Chapter 10
Marcus Thorne stepped forward, holding a heavy set of master brass keys he had retrieved from the estate security console.
"The basement panic room requires a biometric override and the original Sterling family seal to open," Marcus explained, handing the keys to Jaxson.
"Which we happen to possess right here," Jaxson said, lifting the vintage locket necklace hanging securely around Elizabeth's neck.
The silver teardrop locket featured a hidden mechanical latch on its side, designed specifically to house a micro-encoded biometric key.
Elizabeth unclasped the necklace carefully, placing it into Jaxson’s calloused palm with complete and utter trust.
Jaxson walked toward the grand mahogany staircase leading down to the subterranean levels of the sprawling estate.
Elizabeth and Marcus followed closely behind him, their footsteps echoing through the silent, abandoned hallways of the once-terrifying mansion.
The small American flag on the side table flickered once as they passed, standing as a quiet witness to the restoration of justice.
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They reached the heavy steel reinforced door at the bottom of the basement stairs, illuminated only by emergency backup lights.
Jaxson pressed the silver locket against the biometric scanner embedded in the center of the reinforced steel door.
