Chapter 16 - Unmasking the Puppet Master
At 5:00 PM, heavy rain lashed against the granite facade of the Manhattan Vault Syndicate on 5th Avenue. The high-security facility was designed like a fortress, requiring biometric verification, photo ID, and the physical key to access private boxes.
Dressed in a tailored black trench coat and wearing glass frames provided by Sam’s crew, Lily walked through the grand brass doors. Her heart thumped wildly, but her posture was flawless—the picture of an heiress claiming her rightful inheritance.
"Safe Deposit Box 314," she told the head clerk, handing over her father’s original court-restored identity card and inserting the brass key onto the velvet counter tray.
The clerk inspected the key and the court documents, nodding respectfully. "Right this way, Miss Miller. Your father’s box has remained untouched for five years."
Deep within the subterranean vault, behind two-ton steel doors, the clerk unlocked box 314 and stepped back to give her privacy. Lily opened the steel box. Inside lay an encrypted flash drive, an audio cassette tape, and a notarized document bearing the signatures of both Victoria Vance and Charles Sterling, detailing their plan to murder David Miller and frame him for embezzlement.
Suddenly, the heavy vault door clicked open behind her.
"I must admit, Lily, you are far more resourceful than your father ever was," a raspy voice echoed through the steel room.
Lily spun around. Standing behind two armed private security guards was not Sterling, but Julian Vance—Arthur’s long-lost brother who had been presumed dead three years ago. His face was scarred, his eyes filled with a predatory coldness.
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"Julian Vance," Lily breathed. "You're alive."
"Alive, and about to reclaim what my foolish brother gave away to charity," Julian sneered, stepping into the room with a silenced pistol raised. "Give me the flash drive, girl. Do it now, and I might let you and your little brother live in exile."
