He saw the look in my eyes and stepped aside, gesturing for me to enter the warm hallway.

“What is wrong?” he asked, closing the door behind me.

“I need access to our family’s safety deposit box tonight,” I said. “Before tomorrow morning.”

Arthur frowned, looking at the grandfather clock ticking in the corner.

“Claire, the vault is locked for the night. The security protocols are very strict.”

“Arthur, please,” I said, taking his hand. “Graham is trying to dissolve the foundation. He is working with Vance Harrison. If I don’t get the ledger tonight, everything my mother built will be gone.”

His eyes softened at the mention of my mother’s name.

“Your mother was a dear friend,” Arthur said quietly. “She always feared this day would come.”

He turned and reached for a heavy set of brass keys hanging on a peg by the door.

“Let me get my coat,” he said.

We walked in silence across the damp alleyway to the bank’s side entrance.

Arthur unlocked the heavy door, his hands trembling slightly as he entered the security code to silence the alarm.