Chapter 16 - THE UNOPENED SAFE
Two months passed.
Elena and Lily moved into a beautiful, quiet coastal estate far away from the dark shadows of the city.
Life was peaceful, safe, and rich with quiet mornings.
However, the past refused to stay completely buried.
A courier package arrived at Elena’s front gate on a bright Tuesday morning.
Inside the package was a heavy steel key and a letter from the State Safety Deposit Vault.
The letter stated that a safety deposit box registered under the name of Victoria Vance had been assigned to Elena as part of the asset forfeiture ruling.
Elena drove to the downtown central bank alone that afternoon.
The vault manager led her down into the subterranean steel basement of the bank.
He used his master key along with Elena’s key to unlock Box 704.
The heavy steel drawer slid out.
Inside lay a single, yellowed leather journal and an old VHS tape dated July 14, 1998.
Elena sat in the private viewing room, her heart beating with a sudden, strange anxiety.
She inserted the tape into the player mounted on the wall.
The screen flickered with static before settling into a grainy video feed.
The video showed a young Victoria Vance standing inside a dimly lit hospital room twenty-eight years ago.
She was holding a newborn baby boy wrapped in a blue blanket.
A doctor in a white lab coat stood beside her.
"The transaction is complete, Mrs. Vance," the doctor in the video said nervously.
"No one knows about the second twin."
Elena froze, her breath catching in her throat.
"The second twin?" Elena whispered to the screen.
The doctor in the video pointed to a small plastic crib in the corner of the room.
Inside the second crib lay another newborn baby boy.
"What do you want me to do with the second boy?" the doctor asked Victoria on the tape.
Victoria looked at the second baby with cold, indifferent eyes.
"Give him to the motorcycle rider’s family," Victoria said coldly.
"Let him grow up in the dirt."
"Only one child can inherit the Vance name."
Elena’s mind reeled as the truth slammed into her consciousness.
Julian wasn't an only child.
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He had a twin brother.
And that twin brother was Jax.
