Chapter 6 - The Page Vivian Could Not Destroy
Smoke filled the library.
Vivian stood beside the fireplace, feeding papers into the flames while two relatives watched from the doorway.
The county officer rushed toward her.
“Step away from the fire.”
Vivian threw another page into it.
Lena moved past Grant.
“What are you burning?”
“Private family papers.”
“They belong to my estate.”
“They concern my son.”
The officer pulled Vivian away from the fireplace.
Noah used the metal poker to separate the burning pages.
Most were already destroyed, but one folded sheet had fallen beside the grate.
Lena picked it up.
The edges were blackened.
At the top was the symbol from the brass key.
A crown divided by a dark line.
Below it appeared a list of dates and monetary transfers.
The oldest entry was thirty-two years old.
The newest was dated the day Ava was born.
Recipient: Arden Infant Holdings.
Authorized amount: $12,000,000.
Conditional asset: The East Vault.
Lena read the final line aloud.
“What is the East Vault?”
Vivian’s lips pressed together.
Grant entered behind them.
“You said the ledger only concerned the loan.”
Vivian stared at the fire.
“You were not supposed to see that page.”
“You gave the ledger to Rook.”
“I gave him selected pages.”
Grant grabbed her arm.
“What did you promise him?”
“Take your hand off me.”
“What did you promise?”
The officer separated them.
Noah studied the damaged sheet.
“These transfers did not originate from Crown Meridian.”
“Where did they come from?” Lena asked.
“An account linked to Celeste’s original trust.”
“That account was closed after she died.”
“It was supposed to be.”
Vivian laughed bitterly.
“You all believe Celeste was some brilliant protector. She created this disaster.”
Lena faced her.
“What did my grandmother hide?”
Vivian looked at Ava, who was still in Mrs. Ellis’s arms near the doorway.
“You should ask why she placed the future of an entire company in the name of a child who did not exist.”
Lena’s stomach tightened.
“Ava’s trust was established after my pregnancy.”
“The public trust was.”
Noah looked up.
“What public trust?”
Vivian smiled at his confusion.
“You didn’t know either.”
She turned to Lena.
“Celeste created the original infant trust six years before she died.”
“That was before I married Grant.”
“Yes.”
“I wasn’t pregnant.”
“No.”
“Then why create it?”
Vivian glanced toward the burned papers.
“Because Celeste knew there would eventually be a child.”
Lena shook her head.
“That makes no sense.”
“Not your child,” Vivian said.
The room fell silent.
Grant stared at his mother.
“What are you saying?”
Vivian’s expression showed immediate regret.
She had revealed more than intended.
Lena stepped closer.
“Whose child?”
Vivian refused to answer.
Noah unfolded the damaged page carefully.
A second name was visible beneath the line identifying Arden Infant Holdings.
Previous beneficiary: Sealed by order of C.A.
C.A.
Celeste Arden.
The county officer asked Vivian to accompany him downstairs for questioning.
As she passed Lena, she whispered, “Selling the house will not free you.”
Lena watched her leave.
Grant still held the brass key.
“You knew nothing about another child?” Lena asked.
“No.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because my mother just frightened me more than she frightened you.”
Noah placed the burned page inside an evidence sleeve.
“We need to find the East Vault before Crown Meridian does.”
Lena looked toward the tall library windows.
“What if it doesn’t exist?”
Grant approached the eastern wall.
“Your grandmother renovated this wing thirty years ago. The public plans show no basement, but the dimensions do not match.”
He opened a cabinet and removed a set of architectural drawings.
Grant had marked several measurements in pencil.
“There is a space beneath the morning room,” he said. “Sixteen feet wide and nearly forty feet long.”
Lena stared at him.
“How long have you known?”
“Two months.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I thought the vault contained art or money. I planned to find it, use enough to satisfy Rook and return the rest before you discovered it.”
“You planned to steal from me.”
“I planned to save my company.”
“Those are the same confession.”
Noah examined the drawings.
“This wall should connect to the old wine cellar.”
Grant raised the brass key.
“There is a sealed door behind the eastern racks.”
They went downstairs.
The wine cellar smelled of oak and cold stone. Grant moved three racks aside, revealing an iron plate built into the wall.
At its center was a keyhole bearing the divided crown.
Grant inserted the brass key.
It turned once.
A mechanism shifted behind the stone.
Then a recorded voice filled the cellar.
May you like
Celeste’s voice.
“If this door has opened, Lena has already been betrayed.”
