Chapter 7 - THE CHURCH
The abandoned church stood beneath a storm-black sky.
Its windows were broken.
Its stone walls were covered with ivy.
Nora stepped from the vehicle.
Dominic grabbed her hand.
“Stay beside me.”
She squeezed his fingers.
“I will.”
They entered.
The smell of smoke still lingered from the fire decades earlier.
At the altar, a man waited.
Marco Rossi.
Dominic's uncle.
Beside him stood an older man with gray hair.
Nora stopped breathing.
“Dad?”
Thomas Hayes looked at her.
“Nora.”
She ran forward.
Dominic caught her.
A gunman appeared behind Thomas.
Marco smiled.
“Family reunion.”
Dominic raised his weapon.
“Let him go.”
Marco laughed.
“You still think this is about money.”
“What do you want?”
“The ledger.”
Nora stepped forward.
“I don't have it.”
Marco looked at her.
“You do.”
“No.”
“You've carried it your entire life.”
He pointed toward the music box hanging from Nora's necklace.
She touched it.
Her mother's music box.
Marco smiled.
“Open it.”
Nora hesitated.
Dominic whispered:
“Don't.”
Marco lifted his gun toward Thomas.
“Open it.”
Nora turned the tiny key.
The music box opened.
A hidden compartment clicked.
Inside was a miniature memory card.
Dominic stared.
Thomas closed his eyes.
“The ledger.”
Marco smiled.
But Nora suddenly understood.
She pulled the card out.
“It's not the ledger.”
Marco frowned.
Thomas shouted:
“Nora, run!”
The church doors exploded inward.
Federal agents stormed the building.
Lights flashed.
“DROP YOUR WEAPONS!”
Chaos erupted.
Marco grabbed Thomas.
Dominic tackled Marco.
Nora ducked behind a pillar.
Elena fired toward the ceiling.
Within seconds, everyone was on the ground.
Dominic pinned Marco.
“It's over.”
Marco laughed.
“No.”
He looked toward Nora.
“You still don't know what your father did.”
Thomas stared at his daughter.
“Don't listen to him.”
Marco smiled.
“Ask him why your mother died.”
Nora froze.
“My mother died of cancer.”
Thomas looked away.
Marco laughed.
“That's what he told you?”
Nora stared at her father.
“Dad?”
Thomas's eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From the truth.”
“What truth?”
Thomas whispered:
“Your mother wasn't sick.”
The world seemed to stop.
“She was poisoned.”
Nora's face went white.
“By whom?”
Thomas looked at Dominic.
Then Elena.
Then Marco.
“She discovered the ledger.”
Nora stepped backward.
“Who killed her?”
Nobody answered.
Then Marco smiled.
“Ask Dominic.”
Nora turned.
Dominic looked devastated.
“I didn't know.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Did you know my mother?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know she was in danger?”
“I knew she had information.”
“But you didn't save her.”
Dominic couldn't answer.
Nora stepped away.
The emotional distance between them suddenly felt enormous.
Then a federal agent shouted:
“Marco is gone!”
Everyone turned.
The handcuffs lay open on the floor.
A hidden tunnel stood behind the altar.
Marco had disappeared.
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And on the wall, written in fresh red paint, were four words:
THIS ISN'T THE END.
