Chapter 12 - The Underground Vault
By evening, the old Collins Manufacturing Plant had become a restricted area.
Police cruisers blocked every entrance.
Private security teams established a second perimeter.
No one except the authorized investigation team was allowed inside.
Margaret had not visited the factory in over twenty years.
Standing before the rusted gates, memories flooded back.
She remembered Richard walking through the assembly lines, greeting every employee by name. He had always believed a company was built by people, not machines.
Now the enormous buildings stood silent.
Dust covered the broken windows.
Nature had slowly reclaimed the parking lot.
Michael led the group into the oldest warehouse.
Rebecca carried Richard's journal.
Edward held the blue key found inside the attic.
According to the journal, the vault entrance had been disguised beneath the first production line.
After nearly an hour of searching, one of the engineers discovered a steel plate hidden beneath decades of concrete dust.
The blue key fit perfectly.
With a heavy metallic click, hydraulic locks that had not moved in decades slowly released.
A circular platform descended into darkness.
Cool air rushed upward.
Margaret closed her eyes.
"This was Richard's emergency archive."
Michael looked surprised.
"You knew about it?"
"I knew it existed."
"You never came here?"
Richard had once made her promise.
"If the vault ever opens after I'm gone, it means someone betrayed our family. I hope that day never comes."
The elevator stopped nearly forty feet underground.
Rows of fireproof cabinets lined reinforced concrete walls.
Everything remained untouched.
No signs of forced entry.
No missing files.
Only one cabinet stood open.
Inside...
there was nothing.
Rebecca frowned.
"The Blue Ledger should be here."
Michael examined the empty compartment.
There was no dust.
Someone had removed the ledger recently.
Very recently.
Then Detective Nolan received a radio call.
Her expression immediately changed.
"The man who escaped through the attic..."
She looked toward everyone.
May you like
"...has just been found."
"But he's dead."
