Chapter 13 - The Chapel
The old chapel stood at the edge of the property, abandoned for years.
Rain tapped against the stained-glass windows.
Sophie entered alone.
Ryan was tied to a chair near the altar.
He was conscious.
His face was bruised.
Sophie stopped.
“Ryan.”
He looked up.
“Don't come closer.”
A voice echoed behind her.
Eleanor.
Sophie turned.
Her mother-in-law stood in the shadows.
“You should have listened.”
Sophie answered.
“I listened for years.”
Eleanor walked forward.
“I tried to protect this family.”
“You destroyed it.”
Eleanor's expression hardened.
“You don't know what your father did.”
“My father was murdered.”
Eleanor looked away.
“He would have destroyed all of us.”
Sophie stepped closer.
“Did you kill my mother?”
Eleanor froze.
Ryan looked at Sophie.
“What?”
Sophie repeated.
“Did you kill my mother?”
Eleanor's silence was confirmation.
Sophie felt tears rise.
But she refused to cry.
Eleanor whispered.
“It wasn't supposed to happen.”
“What wasn't?”
“She found out.”
“About Michael?”
Eleanor nodded.
“About everything.”
Sophie looked at Ryan.
“Did you know?”
Ryan shook his head.
“No.”
Eleanor continued.
“Your mother planned to expose us.”
“Us?”
“Yes.”
“You and Michael.”
Eleanor nodded.
“Your father tried to stop them.”
Sophie asked.
“Then why did my father die?”
Eleanor looked at Ryan.
“Because Ryan made a deal.”
Ryan's face went pale.
“What?”
Eleanor smiled.
“He gave Michael access to your father's final accounts.”
Ryan shook his head.
“I never gave him the accounts.”
“You gave him the password.”
Ryan stared.
Sophie looked at him.
“Did you?”
Ryan closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Sophie felt devastated.
“I thought you were protecting us.”
“I was.”
“You gave him the password.”
“I didn't know he would use it to kill your father.”
Eleanor laughed.
“That's the problem with secrets.”
A sound came from the chapel entrance.
Marcus appeared.
Eleanor turned.
She had not expected him.
Marcus raised his weapon.
“Step away from them.”
Eleanor smiled.
“You're too late.”
She pressed a remote.
The chapel doors locked.
A gas hissed from the walls.
Marcus shouted.
“Get down!”
Sophie grabbed Ryan.
Daniel appeared through a side door.
He smashed a window.
Fresh air rushed inside.
Everyone escaped through the opening.
Eleanor remained behind.
She stood alone in the chapel.
Sophie looked back.
Eleanor was crying.
Then she shouted.
“Michael doesn't know the final truth!”
Sophie stopped.
“What truth?”
Eleanor screamed.
“Your father left everything to Lily!”
The chapel fell silent.
Sophie stared.
Her daughter had been the target all along.
The inheritance was not money.
It was control of an entire network.
May you like
And Lily was its legal owner.
At the chapel, Sophie realized the family had spent decades confusing loyalty with obedience. Eleanor believed protecting the family justified any crime. Ryan believed protecting Lily justified deception. Michael believed protecting his empire justified murder. Each person had created a private excuse. Sophie decided she would not create one for herself. She would tell the truth even when the truth destroyed the image of the family she had once wanted to preserve.
