Chapter 2 - The Woman Beneath the CityMarcus took them to an abandoned underground station.
It had once served the Vance family's private railway line.
Nobody used it anymore.
At least, officially.
Behind a rusted steel door was a hidden room containing computers, maps, weapons, medical supplies, and stacks of documents.
Eleonora stared.
“You've been preparing for this.”
Marcus nodded.
“For years.”
“Why?”
“Because Julian isn't the man everyone thinks he is.”
Eleonora looked around.
“Then tell me who he really is.”
Marcus opened a file.
“Julian Vance has been laundering money through eighteen companies.”
He opened another.
“Illegal acquisitions.”
Another.
“Blackmail.”
Another.
“Disappearances.”
Eleonora stared at the photographs.
Politicians.
Businessmen.
Journalists.
People who had once challenged Julian.
Most were missing.
Some were dead.
One photograph stopped her.
A younger version of herself stood beside Julian.
Behind them was her sister.
Eleonora touched the photograph.
“When was this taken?”
“Twenty-eight years ago.”
“That can't be.”
“It can.”
Marcus pointed at her sister.
“She was already alive.”
Eleonora's heart broke.
“She was watching me?”
“She tried to contact you.”
“How many times?”
“Seven.”
Eleonora's eyes filled with tears.
“And Julian stopped every message?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Because your inheritance was the key.”
Eleonora looked up.
“What inheritance?”
“The Vance dynasty wasn't built by Julian.”
Marcus opened another folder.
“Your biological family owned the original Vance shipping empire.”
Eleonora stared.
“That's impossible.”
“Your father founded it.”
“Then why was I adopted?”
“Because your father's partner wanted control.”
Marcus pointed to a name.
Sebastian Vance.
Julian's grandfather.
Eleonora whispered:
“My adoptive grandfather.”
Marcus nodded.
“He arranged the fire.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“He killed my family?”
“He tried.”
“And Julian?”
“Julian inherited the secret.”
Eleonora sat down.
Everything she had believed about her life was collapsing.
Her childhood.
Her adoption.
Her marriage.
Her wealth.
Her identity.
All built on stolen foundations.
Then Lily walked toward a wall.
She touched a photograph.
“That's my mommy.”
Eleonora turned.
The photograph showed her sister standing beside a man.
The same man whose voice had come through Julian's phone.
Eleonora's father.
But there was something strange.
He wasn't old.
The photograph was recent.
Taken only six months earlier.
Eleonora stared.
“My father is not being held by Julian.”
Marcus nodded.
“He's working with him.”
Eleonora felt sick.
“Why?”
“Because your father made a deal.”
“What deal?”
Marcus looked at Lily.
“He wants his granddaughter.”
Eleonora's blood ran cold.
“Why?”
“Because Lily inherited something.”
“What?”
Marcus opened a final folder.
Inside was a photograph of a ring.
The same ring Lily had worn around her neck.
Eleonora recognized the family crest.
Her father had once worn that symbol.
“What is it?”
Marcus answered:
“A key.”
“To what?”
“The original family vault.”
Eleonora stared.
“And what's inside?”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“The documents proving who really owns the Vance empire.”
Before Eleonora could respond, every light in the underground room went out.
Marcus grabbed his weapon.
A red emergency light flickered.
Then the speakers crackled.
Julian's voice filled the room.
“Good evening, Eleonora.”
Her blood froze.
“You found my little hideout.”
Marcus whispered:
“He found us.”
Julian laughed.
“You always were clever, Marcus.”
Eleonora stepped toward the speaker.
“Where is my sister?”
A pause.
Then:
“Come and ask me.”
The speakers went silent.
Marcus looked at Eleonora.
“We need to move.”
“No.”
She picked up the family ring.
“We're going to him.”
Marcus stared.
“That is exactly what he wants.”
Eleonora slipped the ring onto her finger.
“Then we'll give him exactly what he wants.”
May you like
She looked at Lily.
“And we'll take my sister back.”
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