In chapter 43, Andre Vernet, the bank’s president, hurries to the bank after hearing that the police are after high profile clients. Part of Vernet’s job is to keep the bank’s name out of the press, and he hopes to diffuse the situation. When he enters the vault, he can’t hide his surprise at seeing Sophie. He tells her that he was a good friend of her grandfather’s. She shocks him with the news that her grandfather has been killed. Sophie begs Vernet for the account number, but he refuses, saying that only the clients know their own account numbers. He promises to smuggle them past the police, but Sophie and Langdon do not want to leave until they have opened the safe deposit box. While Vernet goes up to the lobby to try to turn the police away, Sophie and Langdon remain in the vault and try to figure out the account number. Langdon realizes that the number must be the string of digits Vernet wrote on the floor before he died.
In chapter 44, Langdon and Sophie have only one chance to enter the correct account number into the computer. Sophie looks over the numbers once more and decides that the account number must be the Fibonacci sequence. The number works, and the electronic system retrieves a safety deposit box from the basement for them. Inside is a small, heavy rosewood box with a rose inlaid on the top: the Priory’s symbol for the Holy Grail. Sophie and Langdon are surprised when they hear gurgling noises coming from inside the chest.
In chapter 45, Vernet puts Sophie and Langdon in the back of an armored truck, changes into a driver’s uniform, and hides a gun under his clothes. As he drives them away from the bank, Officer Collet stops him and interrogates him. Vernet pretends to be a blue-collar driver and says he does not have the keys to the trunk. Collet sees Vernet’s Rolex watch and grows suspicious, but ultimately he lets Vernet go.
In chapter 46, Silas is extremely upset that he has let down Bishop Aringarosa. He finally brings himself to call the Teacher, who tells him that Sauniere left a message and that he should stand by for further instructions.
In chapter 47, inside the box, Sophie and Langdon find a ball with letters written on each of its five panels. Sophie recognizes this as a cryptex, an invention of Leonardo Da Vinci’s that provided a secure way to transport messages over long distances. A password is needed to get to the message inside the ball. Sophie and Langdon discuss the meaning of the rose that is on top of the box.
In chapter 48, Langdon realizes that they must be holding the Priory keystone. He says that only the leader of the Priory would have access to the keystone, and Sophie says she thinks her grandfather may have been the leader of the Priory. The car stops and Vernet lets them out, but then apologetically pulls a pistol on them.
In chapter 49, Vernet tells Langdon and Sophie to give him the box. He just heard over the radio that they are wanted for three other murders. Langdon realizes who the three must have been. He hands the box over to Vernet, but he also manages to put a spent shotgun shell into the mechanism of the door. Vernet tries to shut them into the truck, but the door won’t shut. Langdon bursts out of the door, takes the box back, and gets back into the truck while Sophie drives away.
In chapter 50, Bishop Aringarosa, leaving Gandolfo, realizes that the Teacher might not have been able to reach him because his cell phone service was not strong in the mountains. He panics, worried that the Teacher will think something has gone wrong with the deal.
In chapter 51, Langdon proposes that he and Sophie visit his friend Sir Leigh Teabing in Versailles. Teabing is a religious historian and Grail scholar who might be able to help them. Langdon remembers a controversial BBC documentary about Teabing’s Grail research. They head toward Teabing’s estate, Chateau Villette.
In chapter 52, at Teabing’s estate, Sophie and Langdon reach Teabing on the intercom. He asks them three questions before letting them in.
In chapter 53, Vernet calls the manager of the bank and has him activate the tracking system on the armored truck.
In chapter 54, Langdon smuggles the cryptex into Teabing’s house and hides it underneath a divan in the grand sitting room. Langdon and Sophie sit on the divan and Teabing enters the room. Langdon says that Sophie doesn’t know the true story of the Grail, and Teabing says he will tell her.
In chapter 55, Teabing explains that Leonardo Da Vinci thought the New Testament was written by men, not God, and that some gospels had been left out. Constantine the Great was determined to unite his subjects under one religion, so he reformatted the Bible in 325 A.D. To make the idea of Jesus a unifying force for his subjects, Constantine turned Jesus from a leader into a holy man. Constantine also included in the Bible many symbols of the sun-worshipping religion his subjects had previously followed. Teabing shows Sophie a picture of the Da Vinci fresco The Last Supper. There is no chalice or Holy Grail present in the painting, as many people think, but only wine glasses for each person. Teabing tells her what the Holy Grail really is, but I am not going to say what he tells her because I don’t want to spoil the novel.
Just like Sophie in the novel, I was extremely shocked by what Teabing said the Holy Grail was. I don't want to give to much information away because this secret is huge. I am fascinated by Brown's imagination and how he could come up with such an idea. I also looked at a picture of Da Vinci's Last Supper and what Teabing describes is true. Each person has his own wine glass. At the end, it is revealed what the Holy Grail is in general but not specifically, so I'm deeply curious for Teabing to continue his explanation. This novel is not just a mystery novel, it is also a religious novel. It makes me think about religion and the different sides to it. It's interesting to look at religion from completely different points of view, especially when the Church is in a darker light.
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