Chapter 5 - The Secret of the Silver Locket
The elevator descended deep beneath the mansion, opening into a concrete bunker built into the bedrock beneath the estate.
It was stocked with emergency supplies, communications equipment, and medical gear. Marcus immediately slapped a heavy steel bar across the fortified door, securing us inside.
Lucy was crying softly, her head buried in my lap. Grimm lay down beside her, pressing his large body against her legs, letting her stroke his wet, scarred back. The dog was bleeding from a shallow graze along his shoulder where a bullet had clipped him, but he paid it no attention. His eyes were glued to the heavy metal door, waiting for any sign of breach.
"How did Nolan get the security codes?" I asked Marcus, my voice shaking as I wiped a tear from Lucy’s cheek.
"Someone on the inside gave them to him," Marcus said grimly, holding a bandage against a wound on his own arm. "Nolan promised the Moretti family total control of the New Haven docks if they helped him eliminate Vincent tonight. They thought Vincent was in Manhattan."
"Is he?" I asked, a sudden cold realization hitting me. "Did Vincent really go to Manhattan?"
Marcus looked at me, a dark, solemn expression on his face. "No. The Manhattan meeting was a decoy. Vincent knew Nolan was planning a move. He set a trap... but he didn't realize Nolan would strike the house first."
Suddenly, the satellite phone on the wall began to ring.
Marcus picked it up instantly. "Boss?"
I couldn't hear the voice on the other end, but Marcus’s expression shifted from intense anxiety to icy resolve.
"They're secure in the vault," Marcus said into the receiver. "The dog took down two of them. They're both safe."
Marcus listened for another few seconds, then handed the phone to me. "He wants to talk to you."
I took the receiver with a trembling hand. "Vincent?"
"Claire," Vincent’s voice came through, clear and cutting, despite the heavy static. "Are you hurt? Is Lucy okay?"
"We're fine," I breathed, letting out a breath I felt like I’d been holding for an hour. "Grimm saved us. Vincent, Nolan has the house. He has at least ten men out there."
"He had twelve," Vincent corrected calmly. "Now he has four. I just walked through the front gate, Claire."
My heart leaped into my throat. "Vincent, don't! It’s a trap!"
"No," Vincent said, his tone turning into pure steel. "It was a trap for him. I’m clearing my house. Stay in the vault until I come down to get you."
The line went dead.
I hung up the phone and leaned against the wall, my breathing ragged. I looked down at Lucy, who was reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a small, tarnished silver locket that she had found in the desk drawer in our suite earlier that week.
"Mommy," Lucy whispered, opening the tiny metal heart. "Look."
I leaned down to look at the photo inside the locket. On one side was a picture of my late husband, Thomas, in his military uniform. On the other side was a picture of a younger Vincent Hale, holding a tiny, dark puppy with a notch in its left ear.
Across the back of the photo, written in faded black ink, were five words:
May you like
To Thomas. Brothers forever. —V.
A heavy tear fell from my eye, hitting the silver casing. Thomas hadn't just been an employee or a bodyguard. He and Vincent had been brothers in every way that mattered. Vincent hadn't brought us here out of guilt or obligation. He had brought us here because we were the only real family he had left.
