Chapter 5: The Secret Inside the Bank
I didn't sleep that night.
Neither did Damien.
At six in the morning, I stood in the penthouse kitchen holding a cup of coffee that had gone cold.
Shadow lay beside my feet.
He had eaten three small portions of chicken since I'd arrived.
It wasn't much, but it was more than anyone had managed in thirty days.
Damien entered wearing a charcoal suit.
"You're going to the bank?""
"Yes.""
"Then I'm coming.""
I looked at him.
"Why?""
"Because Corbin will be there.""
"He's my brother.""
"He's also a man who has threatened you for two years.""
I looked down at Shadow.
"Can he come?""
Damien glanced at the dog.
"He shouldn't be walking this much.""
"I don't want to leave him alone.""
Damien studied me for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Bring him.""
An hour later, we arrived at an old bank building in Brooklyn.
It was the kind of place that looked forgotten by the modern world. Marble floors, brass railings, and a security desk behind thick glass.
A woman in her sixties approached us.
"Mr. Ashworth?""
Damien handed her the key.
"We're here for Elena Lennox's safety deposit box.""
The woman examined it.
"Both beneficiaries must be present.""
I looked around.
"Corbin isn't here.""
"Then we cannot proceed.""
Damien placed a document on the counter.
"Check the records again.""
The woman disappeared into a back office.
I turned toward Damien.
"Why does everyone in your family make everything so difficult?""
He almost smiled.
"You've met my father.""
Before I could respond, the main doors opened.
Corbin walked inside.
He wore a navy coat and carried a leather briefcase.
"Sorry I'm late.""
I folded my arms.
"You're never sorry.""
He ignored me and approached the counter.
"Let's get this over with.""
The bank employee returned.
"Thank you. Please follow me.""
We descended a narrow staircase into a secure vault.
Rows of metal boxes lined the walls.
The woman stopped at number 417.
She inserted a key and stepped aside.
"Only the registered beneficiaries may handle the contents.""
Corbin reached for the box.
I caught his wrist.
"Don't touch it.""
He looked at my hand.
"Let go.""
"Not until you tell me why you were following me.""
His smile disappeared.
"You really don't know anything, do you?""
"No. That's why I'm asking.""
He leaned closer.
"Because Elena left something that belongs to me.""
"What?""
"Proof.""
"Proof of what?""
His eyes flickered toward Damien.
"That our father didn't kill her.""
Silence fell.
Damien stepped forward.
"Watch your mouth.""
Corbin laughed.
"Still pretending you don't remember?""
I looked between them.
"What does that mean?""
Damien's face was pale.
"Open the box.""
The bank employee nodded.
I inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
Inside were three things.
A sealed envelope.
A small cassette recorder.
And a photograph of my mother standing beside a black car.
I picked up the envelope.
My name was written across it.
For Briar, when she is old enough to understand.
My fingers trembled as I opened it.
The letter began simply.
My darling girl,
If you are reading this, I have failed to return to you. I need you to know that I never abandoned you because I didn't love you.
I swallowed hard.
I left because your father was being forced to choose between protecting you and protecting the family. I thought distance would save you both.
I stopped.
Damien looked at me.
"Keep reading.""
The next paragraph was worse.
The night I disappeared, I was supposed to meet Damien. I had discovered that Vincent was using Corbin to move money and weapons through companies registered in my name.
But someone changed the meeting location.
When I arrived, the car was already waiting.
My hands began shaking.
I continued.
Damien was there. He tried to save me. But someone had already made sure I would never leave that road alive.
I looked up.
Damien's eyes were fixed on the letter.
"You were there?""
He nodded.
"I was.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"I thought you were safer not knowing.""
I felt tears gathering.
"Did you see her die?""
His jaw tightened.
"Yes.""
Corbin suddenly laughed.
"Ask him what he did afterward.""
Damien turned.
"Get out.""
"Ask him why he kept the necklace.""
I touched the pendant around my neck.
Corbin continued.
"Ask him why he never returned it to Elena's daughter.""
Damien looked down.
"I couldn't.""
"Why?""
His voice broke.
"Because Elena gave it to me that night. She asked me to keep it safe.""
I stared at him.
"She gave you my necklace?""
He nodded.
"She told me it was the only way you could prove who you were.""
I sat down on a nearby bench.
For six years, I'd worn that necklace without knowing it carried the secret of my birth.
Then I noticed the cassette recorder.
"What's this?""
The bank employee explained that it had been stored with the box.
I pressed PLAY.
Static filled the vault.
Then a woman's voice emerged.
My mother's.
"Briar, sweetheart. If you've found this, listen carefully.""
My knees weakened.
"Your father is not Vincent. And Damien isn't the only person who knows what happened that night.""
I looked at Damien.
The recording continued.
"Someone inside our family helped arrange the accident. Someone I trusted. Someone who was supposed to protect both of my children.""
A pause.
Then my mother's voice became barely audible.
"Corbin knows who it is.""
I turned toward my brother.
He had gone completely still.
"Corbin?""
He stared at the recorder.
Then he whispered:
"She wasn't supposed to leave that recording.""
Damien grabbed him by the collar.
"What do you know?""
Corbin struggled.
"Let go!""
"WHO KILLED ELENA?""
Corbin's face twisted.
He looked directly at me.
Then he said:
"Your mother didn't die in an accident, Briar. She was murdered because she discovered who your real father was.""
Before anyone could move, the bank employee's phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
Then slowly turned toward us.
"Mr. Ashworth, the police are downstairs.""
Damien released Corbin.
"Why?""
May you like
The woman's face went white.
"They've received a report that Briar Lennox is wanted for the murder of Elena Lennox.""
