Chapter 8 - The Confrontation in the Chapel
Upstairs, the funeral candles had been lit.
Margaret had gathered the remaining loyal captains inside St. Gabriel’s Chapel, attempting to finalize the takeover before the house lockdown ended.
"We have an intruder trying to sabotage our organization!" Margaret declared from the altar steps, holding a pistol. "We must sign the charter transfer right now!"
Suddenly, the grand double doors of the chapel burst open.
A gust of wind and rain blew into the sacred room, extinguishing dozens of black candles.
Walking down the center aisle, drenched in water, bleeding from his forehead, but standing tall and formidable, was Gabriel Ashford. Beside him stood Evelyn, holding the original brass maintenance tag, and Sam, armed with a wrench.
Gasps of absolute terror erupted from the assembled captains. Several men backed away, dropping their weapons.
"Gabriel..." Margaret whispered, her face twisting into a horror-stricken mask. "You... you were dead..."
"I was buried alive, Aunt Margaret," Gabriel’s voice echoed like thunder off the vaulted ceiling. "By the woman I trusted to run my family’s foundation."
Gabriel walked toward the altar, his boots clicking heavily against the wet marble.
May you like
"You trapped me in the storm shelter because I found out you and Delaney were stealing from our legal accounts," Gabriel said, looking directly at the captains. "She tried to turn us against each other so she could sell our logistics network to the Delaney family for fifty million dollars."
Gabriel pulled a water-resistant flash drive from his coat pocket and tossed it onto the altar rail in front of Captain Dominick. "The full bank records are on that drive. Check them yourselves."
