Chapter 177
Ariana paced inside the small cabin, her mind racing with plans and counterplans. She was determined not to let Lily or Alexander gain the upper hand, especially after the chaos they had all endured. Ariana's hatred for Lily ran deep—she despised her for standing by Alexander, for trying to play the perfect wife while secretly maneuvering to keep Ariana and Carolina at bay. Ariana saw Lily as a traitor, someone who had sided with the enemy and betrayed any chance of an alliance between them. In Ariana’s eyes, there was no room for forgiveness or truce.
She focused on the encrypted drive she had managed to steal during the chaos. The data contained snippets of the Architect's plans, though fragmented. Ariana believed that if she could piece together the information, it might give her leverage—not just over Alexander and Lily, but even over her mother, Carolina. It was risky, but Ariana knew that in this game, risks had to be taken.
A sudden ping from her secure line brought her out of her thoughts. It was a message from a contact she’d paid handsomely to keep her hidden. The message read: “Caleb’s vault is the key. Alexander is searching for it. Carolina too.”
Ariana’s face darkened. “So they know about the vault,” she murmured to herself. Her thoughts drifted to Caleb, Lily’s grandfather. He had always been a wild card—unpredictable, and with a history that was deeply entwined with power and secrets. If Caleb’s vault truly contained something that both Alexander and Carolina wanted, then it could tip the scales in this power struggle.
She knew she needed to act fast. She couldn’t afford to let Alexander or his beloved Lily reach the vault first. “It’s time to disrupt their little family reunion,” she said with a smirk, slipping her encrypted drive into her bag. She had no intention of letting the two of them enjoy their advantage.
***
Back at the estate, Lily and Alexander were in Caleb’s study, trying to extract whatever information they could about the hidden vault. Alexander had confronted Caleb earlier, pressing him for answers, but his grandfather-in-law had been cryptic, insisting that some secrets were better left buried. Caleb’s words lingered in Alexander’s mind: “You think you understand power, but there are things even you aren’t prepared to face.”
Lily, however, was less patient. She knew that Ariana would stop at nothing to turn the tables, and the longer they stayed in the dark about the vault’s contents, the more vulnerable they were. “Alexander, we have to push harder. Caleb’s keeping something from us, and we can’t afford to be blindsided by Ariana.”
Alexander glanced at Lily, seeing the determination in her eyes. He knew she was right—Lily always had a way of cutting through the noise and focusing on what needed to be done. But he also knew that Caleb’s secrets could be dangerous. “If we push too hard, we might unleash something we can’t control,” he warned.
Lily crossed her arms, her gaze steady. “We don’t have a choice. Ariana is out there, plotting against us. She won’t stop until she takes us down. We need to stay ahead.”
As they argued, Caleb watched them from the shadows of his study, listening to every word. A deep sigh escaped him. He knew the time was near—soon, the vault would be uncovered, and with it, the dangerous truth that he had kept hidden for so long. But Caleb also knew that revealing it could destroy everything he had built, everything his family had fought for.
***
Meanwhile, Carolina had received her own intelligence about the vault and the renewed conflict between her daughter, Ariana, and Alexander’s family. She sat in her luxurious office, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk. She was furious—furious at Ariana for going rogue, furious at Alexander and Lily for their interference, and furious at Caleb for withholding crucial information.
“Ariana thinks she can act alone, but she’s still a child playing with fire,” Carolina hissed to herself. “And Alexander and that wife of his—always so sure of themselves, as if they’ve already won. But I will show them what it means to cross me.”
Carolina picked up the phone and dialed a number. “It’s time to move forward with our plan. Get ready for the next phase,” she ordered, her voice icy and commanding. She had her own methods of finding the vault, and she wouldn’t let anyone—not Alexander, not Lily, and certainly not Ariana—stand in her way.
As she ended the call, Carolina’s eyes glinted with a dangerous resolve. “Let the games begin,” she muttered under her breath.
***
A few miles away, Ariana slipped through the forest, making her way back towards the estate. She had no intention of going in directly—she wasn’t foolish enough to face Alexander and Lily head-on. Instead, she planned to watch them, to use the information she had to disrupt their efforts. She knew that the vault was the key to everything, but what she didn’t know was how far Caleb would go to protect it.
Just as she reached the edge of the estate grounds, she caught sight of movement in the distance. It was Lily, standing by one of the estate’s old gates, talking quietly to Maxwell. Ariana crouched down, staying hidden among the trees, and strained to hear their conversation.
“…must find the vault before Carolina makes her move,” Lily was saying, her voice firm. “And we need to ensure that Ariana doesn’t get in our way.”
Maxwell nodded, glancing around warily. “I’ve already put extra security on the estate, but we need to be ready for anything. Caleb isn’t giving up his secrets easily.”
Ariana’s grip tightened around the branch she was holding. She had heard enough. With a grim smile, she turned and retreated back into the woods, her mind racing with a new plan. If Alexander and Lily thought they could outmaneuver her, they were wrong. Ariana would ensure that this game of secrets and power ended on her terms.
She was done playing by everyone else’s rules. Now, it was time for her own.
***
In his study, Caleb watched the hidden monitors displaying the movements around the estate. He knew where each piece was positioned in this dangerous game—Alexander, Lily, Ariana, Carolina. And he knew that the final act was about to begin. But what none of them realized was that the vault held more than just secrets.
It held a power that, once unleashed, could change everything they thought they knew. And Caleb, for better or worse, was prepared to make sure that whoever reached it first would pay a price none of them could imagine.
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