LOGINAniya’s POV“The person who has been controlling this entire operation.”My mother’s words echoed in my head.“And that person is someone you trust.”I stared at her.“Who?”She didn’t answer.The footsteps behind us grew louder.Marcus moved in front of us, raising his weapon.“Get behind me.”My mother grabbed my wrist.“Don’t trust anyone.”I looked at her.“Mom, you’re scaring me.”“You should be scared.”A shadow appeared at the end of the passage.Then another.Marcus aimed his gun.“Come any closer and I shoot.”A familiar voice answered.“Marcus, you really haven’t changed.”My heart stopped.I knew that voice.I had heard it countless times.A man stepped into the dim light.KC.My heart skipped.“No.”He stood there with Lily in his arms.My daughter was safe.But something about his expression was different.Cold.Controlled.My mother immediately grabbed my arm.“Aniya, don’t go near him.”I stared at KC.“What is happening?”He looked at my mother.“You finally told her.”
Aniya’s POV“Grandma.”The word left Lily’s mouth so quietly that for a second, I thought I had imagined it.Then I heard it again.“Aniya…”My mother.She was alive.I turned toward the collapsing vault.“Mom!”KC grabbed my arm.“Aniya, we need to get out.”“She’s in there!”“I know.”“I’m not leaving her.”Another section of the ceiling crashed down.Dust filled the chamber.Corbin coughed as he covered his face.“Then we have minutes, not hours.”I looked at the vault.The entrance was almost completely blocked by fallen stone.My mother was somewhere behind it.I handed Lily to KC.“Hold her.”His eyes widened.“What are you doing?”“Getting my mother.”“Aniya…”“Please.”He looked at me for a long moment before taking Lily into his arms.“I’m coming with you.”“No. Keep her safe.”“I’m not letting you go in there alone.”“I need you to protect Lily.”That stopped him.I turned toward the rubble.Marcus was already moving toward me.“I know another entrance.”I looked at him.“Th
Aniya’s POVThe vault doors burst open.A dozen armed men stormed into the chamber, their weapons raised and their faces covered with black masks.Lily screamed against my chest.I turned away from them, shielding her with my body.KC immediately stepped in front of me.“Stay behind me.”The first gunshot rang through the room.KC fired back.Chaos erupted.Corbin dragged me toward the side of the chamber while Marcus rushed to the control panel beside the vault.Madam Harlow disappeared behind two of her men, shouting orders.“Do not let Aniya leave!”Another bullet struck the wall above my head.I held Lily tightly and ducked behind a stone pillar.“Is she okay?” KC shouted.“She’s scared!”“Keep her down!”Corbin crouched beside me.“Give me Lily.”I glared at him.“Absolutely not.”“I can get her out through the service passage.”“You’ve lied to me too many times.”His face tightened.“Aniya, I am trying to save her.”“Then tell me the truth!”He glanced toward the gunfire.“There
Aniya’s POV“Mommy, don’t let them take my blood!”Lily’s scream tore through the chamber.I wrapped both arms around her and turned away from the glowing handprints.“No one is taking anything from you.”Madam Harlow stepped forward.“You cannot stop what has already begun.”The symbols on the wall grew brighter.Lily began trembling in my arms.KC moved between us and the vault.“Shut it down.”Madam Harlow smiled. “You still don’t understand. The vault is responding to Aniya’s memories. It has recognized the second heir.”“Lily is not an heir to anything,” I snapped. “She is my daughter.”“She is both.”A sharp pain spread through Lily’s body. She cried out and clutched her chest.I panicked.“What’s happening to her?”Corbin rushed toward us, but KC raised his weapon.“Stay back.”“Let me see her!”“You knew about this,” KC said. “You don’t get to come near her.”Corbin’s eyes filled with desperation.“I didn’t know the vault would activate this way.”“You brought her here.”“I wa
Aniya’s POV“Grandma said you were the one who killed her.”Lily’s tiny voice echoed through the chamber.No one moved.Madam Harlow stared at her, and for the first time, the calm expression on her face disappeared.“What did you say?” she asked.Lily buried her face against my neck.I looked at Madam Harlow. “Why would my grandmother tell Lily that?”“She didn’t,” Madam Harlow replied.Corbin’s eyes narrowed. “Then who did?”A slow smile appeared on Madam Harlow’s lips.“Your daughter has been hearing voices.”My blood ran cold.“What does that mean?”“She has been communicating with the vault.”I stared at her.“That’s impossible.”“Is it?”Madam Harlow walked toward the stone door.“The Harlow bloodline has always been more complicated than you were told. Your grandmother discovered that certain memories could be preserved through sound, images, and genetic triggers.”She placed her palm against the wall.“The vault was designed to recognize members of the bloodline. But it also r
Aniya’s POV“Finally, my little girl has come home.”The voice was familiar.Too familiar.My heart began to pound as a figure stepped out from the darkness beyond the stone door.Lily lifted her head from my shoulder.“Daddy!”She reached toward him.I froze.The man walked into the light, revealing a face I had spent months trying to forget.Corbin.Corbin Vale.My former husband.The man who had betrayed me.The man who had disappeared after leaving behind a letter claiming he had never stopped loving me.The man who had supposedly been protecting Lily.He smiled at our daughter.“Come here, sweetheart.”Lily struggled in my arms, reaching for him.I instinctively stepped back.“No.”Corbin’s smile disappeared.“Don’t be afraid, Aniya.”“You’re supposed to be missing.”“I was hiding.”“You let me believe you were dead.”“I needed everyone to believe it.”My voice shook with anger.“You let me think you abandoned us.”Corbin’s eyes darkened.“I had to keep Lily safe.”“By keeping he







