Chapter 15 - UNDER THE CONSERVATORYMaya hit stone hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs.
Victoria landed beside her with a curse, still gripping her hair. Dust filled Maya’s mouth. Somewhere above, Nathan shouted her name, but the sound came muffled through layers of old flooring and earth.
A hidden passage.
Of course.
Edward Sterling had built secrets into everything.
Victoria shoved Maya forward. “Move.”
Maya pushed herself up, dizzy and aching. Her injured wrist throbbed so violently she thought she might faint, but Victoria pressed a small pistol against her back.
“I said move.”
The tunnel beneath the conservatory was narrow, lined with damp brick and rusted pipes. Old wall lamps flickered weakly, powered by some backup system Victoria had clearly restored. The air smelled of mold and roses long dead.
Maya walked.
Behind her, Victoria breathed hard.
“You’re bleeding,” Maya said.
“Worry about yourself.”
“You fell too.”
“I’ve survived worse than falling with you.”
Maya believed that.
Victoria’s madness was not wild anymore. It had sharpened into purpose.
“Where does this go?” Maya asked.
Victoria laughed. “To the place Rose should have died.”
Maya’s skin prickled.
Above them, faint thuds echoed. Nathan and the police were searching.
But the tunnel twisted and split. Victoria knew the path. No one else did.
Maya forced herself to think.
Victoria wanted the final document. Marcus wanted it too. If Victoria had taken Maya instead of fleeing alone, then Maya still mattered as access. Bloodline access. Vault access. Something only Rose’s descendant could open.
They reached an iron door.
A keypad blinked beside it.
Victoria grabbed Maya’s injured wrist.
Maya cried out.
“Wrong hand,” Victoria snapped, then seized Maya’s bleeding palm and pressed it against a scanner.
The door clicked open.
Inside was a small underground room.
Unlike the tunnel, this space was clean.
Recently cleaned.
In the center stood a steel table. On it lay photographs, maps, bank records, and a small wooden box carved with roses.
Maya recognized the carving.
Her grandmother had kept a similar box beside her bed.
Victoria shoved her toward it.
“Open it.”
Maya stared. “What is inside?”
“The thing Marcus needs and I deserve.”
“You don’t even know.”
Victoria’s slap snapped Maya’s face to the side.
Maya tasted blood.
“Open it.”
Maya looked at the box.
No lock was visible. Only a shallow groove in the shape of Rose’s bracelet.
The broken bracelet was not with Maya.
It was at the mansion.
Victoria realized at the same time.
Her face twisted.
“No,” she whispered. “No, no, no.”
Maya almost smiled despite the pain.
“You planned everything except the one thing you broke.”
Victoria screamed and swept papers from the table.
For one moment, she looked less like a villain and more like a child denied a throne she had imagined since birth.
“You don’t understand,” Victoria said, voice shaking. “I was raised for this. Every dinner, every lesson, every charity event, every smile. I was told the estate needed someone strong. Nathan was too soft. Cecilia was too old. The board was too greedy. I was going to save the Sterling name.”
“By framing me?”
“By removing a threat.”
“I was never a threat until you made me one.”
Victoria pointed the gun at her.
“You were born one.”
The words chilled Maya.
Before Maya could respond, a sound came from the tunnel.
Footsteps.
Victoria spun.
“Nathan?” Maya called.
A voice answered.
Not Nathan.
Marcus Vale entered the room holding a gun of his own.
His suit was dusty but his smile remained intact.
“Victoria,” he said, “you have made a remarkable mess.”
Victoria’s face changed from relief to suspicion. “Where is Lila?”
“Alive. For now.”
“And the police?”
“Delayed.”
Maya backed toward the table.
Marcus noticed and aimed at her.
“Do not.”
Victoria lifted her chin. “We need the bracelet.”
Marcus looked at the wooden box. “Yes. Because you shattered the key in a tantrum.”
Victoria’s eyes flashed. “Careful.”
“No,” Marcus said. “You be careful. Your usefulness is nearly over.”
The room went silent.
Victoria stared at him.
Maya saw understanding dawn.
Marcus had never planned to share power with Victoria.
He had used her ambition the same way she used the staff.
Victoria whispered, “You promised me the estate.”
Marcus laughed softly. “My dear, your family has owed mine for three generations. The estate was never going to you.”
He turned to Maya.
“It was always going through her.”
May you like
Maya’s blood went cold.
Then Marcus said, “Congratulations, Mrs. Sterling. You are about to sign back everything Rose Calloway stole from us.”
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