Page 125 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

“Sweetheart.” Travis's hand presses against the door, stopping me from opening it further. I turn to look at him and realise he looks worried.

“Let me go in there first. We don’t know why he hide the key, or what’s down there now. We also don’t know the condition of the place. Are there any steps to go down?” I nod, looking back to the slightly open door.

“Wooden ones.”

Travis steps forward and gently pulls me back.

“Then let me check that they are still intact and now damaged by wood mites.” Travis opens the door further. “Is there a light here somewhere?” he asks, looking into the dark void.

“A switch by the door frame, I think.” I can’t remember where anything is from the top of my head; it’s been so long—light flickers before shining brightly from within the space.

“Stay there until I say it’s safe,” Travis repeats before heading down the steps.

“Be careful,” I call after him, praying he doesn’t hurt himself.

I hold my breath as I listen to him slowly descending into the room. Each creak of the stairs makes me jump as I envision him falling to his death. If he were to hurt himself because of me, I would never forgive myself.

“It’s okay, come down one at a time. Someone stay upstairs to keep an eye out,” he calls. I walk to the top of the steps down and freeze. It’s been thirteen years since I last went down there. Thirteen long years without my mum.

A hand on the bottom of my back snaps me from the grief that starts to overwhelm me. I turn to see Ethan giving me a small smile.

“You’ve got this, Baby. We are right here beside you.”

I take a deep breath before slowly walking down the stairs until Travis comes into view. He holds out his hand to assist me down the last few steps. I come to a stop beside him and freeze.

“Where the hell have all these crates come from?”

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Travis

Looking around, I know these are not household items being stored in this space. There are ten huge wooden shipping crates and four, nope, five, large metal-filling cabinets.

“Well, this safe is certainly bigger and more expensive than the one he kept in his room.”

I walk around one of the boxes to find Ethan squatting in front of a giant safe. It’s a dial one, like you see in the old movies. It’s big and heavy, and I have a feeling some of the information Verity is after will be in there if it still exists and hasn’t been destroyed.

“Can you get inside it?” Verity asks as she joins us. Ethan stands up and looks around the giant safe. The back is pressed against a wall, and he fails when he tries to move it. I join him on the other side, but as soon as we try again together, I know there’s no chance.

“How did he even get it down here?” Verity turns on the spot, looking at all the crates around us. “And what is in all these boxes?” she asks, walking over to a large one bigger than her.

“Nothing good, I bet,” I sigh, grabbing her hand to stop her from touching them, terrified she will get injured. “Let’s see if we can find out what’s inside them without opening them.”

Together, Verity and I walk over to the filing cabinets and attempt to open them, but as I suspected, they are locked.

“Ethan?” I ask, signalling for him to come and have a look.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Pick the lock. Can’t you want me for my dashing good looks or my winning personality for once?” he sighs dramatically, earning a small giggle from Verity. At least he can distract her from all her worries, even for a few brief moments.

Ethan comes over and examines the lock.

“Yeah, that’s simple enough to unlock, unlike that safe. That may take me more than a few minutes, but I will be able to get into it eventually.” He briefly examines the lock before digging into his pocket and pulling out a swish army knife I got him for Christmas. He finds the tool he wants, and the first filing cabinet is unlocked in less than a minute.

“You're good,” Verity exclaims as he pulls open the top drawer.

“One of us had to be able to unlock Mum's alcohol cabinet. She kept it under lock and key for years,” he winks before moving on to the next cabinet. “This one may take a little longer. Check out the contents of that one while I unlock it.”

Verity pulls out a thick paper file and flicks through the stuff inside it.

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