Chapter 5 - THE LOCKBOX THREAT
Grant took the brass key between his thumb and forefinger, holding it up so the overhead light glinted off its polished brass surface.
"What does it open, June?" Grant demanded, his tone sharpening into the cold, authoritative voice he used when presiding over his family's council table. "Answer me."
June glanced nervously toward the cracked door leading out into the corridor before leaning in close to Grant’s ear.
"It opens a lockbox," June whispered urgently. "A safety deposit box hidden in the vaults beneath St. Jude's Cathedral... a box your family never wanted you to find."
Grant’s dark eyes widened slightly as he processed her words. "My family?"
"Your mother's personal vault," June added, her voice trembling slightly under the weight of the secret. "Mara didn't steal your operational routes seven months ago, Grant. She found out what your mother was doing behind your back... and she was framed before she could bring the proof to you."
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Grant felt a cold knot form in his stomach. He looked back down at Mara, whose breathing had grown shallow and erratic. She pulled the light pink bedsheet higher up her chest, her entire body trembling with an unmistakable terror—not of Grant, but of the name June had just invoked.
She was terrified of what would happen if the Waverly family discovered where she was.
