Chapter 14 - THE FAMILY VAULT
The grand Vance Manor stood atop a dark cliff overlooking the stormy sea.
Victoria and Arthur walked briskly through the grand marble hallways of their ancestral home.
They descended deep into the sub-basement, passing through four heavy security checkpoints.
They stopped in front of a massive, ancient steel door embedded into the bedrock.
Arthur stepped forward and placed his palm on the biometric scanner.
The heavy steel gears groaned loud as the massive vault door slowly unsealed itself.
Dense, cold fog poured out from inside the vault.
Victoria stepped into the dark room, her heart racing with an ominous feeling.
The room was filled with old wooden crates and confidential file cabinets spanning decades.
In the center of the room sat a single, pristine glass case illuminated by a small overhead light.
Inside the glass case was a faded, old photograph.
Victoria approached the glass case cautiously.
She looked closely at the photograph.
It showed a young, smiling woman holding a newborn baby girl.
Behind the woman stood a man whose face had been aggressively scratched out with a sharp object.
Beside the glass case lay a small, folded piece of paper.
Victoria raised her hand and lifted the glass, picking up the paper with trembling fingers.
She unfolded it slowly.
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Written in dark black ink was a single sentence:
"Your father didn't save you tonight, Victoria. He trapped you."
