Chapter 21 - The Secret Vault Hidden Beneath The Garden Fountain
Marcus sprinted out to the garden, taking Clara by the arm and leading her inside the house before locking all storm doors securely.
He brought the black paper to his study desk, switching on an ultraviolet light fixture to scan the document for hidden chemical markers.
Under the glowing purple light, a secret series of GPS coordinates appeared across the bottom margin of the parchment in glowing green ink.
The coordinates pointed directly to a remote woodland plot near Valley Forge National Historical Park, located twenty miles northwest of the city.
Clara stood beside him, her face turning pale as she recognized the specific geographic location printed on the computer map screen.
"Marcus... that's the location of my father's private hunting cabin... the one that burned down twenty years ago," Clara whispered in shock.
"Your father didn't die in that cabin fire, did he, Clara?" Marcus asked, turning to look at his wife with intense, searching eyes.
Clara reached into her pocket, pulling out an old brass key she had found hidden inside her mother's private desk drawer that morning.
The key bore an engraved serial number that matched the emergency Override lock of a subterranean military vault built in 1978.
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Written on the back of the brass key was a fresh, hand-scratched message that read:
“Come alone before midnight, Marcus... or Clara will discover why her father never came home from the war.”
