Chapter 6 - The midnight theft
The mansion was completely silent by midnight. The bright, cinematic colors of the day had been replaced by deep, velvety darkness, illuminated only by the soft glow of security lights.
Grace lay awake in her small quarters near the kitchen. She was fully dressed in her maid uniform, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear and adrenaline. Daniel had told her to leave her apron hanging on the back of the kitchen door, exactly where she always left it.
Down the hall, a shadow moved flawlessly through the darkness. Vanessa, dressed in entirely black silk rather than her usual pale-pink gowns, slipped into the kitchen. She moved with practiced, elegant silence. She found Grace's apron hanging on the hook. Her fair fingers quickly dug into the pocket, her breath hitching when she felt the cold, heavy metal.
She pulled out the silver key, a triumphant, malicious smile spreading across her face.
Vanessa didn't waste a second. She moved silently toward the west wing, descending the heavy stone stairs that led to the estate's underground basement. She reached the massive steel door of the vault. Her hands trembled slightly as she inserted the key into the heavy lock.
It turned with a satisfying, heavy click.
Vanessa pushed the heavy door open, stepping into the darkness of the vault room. She pulled a small flashlight from her pocket, sweeping the beam across the walls of safe deposit boxes. She moved toward the center pedestal, where Daniel kept a locked titanium box.
Suddenly, the bright, blinding halogen lights of the vault room snapped on.
Vanessa shrieked, dropping the flashlight. She spun around.
Standing in the doorway of the vault was Grace. She looked pale but fiercely strong, her soft brown hair tied back, completely calm under pressure.
"You shouldn't be down here, Miss Cole," Grace said quietly.
Vanessa’s shock instantly morphed into vicious rage. "You stupid girl. You followed me?"
"I didn't have to follow you," Grace replied. "You walked exactly where you were supposed to."
Vanessa lunged forward, her elegant facade completely shattering. She grabbed Grace by the shoulders, shoving her violently into the vault room. Grace stumbled, hitting her shoulder hard against the steel wall. Before Grace could recover, Vanessa slammed the massive steel door shut from the outside.
The heavy locking mechanism engaged with a terrifying echo.
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"Enjoy the dark, you little rat," Vanessa spat through the thick steel. "By the time Daniel finds you, I'll be gone, and this empire will be dust."
Vanessa turned and ran up the stairs, clutching the titanium box she had grabbed from the pedestal, believing she had just secured her ultimate victory.
