Chapter 3 - The Vault

I stared at the glowing screen in absolute disbelief.

Karin struck Tyler directly across the face with the heavy steel pipe.

"Where is the real key, Tyler?" she screamed in the video.

Mr. Cross reached over and paused the live feed.

"Karin is not just a greedy mistress," he explained quietly.

"She is a ruthless mercenary hired by a rival cartel."

"She seduced your husband solely to steal the fifty million dollars he embezzled from my organization."

I looked down at the cold silver key resting in my lap.

"You want me to open the vault for you," I realized.

Mr. Cross nodded his head slowly.

"The vault requires the physical key and a secondary biometric scan."

"Tyler programmed your retina scan as the security bypass without telling you."

"He was planning to use you to withdraw the money, and then let Karin kill you to tie up loose ends."

My chest tightened with a sickening wave of absolute betrayal.

"If I help you get the money, what happens to me?" I asked, preparing for the worst.

"I will give you a new identity and enough cash to disappear forever," Mr. Cross promised.

We arrived at a highly secure underground bank hidden in the financial district.

Armed guards escorted us into a steel-plated room containing hundreds of safety deposit boxes.

I approached a massive metal box labeled with the number 704.

I inserted the silver key and leaned forward to let the laser scan my eye.

The heavy metal drawer clicked loudly and slid open.

I reached inside and pulled out a thick stack of classified financial documents.

I froze completely as I read the name printed on the top file.

The money did not belong to Mr. Cross or his syndicate.

The account was registered entirely to William Vance.

That was my father's name.

My father had supposedly died in a tragic car crash ten years ago.

I spun around to face Mr. Cross, clutching the documents tightly to my chest.

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"Why does my dead father have a fifty-million-dollar cartel account?" I demanded.

Before Mr. Cross could answer, a deafening explosion rocked the underground bank.