Married to a Billionaire Stranger

Chapter 25: The Vault of Shadows

The gates of the King estate groaned open just past midnight.

Xavier had shut off the headlights as the SUV rolled down the narrow gravel road, relying on the glow of the moon to guide them. Ella sat beside him, clutching her coat tightly around her shoulders. The forest on either side whispered like it remembered every secret the Kings had buried within it.

They didn't speak. The plan had already been decided.

The house, now unoccupied, was still under corporate ownership. The guards had been reassigned. The system, according to Xavier's credentials, hadn't been updated since his father's death.

But that didn't mean they were alone.

"We're not going through the front," Xavier said as they parked behind the greenhouse.

Ella followed him through a back corridor that led into the west wing. Dust lined the windowsills. Portraits of stern men with colder eyes stared down from high walls. Xavier paused at one—his grandfather.

"He was worse than my father," he muttered.

They moved deeper into the mansion, past shuttered rooms and boarded offices, until they reached a steel door hidden behind a false panel in the study.

Xavier typed in a code.

The door clicked open.

The vault.

Ella stepped in behind him, the air immediately cooler, thicker. Like the walls were holding their breath.

Rows of locked drawers, document safes, and old filing cabinets stretched across the room. Some were labeled. Some weren't.

"We're looking for anything marked K.C.," Xavier said. "Or Legacy Projects."

They worked quickly, methodically.

Ella found a drawer marked "CLASSIFIED: LEGACY 1998."

Inside was a file. And beneath that—a small case with a worn audio cassette.

She held it up. "You think this still works?"

Xavier grabbed a nearby recorder—dusty, but intact. He popped the tape in.

Static.

Then a voice.

Anthony King.

"File entry. March 12, 1998. Katherine Carter. Subject remains defiant. Refuses to comply. Child is due in four months. She believes she can disappear. Charles says we need to maintain distance. Let the doctors do their job. If necessary, we remove the child once it's born. I don't care how. I want it raised as mine. Trained as mine."

Ella's hand flew to her mouth.

The tape continued. "This child is the clean slate. Not like Xavier. This one won't question. This one will be loyal."

Xavier stepped back like he'd been punched.

"Pause it," he said.

Ella hit stop.

"You were always the backup," she whispered.

He nodded, slowly. "I always thought I was a disappointment. Now I know why."

Ella reached for his hand. He didn't pull away.

Footsteps creaked overhead.

They froze.

Then the door to the vault slammed shut.

Lights flickered. The lock re-engaged.

"We're not alone," Ella whispered.

Xavier ran to the door. Pushed. No use.

Then, from the far wall—a vent grating scraped open.

A shadow moved.

A man stepped into the light.

Charles King.

Older. Paler. But very much alive.

"I warned you, Xavier," he said.

Ella stepped forward. "You lied. You buried her. You tried to erase me."

Charles' lips curled. "And yet, here you are. Just as stubborn as your mother."

Xavier moved to shield her. "You're done, Charles. We have everything. The file. The tape."

"You have nothing without proof of paternity," Charles said coldly. "And even then, what jury do you think will touch the Kings?"

He stepped closer.

"You forget, Xavier. This family owns silence. We pay for it in cash, or in blood."

A click.

Ella raised her phone. The red light blinked. Recording.

Charles froze.

"You walked right into your confession," she said.

Xavier smirked. "Smile for the board, father. You're going to make headlines."