Chapter 2 - Vault 42
Two days after Marcus and Chloe were hauled away in handcuffs, I stood in the sterile, fluorescent-lit basement of First National Bank. Mr. Vance handed the teller the silver key I had found under the blue orchids.
We were led to Vault 42. Inside was a single black hard drive and a leather-bound journal.
I plugged the hard drive into a laptop Mr. Vance had brought. The screen flickered to life, displaying dozens of video files. Mom had hidden tiny, motion-activated cameras in the library, the dining room, and her study.
We clicked on a file dated two days before her death.
The grainy black-and-white footage showed Marcus and Julian pacing in the library.
"She's leaving it all to a trust," Julian said, chewing his fingernails. "A trust for Elena and the greenhouse. I get a monthly allowance like a child. My bookie is going to break my legs, Marcus."
"Relax," Marcus replied smoothly, pouring a glass of scotch. "I'm her son-in-law. You're her blood. If she passes away before signing that trust, the old will stands. We split it fifty-fifty. And my idiot wife won't know the difference."
Tears stung my eyes. My idiot wife. I had given this man twelve years of my life. I had supported him while he built his company. I had trusted him implicitly.
May you like
I opened Mom’s journal. The last entry was written in her elegant script:
Elena, if you are reading this, the worst has happened. But do not weep for me. I saw the rot in your husband, and the weakness in your brother, long before you did. I built this estate, and I will be damned if they tear it down. Destroy them, my beautiful girl. Protect the orchids.
