CHAPTER 5: THE SECRET VAULT BENEATH THE MANSION
The courtroom adjourned in chaos.
Reporters chased every witness.
Police rushed Ethan back to jail.
But his final words echoed in everyone's mind.
"The real will has never been found."
Nathan couldn't sleep that night.
He remembered something his late father had whispered decades ago.
"If the family is ever betrayed... look beneath the place where your mother planted the first oak tree."
At sunrise, Nathan, Lily, Michael, and Detective Harper drove to the abandoned Reed family mansion.
The estate had been deserted for years.
Weeds covered the once-beautiful gardens.
Broken windows stared back like empty eyes.
Lily walked toward the enormous oak tree standing alone in the backyard.
"Is this the one?"
Nathan nodded.
Michael grabbed an old shovel.
After nearly an hour of digging, the shovel struck metal.
CLANG!
They uncovered a heavy steel hatch hidden beneath layers of dirt.
There was no handle.
Only a fingerprint scanner...
...and a tiny inscription.
"For my bloodline only."
Nathan pressed his thumb against the scanner.
Nothing happened.
Michael tried.
Nothing.
Then Lily stepped closer.
"Can I try?"
Everyone exchanged confused looks.
The little girl placed her tiny thumb on the glass.
A soft green light appeared.
ACCESS GRANTED.
The hatch slowly opened.
Cold air rushed upward.
A hidden staircase disappeared into darkness.
At the bottom was an underground vault unlike anything they had imagined.
Shelves filled with sealed documents.
Gold bars stacked from floor to ceiling.
Ancient paintings.
Boxes of diamonds.
And in the center...
A black leather case.
Nathan carefully opened it.
Inside was the original Reed family will.
Alongside it lay a handwritten letter.
"To my granddaughter Lily..."
Nathan's hands trembled.
"My granddaughter?"
Michael looked stunned.
Their father had known about Lily all along.
Before anyone could continue reading...
A loud explosion shook the mansion.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Detective Harper shouted,
"Everyone get down!"
The security cameras inside the vault suddenly flickered to life.
A distorted voice echoed through hidden speakers.
"Congratulations."
"You found the inheritance..."
"...but you also activated the countdown."
A digital timer appeared on the wall.
09:59... 09:58... 09:57...
Ten minutes.
The underground vault had become a trap.
Then the mysterious voice laughed.
"If you want to leave alive..."
"...one of you must stay behind."
The steel door slammed shut.
Locked forever.
Lily looked at Nathan with tears in her eyes.
"Daddy..."
May you like
"Who's going to stay?"
TO BE CONTINUED...
