”
Vivien whispered:
“Because your father showed it to him.”
A loud metallic click sounded behind them.
The cellar door locked.
Vivien closed her eyes.
“We're too late.”
Adrienne turned.
A voice came through the speaker.
Anthony.
“Adrienne.”
A pause.
“You should never have opened the dog room.”
The lights went out.
Then emergency sirens began flashing red.
May you like
Anthony laughed.
“Welcome home.”
Related Stories
