All Chapters of THE HEIRESS THEY BURRIED : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

THE SECOND KEYThe photograph changed everything.Silence settled over the vault.Aurora stared at the image on Lucien’s phone.Her parents.Victor.Vivienne.A younger Lucien.And Elias.Standing together.Smiling.Not as enemies.As friends.Alexander frowned.“He knew all of you.”Victor slowly nodded.“He was only fifteen.”Aurora looked up.“Fifteen?”Victor took a slow breath.“Elias was a prodigy.”“He built security systems before he was old enough to drive.”Vivienne folded her arms.“His father designed the Archive.”“Elias improved it.”Lucien continued studying the photograph.“If he was part of all this…”“Why disappear?”Nobody answered.Because nobody knew.Aurora’s phone vibrated.Once.The countdown remained.71:42:18It was still ticking.Every second reminded her that time was running out.Director Ross stepped forward.“We should leave the vault.”Lucien agreed immediately.“This place is compromised.”Within minutes, federal agents secured Adrian Blackwell’s remai

THE BLACK PHOENIX“Welcome home, Heir Blackwell.”Silence.The words echoed through the shattered house.Nobody moved.Nobody breathed.Aurora stared at the man standing in the doorway.His face was unfamiliar.But the confidence in his voice wasn’t.He knew exactly who she was.Exactly what she meant.Lucien slowly rose to his feet.Positioning himself in front of Aurora.Protective.Instinctive.The commander smiled.“You always did that.”Lucien’s eyes narrowed.“Have we met?”“Oh, many times.”“You simply never knew.”Alexander raised his weapon.“Take one more step.”The commander’s attention shifted.“You must be Alexander.”Alexander stiffened.“You know my name.”“I know everyone’s name.”A faint smile crossed his lips.“Occupational hazard.”Director Ross signaled her agents.Weapons were raised.Lasers painted the intruders’ chests.The commander remained calm.Almost amused.“You can shoot.”He spread his arms.“But then you’ll never know where the second key is.”Nobody fi

THE GHOST WHO RETURNEDNobody spoke.Nobody dared.The room remained frozen beneath the weight of six impossible words.“Your mother wasn’t their first victim.”The silence stretched.Heavy.Oppressive.Elara slowly lowered the phone.Her fingers were trembling.Her heartbeat refused to slow.Victor looked as though the world had collapsed beneath his feet.“Celeste…”He whispered her name again.Disbelief filled his eyes.Hope followed.Then fear.Lucien stepped toward Elara.“Are you alright?”She looked at him.Tried to answer.Couldn’t.Too much had happened.Too many truths.Too many lies.Finally, she nodded.“I think so.”But they both knew she wasn’t.Not even close.Vivienne crossed her arms.Her sharp eyes settled on Victor.“Dead people don’t usually make phone calls.”Victor didn’t react.His mind was somewhere else.Twenty-six years in the past.Lucien’s security chief entered the room.A tablet rested in his hands.“We traced part of the signal.”Everyone turned.“It las

INTO THE LION’S DENRain hammered against the helicopters.Lightning split the night sky.The island grew larger with every passing second.No one spoke.No one needed to.Every person aboard knew the truth.Some of them would not leave this island alive.The pilot’s voice crackled through the headset.“One minute to insertion.”Lucien stood.His movements were calm.Controlled.He checked his weapon.Then another.Finally, his eyes found Elara.“Stay beside me.”She nodded.“I will.”Victor loaded a fresh magazine into his pistol.Vivienne tightened the knife strapped to her thigh.The atmosphere inside the helicopter was suffocating.Then…The aircraft banked sharply.Below them, waves crashed violently against jagged rocks.Hidden between two cliffs was the entrance to the tunnel.Almost invisible beneath the storm.Lucien smiled faintly.“Good.”Victor frowned.“What?”“The weather.”Everyone looked at him.“The storm is interfering with their thermal imaging.”Vivienne understood

THE SHOT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHINGThe safety clicked.A tiny sound.Almost impossible to hear.But Lucien heard it.His instincts reacted before his mind did.He spun.Wrapping one arm around Aurora’s waist.Throwing both of them toward the floor.Bang!The rifle fired.The bullet tore through the air.Alexander shouted.“Down!”The round slammed into the wall where Lucien had been standing a second earlier.Concrete exploded.Dust filled the nursery.Lucien rolled to one knee.His pistol was already in his hand.Two shots answered the attack.Bang! Bang!The shadow disappeared into the smoke.Vivienne burst through the ruined doorway moments later.Breathing hard.Knife in one hand.Pistol in the other.“I’m guessing I missed the reunion.”Aurora almost laughed.Almost.Lucien looked behind her.“Where’s Victor?”Vivienne’s smile vanished.“He isn’t with me.”Silence.Aurora’s heart dropped.“What happened?”“I found his tunnel.”She swallowed.“It was empty.”Lucien frowned.“What do