Chapter 8 - The Siege of the Vault
We ran deeper into the mountain tunnel until we hit a pair of massive reinforced iron doors stamped with the weeping eye symbol. The entrance to the Vault.
"IN HERE!" I shouted, shoving Leo through a service door beside the main gates and throwing the heavy iron crossbar into place just as boots slammed against the outside.
THUD! THUD!
"OPEN THE DOOR, MAYA!" Arthur’s voice echoed through the iron grille. "YOU ARE TRAPPED!"
I ignored him and looked around the circular stone chamber. At the center sat a brass pedestal holding an ancient, leather-bound ledger wrapped in heavy iron chains. The 1888 Charter. Beside it sat three large industrial cans of diesel fuel for the emergency generators.
A terrifying, beautiful idea ignited in my mind.
I unscrewed the cap of a fuel can and poured the amber liquid over the ancient book, the chains, and the wooden pedestal.
"MAYA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Arthur shrieked from outside. "THAT LEDGER CONTAINS THE LEGAL FOUNDATION OF A FOUR-BILLION-DOLLAR ESTATE!"
"It contains the blood of my family!" I screamed back, pulling my father’s brass Zippo lighter from my purse.
May you like
I flicked the wheel. A dancing orange flame bloomed in the dark.
"Now watch your empire burn."
