Chapter 6 - THE SAFEHOUSE
With nowhere else to turn, Victoria directed Marcus to an old, forgotten property: an abandoned estate on the outskirts of the city that had belonged to her maternal grandmother.
The house was draped in dust sheets, smelling of dry pine and memories. Victoria helped Emily onto a couch in the dusty living room, wrapping her in heavy wool blankets while Lily curled up at her mother's side, exhausted and terrified.
Marcus pulled Victoria aside into the grand hallway. "Ms. Rosewood, if what you're saying about Mr. Vance is true, he has eyes on every major highway, airport, and police precinct in the city. He has political connections that go all the way to the state governor."
"We don't need the police yet," Victoria said, her eyes burning with a fierce determination she hadn't felt in years. "We need proof. Julian couldn't have executed the fraud alone. My father kept records. He kept everything."
"Where?" Marcus asked.
"In the family vault beneath the main estate in Beacon Hill," Victoria realized. "The safe that required two keys. One was Dad's... and the other was built into my grandmother's ring."
Victoria looked down at the rose-shaped ring on her finger. For twenty years, she had thought the ring was merely a piece of jewelry. But her grandmother had been a master craftsman's daughter.
She walked back into the living room and knelt beside Emily. "Emily, give me your ring."
May you like
Emily unclasped the chain around her neck, placing the twin ring in Victoria's palm.
When Victoria aligned the two rings base-to-base, the gold petals interlocked perfectly, revealing a tiny, hidden steel pin protruding from the center stem—a physical key designed to unlock the Rosewood family vault.
