Chapter 221
Jonathan’s POV
Rollings House – two weeks later
I got discharged a week after the incident.
Later on I took a week off as now my arm functions are a bit limited.
But as per the representative’s suggestion, it took us four days to pack everything and today I was finally moving into the Rollings House.
I stood before the door of the house as I looked at the enormous building that stood before me.
It was twice the size of the Rollings Mansion I made back then.
For years, I never knew this house existed, and today here I was ready to stay here.
“Jonathan,” Veronica asked softly.
“If you’re ready p>
I nodded.
“I never realized I had been waiting to enter my own home without even knowing I would have that day p>
I felt emotionally overwhelmed as today I was entering a home that was mine, yet I didn’t make it.
For as far as I can remember, everything I have is what I made or had to make.
Today I was entering a house my father left me.
My mother protected me.
As we entered, the kids ran upstairs and quickly chose their own rooms.
The master bedroom was already set for me and Veronica.
A gift from Isabella and Daniel for us.
As we settled in, I felt everything…old, yet carefully preserved.
“Kids be careful,” I called out.
“I’ll have the repair team come and fix it a bit p>
“Got it dad,” Joshua called out.
The wooden railing needed mending as we walked up the stairs and noticed the old family portraits on the wall.
On entering the master bedroom, we noticed a suitcase in the corner of the room.
The furniture wasn’t brand new, but the caretakers did their best in preserving it.
Then Veronica noticed a small mark on the dressing table mirror.
“Jonathan,” she called out.
“Look the River symbol p>
“I daresay the dressing table was given to your mother by her parents when she came here as a bride p>
“Do you find anything familiar?” she asked me.
“I mean you were a toddler back then p>
I could feel their presence, but not remembering anything p>
I was a blank page on that matter.
I was checking each room, when I came across a room that I think was my mother’s personal study.
There was an old desk and some novels on the bookshelf.
I froze as I saw a small photo frame of a mother with a man.
I picked it up and read the writing on it:
To my wife, Jonathan Rollings.
A tear slipped my eye as I realized this frame must be a gift to mother, and the man was my father.
Veronica placed her hand on my shoulder as she knew I never saw him.
Then I noticed a small diary so I picked it up.
I traced my mother’s handwriting with my fingers.
If you are reading this then that means you are safe and survived.
Somehow surviving without my parents…today…made me feel empty inside.
I wasn’t happy about this.
My father got killed in that massacre.
My mother died protecting me and my inheritance.
I had a mixed feeling of hope for the future as well as longing to be able to hug my parents at the same time.
“Jonathan?” Veronica called out.
“Look,” she said.
“There’s some engraving here p>
“Odd, this section doesn’t match the rest of the table.” I said as I examined it.
It resembled one of the bookshelves that was slightly shorter than the rest.
We noticed a panel was carefully concealed behind it.
We touched it at several places, but it refused to budge.
“Mother always used to be very cautious,” I said, recalling.
“I thought it was her habit p>
“She never spoke about my grandparents p>
“Let alone us having a big house like this p>
“Maybe not telling you about all this was her way of keeping you safe,” Veronica said.
“Jonathan, look at the floor p>
Again Veronica noticed there was something different about the floor.
I tapped on the place with my feet, but I didn’t notice anything.
Then Veronica suddenly knelt near the old wall.
“Here p>
I also knelt beside her and tapped on the floor.
Indeed there was a hollow place.
We moved the rug away and inspected the boards.
I noticed a narrow shape on the boards as I tapped on the hollow area.
“Wait.” I said as I remembered another one of my mother’s messages.
She told me not to look for things that are not ready to come forward.
“Maybe this is what she meant when she said to not look for things that don’t come in front of me by themselves p>
My heart races as I wasn’t simply exploring an old house, I was following my mother’s trail.
It took us several minutes before we could find the mechanism under the wall molding.
I pressed one side…nothing happened.
Veronica pressed another side…nothing happened.
“Jonathan,” she said.
“Let’s press it together p>
Veronica assumed my parents loved each other so they must have made a lock that two can open.
It worked.
A part of the wall shifted as it opened into another room.
I tapped on the side of the wall and found a light switch.
On turning it on, we saw another room full of books.
“Your mother knew one day you will come p>
“She wanted you to find it p>
“She knew I would have a smart wife like you,” I smiled.
We stepped inside.
There was a reinforced chamber inside and the gate was made from a thick metal and it had multiple locks.
The River symbol was engraved on the door.
“The vault!” Veronica said as we saw the symbol.
I exhaled as I realized I was standing right in front of the vault the River family protected under the treaty.
I also realized my father didn’t just build a home, he built a place to protect my inheritance.
I already had the keys so I used the ones that fit and unlocked the vault.
We walked inside.
Empty.
The vault was empty.
No cash.
No gold bars.
No jewelry.
No ancient stones.
No rare or historical stones.
“Did some empty the vault?” Veronica asked me as she was looking around.
I was also studying the room as I also wanted to know what happened here.
“There’s no sign of an intrusion or any forced entry p>
“The locks are untouched p>
“I unlocked every lock carefully p>
I looked around and saw there was no shelf, no table or plank.
It was as if the vault was made to stay empty.
“Why would mother and father protect an empty vault?” I said as I looked around.
I was confused and disappointed at the same time.
An empty vault?
Again Veronica noticed something in the center of the vault.
“Jonathan,” she called out.
“Nicky,” I said, smiling.
“I think Vance could use your help p>
I noticed it was a keyhole.
But not a normal looking keyhole.
I leaned forward as I recognized the symbol.
It was the shape of an almost prefect heart.
I recalled the Blue Heart.
The shape of the gemstone fitted perfectly.
“The Blue Heart is designed to fit in this place,” I said as I realized this fact.
Veronica also touched the empty place.
“Yes,” she said, smiling.
“I remember touching the shape of the Blue Heart p>
“It’s the same p>
I exhaled as I realized the Blue Heart is the key to the vault.
The Blue Heart wasn’t stolen because it was a rare shaped gemstone.
It was stolen because it was the key to the River vault.
“No wonder everyone wants the Blue Heart p>
“My mother knew if they knew the Blue Heart was the key, then when I found it, they would come after me p>
“She deliberately made them think it was just a rare shaped gemstone p>
I finally understood why it was so important to protect the Blue Heart.
“The Blue Heart was never meant to be kept protected inside the vault p>
“It is what can open the River vault p>
I exhaled as now the Blue Heart was safe inside the Federal vault.