Chapter 14 · The Vault Has Teeth

Ivy's smile doesn't reach her eyes. Never does.

"You found it," she says. Not a question. She's standing in the doorway like she owns the place, one hand resting on the frame, the other holding her phone. The screen's still lit. She was filming. Or calling someone.

I don't move. The photo of my mother's still in my hand. Two months ago. The coffee shop on Seventh. My mother, who I buried four months ago, sitting at a window table with a newspaper and a latte.

Lin steps in front of me. His back's to me but I can see his shoulders lock. "Get out."

"Oh, Yuhan." Ivy tilts her head. "Don't be rude. I helped you find this place, remember?"

My blood goes cold.

She walks in. Three steps. Her heels click on concrete. She's wearing black today. Fitted blazer. Pencil skirt. She looks like she's heading to a board meeting, not a condemned warehouse in the industrial district at eleven at night.

She glances at the open vault. At the papers scattered on the floor. At the photo in my hand.

"You really should've burned that," she says to Lin.