Chapter 6 - THE CHAPEL
The old family chapel stood on a wooded rise beyond the Romano estate, abandoned after a fire damaged its roof when Sebastian was a child. The Romanos had once buried their dead beneath its stone floor. Now weeds grew through the steps, and rain slipped through the broken stained glass.
Michael had chosen the place carefully. It belonged to the family, yet no one had reason to visit it. Every entrance could be watched from the trees.
Sebastian insisted that Daniel remain in the car until they reached the chapel. Daniel didn’t argue. His shame had become a kind of silence.
“You’re not taking Emma inside,” he told Sebastian.
I looked at him. “My mother was nearly killed because she knew the truth. Your daughter is being held because you made a deal with the people who hurt her. I’m not asking you to like me. I’m telling you I’m going.”
Sebastian studied me. “You don’t owe anyone this.”
“I know. That’s why I can choose it.”
He handed me a small radio. “Stay behind me. If anything goes wrong, you run toward Daniel. No hesitation.”
We entered through a side door. The chapel smelled of wet stone and burnt wood. Candlelight flickered near the altar. A man stood with his back to us, studying the cracked mural above it.
He turned slowly.
Michael Romano looked remarkably like Antonio in the eyes, but there was none of my grandfather’s frailty in his posture. His hair was silver, his suit immaculate, his expression composed.
“Sebastian,” he said. “You’ve grown into your father’s face.”
Sebastian stopped several feet away. “Where’s the girl?”
“Safe.”
“Show me.”
Michael nodded toward a side room. A young girl sat on a bench with her wrists loosely bound. She was frightened, but alive. Daniel’s daughter. She looked up when she saw us.
“Dad?”
Daniel appeared at the doorway behind us, unable to stay outside. He moved toward her, but Michael lifted one finger.
“Not yet.”
Sebastian’s voice was steady. “You wanted the ledger. You wanted the will. You have me here. Let them go.”
Michael smiled. “You’re still treating this like a transaction. I’m not here for money. Money is what fools use to measure power.”
“Then what do you want?”
“The family to survive.”
“You tried to destroy it.”
“I tried to save it from Elena’s idealism. She wanted to hand our enemies a list of every arrangement that kept Chicago stable. She wanted your father to confess to things he had done for decades. She thought truth was a magic word that made consequences disappear.”
“Did you kill her?”
Michael’s smile vanished.
“She died because she wouldn’t stop.”
Sebastian took a step forward. “That isn’t an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
I watched Michael’s hands. He wore no ring now, but the photograph had shown the signet. He noticed my gaze and smiled at me.
“Catherine’s daughter,” he said. “You have her stubbornness.”
“You have her fear.”
His expression hardened. “Be careful.”
“No. I’m done being careful for people who use fear as a weapon.”
For a moment, the chapel was silent except for rain on the roof.
Michael turned back to Sebastian. “Give me the original will and the ledger. I’ll release the girl and disappear. You can tell the police whatever story you like. By the time they arrive, I’ll be across the border.”
“You want us to trust you?”
“I want you to understand your choices.”
Sebastian’s phone vibrated. Daniel’s team had sent a message: perimeter secured, but no clear shot without risking the hostages. Michael had anticipated every approach.
Sebastian pulled the envelope from inside his coat and placed it on a stone ledge. “The will.”
Michael glanced at it, then held out his hand.
Sebastian didn’t release it. “First, tell me who was with you the night my mother died.”
Michael’s eyes flicked toward the side room.
“Your father,” he said.
“No.”
“Antonio came to the house after Elena was already injured. He tried to stop the bleeding. Richard was there, too. And someone else.”
“Who?”
Michael looked at me.
“Catherine.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“My mother tried to save Elena,” I said.
“She tried to save herself. She had taken copies of the ledger. Elena found out and demanded them back. They argued. Elena fell. Catherine panicked and ran.”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I? Ask your mother why she never told you the full story.”
Sebastian stepped forward. “Enough.”
Michael’s smile returned. “You wanted the truth. It’s rarely as clean as you imagine.”
He snatched the envelope from Sebastian’s hand and tossed it to one of his men. The man opened it, examined the pages, and nodded.
“Now the ledger.”
Sebastian looked at Daniel. “Give him the copy.”
Daniel hesitated.
“Do it.”
Daniel produced a thin folder. Michael took it and scanned the first page. His expression changed.
“This isn’t the original.”
“No,” Sebastian said. “It’s enough to prove the transfers were forged. The original is already with independent counsel.”
Michael stared at him. “You think you’ve won?”
“No. I think you’ve run out of time.”
The chapel doors burst open. Police officers entered from both sides, weapons raised. Daniel had quietly activated the emergency signal before we crossed the threshold.
Michael grabbed the girl and pulled her in front of him. Sebastian moved instantly, but Michael shoved the child away and reached inside his coat.
A shot cracked through the chapel.
I dropped to the floor. Sebastian staggered, clutching his shoulder. Daniel tackled Michael before he could fire again. Officers rushed forward, forcing Michael against the altar and wrenching his hands behind his back.
The girl ran to her father.
I crawled toward Sebastian. Blood spread across his white shirt, but he was conscious.
“Look at me,” I said, pressing my hands over the wound. “Stay with me.”
He grimaced. “I’m not planning to die in a chapel.”
“Good. I’d be furious.”
A strained laugh escaped him, then he winced.
As the officers dragged Michael away, he twisted his head toward us.
“You still don’t know who gave the order,” he called. “You’ve arrested a man who kept the secret. The person who started it is still sitting at your family table.”
Sebastian’s face tightened.
Then Michael smiled at me.
“And your mother knows exactly who it is.”
The doors closed behind him.
The chapel fell silent.
Sebastian looked at me, pale and breathing hard. “We’re taking you to Catherine.”
I nodded, but my hands were still shaking.
May you like
Because Michael had not looked like a man making one last desperate threat.
He had looked like a man who knew the worst part of the truth had not yet been spoken.
