The midnight rain poured heavily over Willow Creek, washing away the quiet streets of the lower valley. Clutching the brass key tightly in her coat pocket, Lily hurried toward the town’s oldest brick building—the original Willow Creek Vault.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. Escaping the Sterling mansion was only the first step. If Victoria or Julian realized where she was heading, they would stop at nothing to cut her off.
Using the key she found in her late father’s journal, Lily unlocked the heavy iron side door and slipped into the dim, cold interior. The smell of old paper and damp stone filled the air. She walked down the narrow basement corridor until she reached the wall of oxidized brass safety deposit boxes.
Box #42.
With trembling hands, Lily inserted the small key. It turned with a heavy, metallic click.
She pulled the brass door open. Inside lay a single thick envelope sealed with red wax, along with an old, black-and-white photograph. Lily picked up the photo first. Her breath caught in her throat.
It wasn’t a photo of her father alone. It showed her father standing beside a young Victoria… but on the back of the photograph, written in her father’s handwriting, were the words: “The truth about the Sterling estate. Lily is the true owner.”
Unfolding the legal document inside the envelope, Lily’s eyes scanned the official court seal. Victoria hadn’t inherited the Sterling empire after all—she had forged the entire will after Lily’s father mysteriously vanished three years ago. Lily was never a charity case; she was the rightful owner of everything Victoria had stolen.
Suddenly, a loud, heavy footsteps echoed from the top of the vault stairs. The heavy iron door slowly creaked open…
(To be continued in Episode 4…)
