Chapter 4 - The Cathedral of Lies
The morning of the funeral arrived with a grey,
oppressive sky that seemed to mirror the somber mood of the city.
The Madison Cathedral was packed with hundreds of people—business associates,
society figures,
and friends who truly believed they were there to mourn a tragic loss.
Damien stood at the front,
the picture of a shattered man.
He wore a black wool coat,
his head bowed,
periodically dabbing at his eyes with a silk handkerchief.
Wendy sat in the front row,
wearing a veil that didn't quite hide the smug curve of her lips.
On the altar sat a closed casket,
draped in white lilies and roses,
symbolizing the "purity" of the life that had been cut short.
Harris Campbell’s presence was the only thing that felt out of place to the onlookers.
The billionaire CEO sat in the very back,
his face a mask of iron,
ignoring the whispers of those wondering why such a powerful man would attend the funeral of a simple teacher’s wife.
Just before the service began,
a man in a dark suit approached Damien and handed him a heavy,
cream-colored envelope.
Damien opened it discreetly,
his eyes widening as he saw the check for fifty million dollars.
It was the insurance payout,
cleared and ready for deposit.
I watched him through a small,
concealed camera near the pulpit.
I saw the way his fingers trembled—not with grief,
but with the sheer,
unadulterated greed of a man who thought he had cheated fate.
He tucked the check into his breast pocket,
right over his heart,
and stepped up to the podium to deliver the eulogy.
"Eloise was the light of my life,"
he began,
his voice cracking with practiced emotion.
"She was a gentle soul,
perhaps too fragile for this harsh world."
"When the snow took her,
a part of me went with her into that mountain."
The crowd let out a collective sigh of sympathy.
"I look at this casket and I see the future we were supposed to have,"
he continued,
gesturing toward the wood.
"Our child,
our dreams,
all gone in a single,
slippery moment."
"But I will honor her memory by living the life she would have wanted for me."
He looked at Wendy,
a secret signal passing between them.
"I will find the strength to move on,
knowing she is at peace."
The irony was almost suffocating.
He was standing feet away from an empty box,
bragging about his future with the money he had murdered for.
I stood behind the massive oak doors at the back of the cathedral,
holding Harris’s arm.
My heart was beating steady and slow.
Beside me,
a nurse held Aurora,
who was sleeping soundly,
wrapped in a lace shawl that had belonged to my biological mother.
"Are you ready?"
Harris whispered,
his hand tightening on mine.
"I have been ready since the moment I hit the ice,"
I replied.
The music began to swell—a haunting,
melancholic organ piece that was supposed to signal the end of the service.
Damien turned to lead the procession out,
a look of triumphant relief beginning to settle on his face.
May you like
He took his first step toward the aisle.
And that was when I signaled the ushers to throw open the doors.
