Chapter 5 - The Vultures at the Grave
The funeral was a gray,
drizzly affair on the outskirts of the city.
The grass was damp,
clinging to the shoes of the few mourners who had come to pay their respects.
I stood by the casket,
wearing a black dress that felt like armor.
Lucas stood on my left,
his eyes scanning the crowd for trouble.
And then,
like a bad omen,
the silver Mercedes pulled up at the gates.
Gavin and Harriet stepped out,
both dressed in perfectly tailored mourning clothes.
They walked toward us with practiced,
somber expressions,
playing the role of the grieving family for the benefit of the observers.
Gavin tried to put his arm around my waist,
his touch making my skin crawl.
"I’m so sorry for your loss, darling,"
he said loudly enough for the neighbors to hear.
"We were devastated when we heard the news."
I stepped away from him,
my eyes burning with a cold fire.
"Don't touch me,"
I said,
my voice a sharp whisper that didn't reach the others.
"You have no right to be here."
Harriet leaned in,
her perfume cloying and sweet.
"Don't be difficult, Samantha,"
she hissed under her breath.
"We have a reputation to maintain."
"After the service,
you are coming home."
"We have things to discuss regarding the estate."
I looked at her,
realizing that even at a funeral,
all she could think about was the money.
"I’m never coming back to that house,"
I told her.
"The only thing we have to discuss is the divorce."
Gavin’s face darkened,
the fake sadness replaced by his usual arrogance.
"You’re hysterical,"
he muttered,
leaning closer to my ear.
"You have no money,"
"no job,"
"and your mother’s house is worth nothing."
"If you leave me,
you’ll die in the gutter just like she did."
Lucas moved forward,
but I held up a hand to stop him.
"Wait for the reading of the will, Gavin,"
I said,
a sudden calm washing over me.
"Then we’ll see who ends up in the gutter."
I watched them walk back to their expensive car,
their heads close together as they whispered.
They thought they had won because they had the car,
the apartment,
and the keys.
But they didn't have the metal box.
And they didn't know that I had already found the key hidden in my mother's locket.
As the dirt fell on the casket,
I made a vow.
May you like
I would find whatever they were looking for.
And I would use it to burn their world to the ground.
