“Yes, yes, we know. Be careful not to damage anything, and for god’s sake, stay away from the guns, the drugs, and the dead body.” Nana giggles and hurries deeper into the vault, and I feel a little guilty at being so excited and eager to trail after her. I mean, that could be the twins’ dad or grandfather lying there, but I feel like a pirate with his treasure or a dragon exploring its hoard. The fever has hit me, and there’s no stopping me now. I’ll apologize to the twins once it dies down a little.
Right as I think this, Jacinta shoves me out of the way and runs after Nana, so I guess the guilt isn't really necessary.
ChapterNineteen
Harlow
The sheer scope of the vault’s contents is staggering. Paintings, jewels, antiques, and artifacts are thrown together. There are three small stacks of gold bars, all of them evenly stacked except for one which is missing a few. Everything is kind of haphazardly placed except for the bars. It’s like someone was searching for something, and when they couldn’t find it, they sort of shoved everything back in. But what could they have been looking for that wasn’t any of this treasure trove? There’s so much valuable shit in here, I’m clueless as to what else someone might have wanted.
“I’m pretty sure this is a real Fabergé egg.” Jacinta holds up a clear case containing said egg, a glazed look on her face that’s usually only seen when she finds a beautiful piece of couture.
“And this is a Picasso,” Declan calls out, pointing at a painting that’s stacked against a whole heap of others.
Nana walks over, carefully holding up a pretty blue and white vase. “There is no mistaking this for anything other than a Ming.”
“These jewels are flawless and priceless; who knows where they came from.” Thomas’ voice comes from the side of the vault where he’s standing beside an honest-to-goodness chest. It looks like something you’d find in a pirate ship, and it’s overflowing with gems. Who the fuck was this guy?
“The only thing that can’t be found is the map of the grounds,” Kai comments, coughing a bit from the dust cloud that just blew up from the rug he was examining.
“How is it so dusty in here?” Holden asks, a curious look on his face. “Isn't the vault sealed airtight?”
“Well, someone else has obviously had access to it. First step, we need to figure out who that body is over there. That will rule out one suspect, and then I guess the remaining one has to be whoever is not dead. Didn’t Emma say that only her dad, the count, and Dragos had the code to get in? Only the count and Dragos had the right blood,” Oliver points out, and my heart sinks.
“Plus Jaxon’s mom and her friend,” I quietly add. There’s so much information running through my head, not to mention questions.
“Fuck, I had forgotten about that, but they wouldn't have gotten in without the code. Why did they keep taking blood if there was another security measure stopping them anyway?” Jaxon asks.
“Assuming that they used one of the passages to get in, my guess is they kept coming back to try different number combinations. With unlimited blood, they could have tried indefinitely,” Thomas muses.
“So why did our mom give us to Brad then? Without us, they were out of luck,” Jacinta says.
“Maybe she was protecting you,” Hope suggests, though even she sounds a little skeptical. “You said that she had argued with the lady the day before she went to Brad. What if her friend wanted more blood or wanted to take you from your mom, so she always had it on hand. Maybe by giving you to Brad she was actually doing right by you for the first time ever?”
Maybe I’m a pessimist, but I don’t know if I’m believing that. Okay, maybe it’s my own mommy issues getting in the way of Hope’s glass-half-full situation, but I’ll just silently reserve my judgment until we learn more. If there’s even a chance that the twins could come out with something positive about their mom at the end of this, I don't want to rain on that parade.
Jacinta and Jaxon exchange a glance, both of them with raised eyebrows, as they think about this new theory.
“Why come back when I was a teenager and kill the handyman?” Jacinta asks, and Hope shrugs.
“I don’t have those answers, sorry.”
“It’s actually not a bad theory,” Thomas says as he rubs his chin. “But for now we need to get out of here and call the police. We’re going to have to follow one of these tunnels all the way along until we find an exit. Without the map, there’s no other option.”
“And how are we going to explain to the authorities about finding the vault?” Declan asks.
“Emma showed it to us. Same story as what actually happened, but we exchange the elevator for the tunnel. It’s easy enough. I’ll go find an exit, and we can call them as soon as I do.”
“What if you get lost? Maybe you need some chalk or a piece of string to find your way back,” I ask, biting my lip with worry, and he smiles, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear.
“I’ll be fine, sweetheart. I’ll take Kai with me. I’m sure it won’t be too hard. They wouldn’t have wanted to risk getting lost with the drugs.”
“Okay. Is there cell reception down here?” I ask, and everyone holds out their phones to check.
“Nope, doesn't look like it.” Poppy shakes his silver hair and shoves his phone back into his pocket. “We need to do something about that. Find a way to communicate down here and in the tunnels just to be safe.”
“How do people in mines communicate?” I ask him, and his eyes light up.
“Good thinking, Hally. CB radio may be just the thing we need. I’ll have to look into it.”
