Chapter 13 - The Vault in the Study
Dinner ended under a heavy veil of false cheerfulness.
Walter departed at nine o'clock, clasping my shoulder with his customary warmth and reminding me to rest.
"You carried the weight of the company on your back today, Arthur," he had said at the door.
"Elena would be immensely proud of the mercy you showed those factory families."
Hearing her name spill from his lips sent a violent chill down my spine.
As soon as his black sedan cleared the security gates, I turned to June.
"Take Mateo and Lila upstairs to the guest suite," I instructed.
"Lock the heavy interior door from the inside."
"Do not open it for anyone except me or Marcus."
June didn't ask questions.
She didn't panic.
Survival in the predatory streets of Chicago had taught her that when a wealthy man looks terrified in his own castle, danger is already in the room.
"I have my pocket knife," she said plainly, taking Mateo's small hand.
"No one touches these children."
I waited until their footsteps disappeared down the second-floor corridor before turning toward the private west wing.
My study was pitch black.
The moonlight cut through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long, cage-like shadows across the Persian rug.
I didn't turn on the lamps.
I walked directly to the north wall, where an oil painting of Elena sat in a gilded frame.
She looked out into the darkness with those quiet, intelligent gray eyes that had once anchored my chaotic life.
I reached behind the canvas, pressing the hidden magnetic spring.
The heavy frame swung open on silent oiled hinges.
Behind it sat the matte-black digital keypad of the biometric safe.
I entered the seven-digit sequence: the date we first met in the rain outside the university library.
The indicator light blinked amber.
Then red.
*Access Denied.*
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I entered the code again, pressing each tactile number with deliberate, forceful precision.
*Access Denied.*
*Lockout Imminent.*
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Someone had changed the master programming code.
Someone had been inside my private sanctum while I was down in the kitchen breaking bread with June.
