Chapter 8 - The Secret Beneath the Altar
“IF MY NAME IS IN THAT RECORD, I WANT TO SEE IT!”
Maria stepped toward the altar before Alexander could stop her.
The hidden speaker had fallen silent.
Elena stood beside the front pew, visibly shaking.
Marcus examined the metal plate without touching it.
Two recessed shapes were cut into the surface.
One matched Alexander's diamond ring.
The other matched Maria's silver pendant.
But the mechanism was old, and nobody knew what would happen if it was activated.
Alexander turned toward Maria.
“We're not doing this because a stranger ordered us to.”
Maria stared at him.
“Then what are we going to do?”
“Let the investigators examine it.”
Elena suddenly laughed.
It was a bitter, exhausted sound.
“You think the truth is going to wait politely for the police?”
Alexander faced her.
“I'm not interested in games.”
“Neither was Isabella.”
Maria turned.
“What does that mean?”
Elena looked toward the altar.
“Your mother came here seventeen years ago with Thomas Vance. She believed they could recover the original records and expose Richard Sterling.”
Alexander's expression changed.
“Seventeen years ago?”
Elena nodded.
“Five years after Thomas disappeared.”
Maria felt a chill.
“So he was still alive then.”
“Yes.”
“Did you see him?”
Elena hesitated.
“No. Isabella told me he was alive, but she wouldn't say where he was hiding.”
Alexander stared at her.
“Then what happened that night?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Isabella discovered that someone had altered the records.”
Maria frowned.
“Altered them how?”
“The original files identified the people legally entitled to control the trust. Someone had inserted false names and removed others.”
Alexander looked toward the ring.
“Richard Sterling.”
“Perhaps. But Isabella believed Richard wasn't acting alone.”
Marcus's radio interrupted them.
“Detective Bennett is approaching the chapel.”
Alexander nodded.
“Good.”
Elena looked frightened again.
“You don't understand. The wrong person sees those records, and people will disappear.”
Maria stepped toward her.
“Then tell us who the wrong person is.”
Elena stared at her niece.
For a moment, her expression softened.
“You have your mother's eyes.”
Maria's voice trembled.
“Then stop treating me like a child.”
Elena lowered her head.
“Your mother was trying to protect two children.”
Maria froze.
“Two?”
Elena nodded.
“You and Sofia.”
Maria's heart tightened.
Her younger sister was still receiving treatment for the spinal injury that had changed their lives.
Sofia had spent months learning to sit upright again.
Maria had worked exhausting shifts to pay for rehabilitation and specialist appointments.
And now someone was telling her that the danger surrounding their mother might also involve Sofia.
“What does my sister have to do with the blue trust?”
Elena hesitated.
“Isabella kept something hidden for her.”
Maria stepped closer.
“What?”
Before Elena could answer, the chapel doors opened.
Detective Rachel Bennett entered with two uniformed officers.
She was a composed woman in her early forties, with dark hair pulled into a low ponytail and an expression that suggested she had already heard enough lies for one lifetime.
“Mr. Vance,” she said. “I understand there's a possible kidnapping threat.”
Alexander nodded.
“And an unauthorized communication system inside the chapel.”
Bennett examined the room.
Then looked at Elena.
“Who is she?”
“Elena Santos,” Maria answered. “My mother's sister.”
The detective's expression changed almost imperceptibly.
“Elena Santos?”
Elena stared at her.
“You know my name?”
Bennett didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she turned toward Alexander.
“We need to secure this location.”
Marcus nodded.
“Already coordinating with your officers.”
Bennett approached the altar.
Her eyes settled on the metal plate.
Then she stopped.
Alexander noticed.
“You recognize it?”
The detective hesitated.
“I've seen a photograph of something similar in an old financial-crimes file.”
Maria stepped forward.
“What file?”
Bennett looked toward Elena.
“The disappearance of Isabella Santos.”
Maria froze.
“You investigated my mother?”
“No. I was a junior officer when the case was closed. But I remember the name.”
Maria's eyes filled with tears.
“Then you know she didn't die in an accident?”
Bennett's expression softened.
“I know there were unanswered questions.”
Alexander stepped closer.
“Can you reopen the investigation?”
“If the evidence supports it, yes.”
Elena suddenly spoke.
“Ask her who signed the closure report.”
Bennett turned.
“What?”
Elena's eyes narrowed.
“Ask her who ordered the case closed.”
The detective's expression hardened.
“I don't know what you're suggesting.”
Elena laughed bitterly.
“Then let me remind you.”
She pointed toward the badge on Bennett's jacket.
“Your former supervisor was Captain Michael Sterling.”
Alexander froze.
“Sterling?”
Bennett looked uncomfortable.
“Michael Sterling was Richard Sterling's younger brother.”
Maria stared.
“Victoria's uncle?”
Bennett nodded.
“Yes.”
Alexander's jaw tightened.
“And he was involved in my father's disappearance?”
“We don't have evidence of that,” Bennett replied.
Elena stepped forward.
“But you have evidence he interfered with Isabella's case.”
Bennett remained silent.
The silence said enough.
Alexander looked toward Marcus.
“Document everything. No one handles the altar mechanism without an evidence team present.”
The detective nodded.
“Agreed.”
As the officers began photographing the chapel, Maria's phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
SOFIA — REHABILITATION CENTER
Maria answered immediately.
“Sofia?”
A frightened voice whispered:
“Maria, where are you?”
Maria's heart tightened.
“I'm at work. What's wrong?”
Sofia began crying.
“A man came into my room.”
Maria froze.
“What man?”
“He said he was from the hospital administration. But he wasn't wearing a badge.”
Maria looked toward Alexander.
“Is he still there?”
“No. He left when I started calling for help.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No. But he asked about Mom.”
Maria's blood ran cold.
“What did he say?”
Sofia's voice trembled.
“He asked if I still had the little wooden box she gave me.”
Maria stared.
“What wooden box?”
“The one I kept under my bed when we were kids. I brought it with me when I moved into the center.”
Maria remembered it.
A small carved box Isabella had given Sofia before the accident that supposedly killed her.
Maria had assumed it contained childhood keepsakes.
“What did you tell him?”
“I said I didn't know what he meant.”
“Good. Don't give it to anyone.”
Sofia began crying harder.
“Maria, he said something else.”
Maria gripped the phone.
“What?”
“He said you were going to find out what Mom did.”
Maria's heart pounded.
“Listen to me. Lock your door and call the nurses. I'm sending help.”
Alexander immediately signaled Marcus to contact the rehabilitation center and police.
Sofia whispered:
“Maria?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“There's something inside the box.”
Maria froze.
“What?”
“I opened it after the man left.”
Maria could barely breathe.
“What did you find?”
Sofia hesitated.
Then answered:
“A photograph of Mom holding a baby.”
Maria frowned.
“That's probably me.”
“No.”
Sofia's voice broke.
“Maria, the photograph has a date written on the back.”
Maria waited.
Sofia continued:
“IT WAS TAKEN THREE YEARS BEFORE YOU WERE BORN.”
Maria stared into the darkness.
And then Sofia whispered the words that changed everything.
May you like
“THE BABY IS WEARING YOUR SILVER PENDANT.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
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