Chapter 4 - The Vault in the Nursery
Julian froze halfway down the grand staircase, his booted foot resting firmly on the polished oak tread. He turned his head upward, his dark eyes narrowing into suspicious slits as he stared at Victoria standing under the crystal chandelier. Clara halted beside him, her breathing hitched as she sensed the sudden, ominous shift in the atmosphere. Victoria descended the first three steps slowly, her posture straightening as she deployed the chilling, calculated confidence that had allowed her to manipulate Blackwood Estate for five years.
"What are you talking about, Victoria?" Julian demanded, his voice echoing in the cavernous foyer. "If this is another one of your malicious games to deflect blame, I swear to God—"
"It is no game," Victoria interrupted smoothly, her voice carrying a feigned note of deep, tragic resignation. "Why do you think I had to lock her in the panic room today, Julian? Because she found the master safe hidden behind the nursery wainscoting. She was trying to steal the original deed to the entire estate, along with the legal documents proving her mother's mental instability before the accident."
Clara gasped aloud, spinning around to face Victoria with sheer disbelief written across her bruised face. "That's a lie! Lily is ten years old! She doesn't even know what a deed is, let alone where a hidden safe is located!"
"Quiet, Clara. You are a domestic employee who was hired to clean floors, not to meddle in family legal matters," Victoria snapped, fixing the young maid with a look of pure venom. "Julian, you know as well as I do that Sarah suffered from severe paranoia and delusions before she drove her car off the cliff. Lily is displaying the exact same neurological markers. I found her trying to pry the wall open with a metal chisel this morning."
Julian stared at Victoria, the color slowly draining from his face as a deep, agonizing conflict warred within his dark eyes. He had loved his first wife deeply, and the lingering trauma of her tragic death had made him dangerously vulnerable to Victoria’s insidious gaslighting over the years. He looked down at Lily, who stirred faintly in his arms, her eyelids fluttering as she whispered an incoherent plea for her mother.
"Put her in the car, Clara," Julian instructed quietly, handing the unconscious child over to the trembling maid. "Drive straight to St. Jude’s Pediatric. I will meet you there after I verify Victoria's claim."
"Mr. Vance, no! Don't listen to her!" Clara cried out, clutching Lily tightly to her chest as she backed away toward the front door. "She's lying to cover her tracks! She keeps the real secrets in her private studio downstairs!"
Before Clara could reach the heavy front entrance, Victoria lunged forward with terrifying speed, slamming the massive oak door shut and turning the deadbolt with the second key from her gold ring.
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"Nobody is leaving this house until Julian sees the nursery wall," Victoria declared, her voice ringing with absolute, unhinged authority as she pocketed the keys.
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