The vault was breaking apart.
Stone cracked.
Dust filled the air.
Light from the split ceiling fell in sharp beams across the ruined floor.
Elara stood in front of Alaric.
Her eyes were no longer just angry.
They were wounded.
"You let this happen," she said.
Her voice shook — not with fear, but with pain.
Alaric stood calm, as always.
"I did not force the lineage," he said quietly.
Elara stepped closer.
"Is it the child you abandoned speaking now?" she asked.
The words hit harder than the falling stones.
Alaric's calm expression flickered.
"If not for the Ravenscrofts," she continued, pointing toward Mr. and Mrs. Ravenscroft, "that child would have died."
The vault went silent for a second.
Vivian froze.
Sebastian's hand tightened around hers.
Elara's voice broke, but she did not stop.
"You left her. You walked away. And now you stand here pretending this is destiny?"
Alaric's jaw tightened.
"You do not understand—"
"No!" Elara shouted.
