Chapter 7 - Celeste’s Message Beneath the House
No one moved.
Celeste had been dead for six years, yet her voice seemed to fill every corner of the cellar.
“Lena,” the recording continued, “if you are hearing this, someone has attempted to use Arden House as leverage.”
Lena stared at the iron door.
Grant lowered his hand from the key.
Celeste’s voice remained calm.
“The estate itself has never been the prize. It was built to conceal the existence of a controlling certificate tied to Crown Meridian Capital.”
Noah looked at Lena.
“Your grandmother controlled the lender?”
The recording answered him.
“Crown Meridian was founded using assets stolen from my family. For thirty years, I gathered evidence against the people who transformed that theft into an international financial network.”
Lena struggled to understand.
Celeste had been private, sometimes secretive, but Lena had known her as a patron of museums and universities.
She had never spoken about hidden companies or stolen assets.
“The evidence is stored in the East Vault,” Celeste continued. “It must remain sealed unless Crown Meridian targets my heir.”
Grant stepped back from the door.
“They knew the evidence was here.”
Noah gestured for silence.
“The vault can be opened only through three conditions,” Celeste said. “The Arden key, the approval of the independent trustee and the biometric verification of my direct descendant.”
Lena looked at the iron plate.
Grant possessed the key.
Noah was the trustee.
Lena was the descendant.
They had unknowingly brought all three requirements into the cellar.
“The divided crown represents two ownership lines,” Celeste continued. “One remained with me. The other was hidden under a child’s name.”
Lena remembered the burned page.
Previous beneficiary: Sealed by order of C.A.
“Who was the child?” she whispered.
The recording did not answer.
“If the child’s identity is revealed before the evidence is secured, Crown Meridian will attempt to eliminate every competing claim.”
Ava cried upstairs.
Lena’s body responded instantly.
She turned toward the staircase.
The recording continued.
“Do not allow them to obtain control of an infant trust. The trust does not merely hold money. It controls the voting rights required to dissolve Crown Meridian.”
Grant covered his mouth.
His loan company had been placed in Ava’s name.
Rook had manipulated him into connecting Ava to the trust.
“I gave them a path,” he said.
Lena looked at him with disgust.
“You gave them our daughter’s identity.”
“I didn’t understand.”
“You did not care enough to understand.”
Noah examined the locking mechanism.
“Celeste said biometric verification. Lena, there may be a scanner.”
A narrow glass panel illuminated beside the keyhole.
Lena approached, but the moment she touched it, Grant stopped her.
“Wait.”
She pulled her hand away from him.
“Do not touch me.”
“If opening this vault gives them what they need, we may be completing Rook’s plan.”
Noah considered it.
“Celeste’s message says the evidence must be secured if Crown Meridian targets Lena.”
“That does not mean we open it without preparation,” Grant said.
A sound came from the staircase.
Marcus appeared.
“There are three vehicles outside.”
“Police?” Lena asked.
“No license plates. The same type Mrs. Vivian’s security men arrived in.”
Noah immediately called emergency services.
His phone had no signal.
Marcus checked his.
“Mine is dead too.”
The cellar lights flickered.
Grant removed the brass key.
The recording stopped.
Footsteps entered the house above them.
Lena hurried toward the stairs, but Grant blocked the way.
“Ava is upstairs.”
“I know.”
“Move.”
“They may be waiting for you.”
“My child is with Mrs. Ellis.”
Another sound echoed through the mansion.
Glass breaking.
Lena pushed past Grant.
They reached the entrance hall and found it empty.
The county officer was unconscious near the front doors, breathing but bleeding slightly from his forehead.
Mrs. Ellis and Ava were gone.
A cream blanket lay on the staircase.
Lena picked it up.
“Ava!”
No answer.
Grant searched the drawing room.
Marcus ran toward the kitchen.
Noah checked the security system.
Every camera had been disabled except the nursery monitor.
Its live feed showed Mrs. Ellis sitting in a chair with Ava in her arms.
A masked man stood behind them.
He placed a card in front of the camera.
SELL THE HOUSE.
May you like
Then he turned the card over.
BRING THE KEY.
