Chapter 12 - The Betrayal at the Altar
The photograph showed Father Daniel.
The man who was supposed to marry me.
The man who had known my family for years.
The man who had blessed my engagement.
I stared at the screen.
“No.”
Mateo zoomed in.
The photograph showed Father Daniel shaking hands with Victor Hayes.
Another image showed him meeting my mother.
Another showed him meeting Brandon.
My whole wedding had been built around people working together.
Mateo closed the file.
“We leave.”
“We can't.”
“We can.”
“Gemma is still missing.”
“She was moved.”
“How do you know?”
He showed me his phone.
A location signal.
The signal was coming from inside the cathedral.
We returned.
The cathedral was empty.
Except for Father Daniel.
He stood at the altar.
“Maeve.”
I stopped.
Mateo remained beside me.
Father Daniel smiled sadly.
“I was hoping you would come.”
“Where is Gemma?”
“She is safe.”
“Where?”
He looked toward the chapel doors.
“Behind you.”
Gemma appeared.
Alive.
I ran toward her.
She grabbed me.
“I thought you were gone.”
“I thought you were.”
We held each other.
Then Father Daniel spoke.
“Your father trusted me.”
I turned.
“He trusted you to protect me.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you betray him?”
Father Daniel's eyes filled with regret.
“Because I was threatened.”
“By Victor?”
“No.”
He looked at Mateo.
“By someone far more powerful.”
Mateo's jaw tightened.
“Who?”
Father Daniel reached into his coat.
He removed an envelope.
“The original ledger.”
Mateo stared.
“You said it was destroyed.”
“It was never destroyed.”
He handed it to me.
I opened it.
The first page carried my father's handwriting.
If Maeve reads this, then everyone I trusted has failed her.
I continued.
The person behind the Hayes operation is someone who has protected our family for years.
I turned the page.
A name appeared.
Robert Callahan.
I stared.
“My uncle?”
Father Daniel nodded.
“He survived the night your father died.”
I felt sick.
“He was never there.”
“He was.”
Mateo stepped closer.
“Where is he?”
Father Daniel looked toward the cathedral entrance.
A slow clap echoed.
Everyone turned.
A man stepped into the aisle.
Older.
Silver hair.
Elegant suit.
My uncle Robert.
He smiled.
“Hello, Maeve.”
My mother appeared behind him.
I looked at her.
She lowered her eyes.
Robert spoke.
“Your father should never have hidden the ledger.”
“You killed him.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“Your mother did.”
My mother gasped.
“That isn't true.”
Robert looked at her.
“You signed the order.”
I turned toward my mother.
She collapsed into a chair.
“I didn't know they would kill him.”
Silence.
Robert continued.
“And tomorrow morning, Maeve was supposed to marry Brandon.”
“Why?”
“Because the moment you married him, the trust would transfer.”
Mateo stepped forward.
Robert raised a gun.
“Don't.”
Mateo stopped.
Robert looked at me.
“Give me the ledger.”
I held it tighter.
“No.”
His smile disappeared.
Then he said:
May you like
“Then your wedding ends with a funeral.”
And from the cathedral doors came the sound of a gun being cocked...
