Chapter 9 - THE VAULT
The vault required three keys.
Daniel's watch contained one.
The second was hidden in the Hayes family Bible.
The third was in Ronan's possession.
Mirabelle stared at him.
"You had it?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Your father gave it to me."
"When?"
"The night he disappeared."
They entered the vault together.
Inside were boxes.
Photographs.
Bank statements.
A stack of letters.
And a sealed envelope marked:
FOR MY DAUGHTER.
Mirabelle opened it.
Her mother's handwriting.
Mirabelle,
If you're reading this, I failed to return to you.
Mirabelle began crying.
I need you to understand something. Your father and I loved you. But we made a terrible mistake.
We trusted Victor Hale.
And we trusted someone else even more.
The next line was blacked out.
Mirabelle looked at Ronan.
"Who?"
He shook his head.
"Keep reading."
The person who betrayed us is not a stranger.
It is someone who has been standing beside you your entire life.
Mirabelle felt cold.
Kellen.
No.
Her aunt?
No.
Ronan?
Her stomach tightened.
She looked at him.
"Who?"
Ronan took the letter.
There was a second page.
He read it.
His expression changed.
"What?"
He handed it to her.
At the bottom was one name.
ELIAS.
Mirabelle stared.
Ronan's oldest and most trusted security chief.
The man who had protected him for twenty years.
The man who had found Kellen.
The man who had been inside her apartment.
Ronan's face hardened.
"Stay here."
Mirabelle grabbed his sleeve.
"No."
"This is my problem."
"It's mine too."
They left the vault.
But Elias was waiting outside.
He had a gun.
Ronan slowly raised his hands.
"Elias."
The old man sighed.
"I hoped you wouldn't find it."
Mirabelle whispered:
"You betrayed my parents."
Elias looked at her.
"I saved them."
"What?"
"Your father made a deal."
"With whom?"
Elias looked at Ronan.
"With the only man powerful enough to destroy Victor Hale."
Ronan's face changed.
"Who?"
Elias smiled sadly.
"You."
Then he shot himself.
Before dying, he whispered:
"Your father never wanted Ronan to protect you."
"He wanted Ronan to marry you."
May you like
Mirabelle stared.
Ronan went completely still.
