Chapter 26 - Vault SevenThe room suddenly became colder.
Not because of the winter outside.
Because everyone knew the name.
Vault Seven.
A place spoken of only in whispers.
A place that officially didn't exist.
Adrian looked at Matteo.
"Where is it?"
Matteo hesitated.
"I don't know."
"You have the key."
"My job was only to keep it hidden."
He handed the silver key to me.
"The map was separated."
I frowned.
"What map?"
"The one your father tore into three pieces."
My heartbeat quickened.
"Three pieces?"
Matteo nodded.
"He knew one person couldn't be trusted with the entire location."
Evelyn suddenly reached into her handbag.
"I have one."
Everyone turned.
She unfolded an old piece of parchment.
Its edges were crumbling.
A faded drawing covered one corner.
"The nurse gave this to my mother before she disappeared."
Adrian slowly opened his wallet.
Without a word...
He removed another fragment.
"I found this inside Dad's watch after he died."
Two pieces.
Still incomplete.
Everyone looked at me.
Confused.
I didn't have anything.
Or...
At least...
I thought I didn't.
Then I remembered.
The photograph.
The one found beneath the fake Lorenzo's body.
The words written on the back.
I rushed across the room.
Pulled the photograph from my coat.
Carefully peeled away its backing.
Something thin slipped onto the table.
A third piece.
The three fragments fit together perfectly.
One complete map.
No one breathed.
At the bottom...
A single location was written.
St. Gabriel Orphanage.
Abandoned.
Closed for twenty-five years.
Sophia whispered,
"That's impossible..."
Alex frowned.
"I investigated that place."
"It burned down."
Matteo slowly shook his head.
"No."
"It was made to look like it burned."
The mansion lights flickered.
Every security monitor suddenly came alive.
The same image appeared on every screen.
A live video feed.
Someone was standing inside the ruins of St. Gabriel Orphanage.
The figure wore a long black coat.
Face hidden beneath a hood.
In one hand...
They held another silver key.
In the other...
A pistol.
Then the figure looked directly into the camera.
As if they knew we were watching.
A distorted voice echoed through the mansion.
"I've been waiting twenty-two years..."
The hood slowly lifted.
Everyone in the room gasped.
Because the face on the screen...
Was my father's.
May you like
Or someone who looked exactly like him.
And then the transmission ended.
Related Stories
