Chapter 12 - Sealed in Stone
The ventilation system immediately cut out, leaving the vault in absolute, tomb-like silence except for Victoria’s ragged, sobbing breaths.
Above the heavy steel door, a small surveillance camera clicked, its red LED glowing brightly in the dim emergency lighting.
A crackle of static echoed through the vault’s emergency intercom speaker.
"Victoria," Arthur Sterling’s voice resonated through the metal chamber, cold, detached, and devoid of any paternal warmth. "You always were an untidy girl."
Victoria pulled herself up against a row of brass lockers, holding her limp, broken wrist against her ribs. Her face was flushed with terror. "Father! Open the door! Julian is in here—he has the files!"
"I know what he has, Victoria," Arthur replied smoothly. "And I know what you took from my desk. You truly believed you could use my own records to blackmail the board into naming you chief executive?"
"Father, please!" she cried, her voice stripping away every shred of aristocratic arrogance, reducing her to a pleading child. "Send Gregory down! Unlock the seals!"
"Gregory is the one who activated the vault lock, my dear," Arthur said. "The Old Harbor Trust has an exceptional fire-suppression protocol. In sixty seconds, the Halon gas system will deploy to protect the paper assets from heat damage. It removes all oxygen from the vault within three minutes."
Julian stepped in front of the speaker, his voice cutting through the intercom. "Arthur! Clara is in here! She is an innocent child! Let her out!"
A short pause followed. Through the speaker, the faint clinking of ice against crystal could be heard.
"A regrettable casualty, Julian," Arthur said dispassionately. "A tragic family suicide. The distraught groom slays his daughter and bride in an abandoned bank vault, suffocating before authorities can arrive. The press will find it deeply poignant. The Sterling family will mourn generously."
"You monster!" Julian yelled.
"Goodbye, Victoria," Arthur said.
May you like
The intercom went dead.
Above their heads, a harsh yellow warning light began to strobe against the ceiling, accompanied by the low, mechanical hiss of high-pressure gas beginning to vent into the air ducts.
