Chapter 232
Jonathan’s POV
Rollings House
Pressure was building up as the notices were piling up.
People who had their ancestral assets in the vault…were no longer quiet, and had begun questioning my identity as the River heir.
They were demanding proof, and that was to open the vault.
Some said as the heir, I should be able to access the vault whenever I need.
Some said I should hand over the vault to the council.
All of them had one thing in common…they all were connected to Alex Vale in one way or another.
I felt as if the walls were closing in on me.
A jewelry house member even said on live, if I was the River, why can’t I open the vault at will.
I knew they all wanted proof that I was the heir, which was quite sensible.
But it wasn’t as simple.
They were challenging my rights to be the heir, and they were using the vault as the bait.
Anger was boiling inside of me.
I got an inheritance, I never knew existed.
I became the heir to something I never asked for.
Now I’m being forced to prove something that came with my blood.
“Vance?” I said as I looked up.
“I just found out from some colleagues,” he said as he sat beside me.
“Alex has been talking around with some of the old houses p>
“So?” I asked with pinched eyes.
“These notices…you began receiving after they met him p>
“He’s asking them questions debating your identity p>
“Questions p>
“Yeah p>
“Like…if you’re the real heir, then why haven’t you opened the vault yet p>
“If you are the River heir, why is Veronica not wearing the Blue Heart like your mother did p>
“I can’t believe this,” I said, shocked.
“He’s turning uncertainty into a weapon to force me p>
“And this just came in p>
Vace handed me another notice.
“How come it came to you?” I asked.
“All of the notices have been coming right home p>
“This is a legal notice from Alex Vale requesting on behalf of the old houses to open the vault p>
I exhaled as I knew why he wanted me to open the vault.
I knew exactly what he’s after.
And that was trapping me into a tight spot.
My gaze fell on the crest on the River folder on the table and my mind drifted to the Blue Heart.
Thankfully it is safe in the Federal vault.
And only I can access it.
But ever since I found out it is the key to the vault…has made me more nervous than before.
And now things are more complicated.
Up till now, I was protecting the Blue Heart as a rare gemstone that belonged to my mother, the last thing I have of her.
Now p>
It was the key to the vault that held the River, Rollings and every old house’s assets inside of it.
Vance took his leave as I began to think about my mother’s warning.
She told me not to open the vault for the assets.
She told me to be careful and protect my family once the truth is known.
Somehow today her fear feels different from before.
Maybe the danger was never the River inheritance, but something connected to the vault.
For the first time since Veronica came back, my confidence was cracking.
“Jonathan?” Veronica called me as she saw me staring at the letter on the table.
“Jonathan,” Veronica asked me.
“Why are you allowing him to control you p>
“Nicky,” I exhaled.
“If I bring the Blue Heart out, he gets what he wants p>
“If I refuse, Alex will justify that I’m not the legal heir p>
“Either way, he’s getting the upper hand p>
“Jonathan,” Veronica asked me.
“Why are you proving who you are to those people who already doubt you p>
I exhaled as I realized I had been spending too much time trying to prove all cause Alex was adding fuel to the talk.
“Nicky?” I slowed down as I couldn’t figure out how and what to tell.
I paused for a brief moment.
“Nicky p>
“It’s what’s inside of the vault that matters p>
“The Rollings vault may seem empty p>
“But the River’s isn’t p>
“The vault contains River and Rollings assets, records, heritage jewelry, gemstones, and p>
“Assets of other old houses, and they can be the same and more p>
“Imagine River and Rollings assets count in millions p>
“And all those houses p>
“God knows what and how much their assets cost p>
“The vault has protected all of that up till now, and the Blue Heart is the key p>
“The outer vault isn’t just a vault waiting for the heir to fill it up p>
“It’s to tell once the vault opens, if by wrong hands, all vaults will be empty rooms.
“The vault was built to protect it all p>
“And the River family has been protecting the assets for generations.
“My mother…she was never protecting the inheritance p>
“She wasn’t keeping me from the inheritance p>
“So she wasn’t protecting the inheritance p>
“Yes, she was protecting me and my family p>
Just then my laptop screen lit up.
A notification popped up from Vance:
The old houses are demanding you prove your rights as heir and show them their assets. Or else pay back the value of the assets in the vault belonging to their family.
“That could be in the billions,” I said shocked.
“Are they even in their minds p>
For the first time I really felt the burden of the River inheritance on my shoulders.
I was actually thinking if I should get the Blue Heart back.
To others it may seem simple.
Get the Blue Heart, open the vault, let them see and close it again.
This would also prove my identity as the River heir.
Suddenly I recalled the massacre and the fact I lost my family overnight.
My mother lived in fear of them finding me.
She even left a warning to not open the vault to prove I’m the River heir.
Then it was Alex’s father who led the robbery and the massacre.
My phone’s vibrations got my attention.
It was a message from the River representative:
The old house representatives are demanding proof you are the heir.
We received official notice from Alex Vale to open the vault.
I stared at the messages.
Alex was going all out.
Another message popped up.
If you don’t, then the old house representatives demand you pay back the value of their house assets in the vault.
Veronica and I were dumbstruck at the demand.
“No one is concerned if I am the heir, no one was bothered by their house assets being locked away p>
“The only thing is…they want to know if I can open the vault or not p>