Chapter 9 - The Girl Who Used to Hide Behind a Serving Tray Was Suddenly the Most Wanted Person in the RoomMy life changed overnight.
Reporters waited outside.
Lawyers called.
Historians wanted interviews.
Governments wanted access.
My aunt begged me to come home.
I refused.
The restaurant stopped putting me on public shifts.
Dominic's security doubled.
My father stayed hidden.
I was fourteen.
I didn't know how to be famous.
I barely knew how to be an adult.
One night, Dominic found me sitting alone in the library.
"I don't like this."
"Neither do I."
"You can still leave."
"Where would I go?"
He sat beside me.
"Somewhere safe."
I smiled.
"You're safe?"
"No."
"Then neither am I."
That made him laugh.
We became friends.
Not because of money.
Because we understood what it was like to inherit something you didn't ask for.
Then Vane appeared on television.
A video.
He said the archive belonged to him.
He claimed my father had stolen it.
He threatened everyone who had helped release the information.
He ended with:
"Olivia Hart will open the final vault."
I stared.
"There is a final vault?"
My father appeared behind me.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"In Europe."
"What's inside?"
"The original records."
"If Vane gets them?"
"The archive becomes useless."
I looked at Dominic.
"We go."
May you like
He nodded.
"Together."
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