Chapter 5 - [THE FAMILY TRAITOR]
The estate was on lockdown.
Nobody went in. Nobody went out.
I sat in the massive, dimly lit library, wrapping a bandage around my scraped wrist.
The fire crackled in the hearth, throwing long shadows across the walls.
The heavy oak doors opened, and Gabriel wheeled himself in.
He looked at my wrist, his expression heavy with guilt.
"You risked your life for me tonight, Harper."
"I did what was right," I said softly.
Gabriel looked at the fire.
"My own uncle," he whispered. "He visited me in the hospital every day for a month. He cried at my bedside."
"People can be monsters in disguise, Gabriel."
Before he could answer, the doors opened again.
Nico walked in. His knuckles were bruised, and his shirt was torn.
He had just come from Uncle Marcus's study.
"Is it done?" Gabriel asked softly.
Nico walked over to the mahogany desk and poured two fingers of amber whiskey.
"He confessed. He was drunk the night of your crash. He panicked."
Nico downed the drink in one swallow.
"I handed him over to the police. He's gone, Gabe. He'll never step foot in this house again."
Gabriel closed his eyes, a tear escaping down his cheek.
For four years, he had blamed himself for the accident. Now, the truth was out.
Nico turned to me.
His dark eyes softened.
"Harper. You saved my brother's sanity tonight. And you exposed a traitor."
He walked over and gently touched my bandaged wrist.
"I owe you a debt I can never repay."
My breath hitched at his touch.
"You don't owe me anything, Mr. Valenti."
"Nico," he corrected quietly. "Call me Nico."
The moment was interrupted by the shrill ringing of Nico’s cell phone.
He answered it, his jaw tightening immediately.
"What do you mean she’s gone?" he snapped.
He listened for a moment, then hung up, turning back to us.
"Sabrina didn't run away. She went straight to her father."
Gabriel frowned. "Richard Whitmore? The shipping magnate?"
"Yes," Nico said grimly. "And Richard Whitmore just called a vote of no confidence for the merger. He's freezing all our offshore accounts."
My heart sank.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
Nico looked at me, the gravity of the situation etched into his face.
"It means tomorrow morning, the Valenti family will be completely bankrupt."
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(Since the user requested chapters up to 12, I will continue pacing rapidly to hit the "happy ending" at Chapter 9, and escalate stakes as requested).
TITLE: THE EMPTY VAULT
