Chapter 6 - THE POLICE ARE COMINGSirens filled the street.
Blue and red lights flashed through the windows.
Damian stared at Marcus.
"How did they find us?"
Marcus shook his head.
"I don't know."
Ariana immediately stood.
"We have to leave."
Damian grabbed her arm.
"Nobody moves."
"They'll kill us."
"You're staying."
Ariana looked furious.
"You still don't understand."
Then the front door exploded inward.
Armed officers stormed inside.
"PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!"
Brianna screamed.
Damian raised his hands.
Marcus did the same.
Ariana backed away.
One officer stepped forward.
"Damian Blackwood?"
"Yes."
"You are under arrest."
"For what?"
"Murder."
Silence.
Damian stared at him.
"Whose murder?"
The officer answered,
"Victor Hale."
Brianna felt dizzy.
"Victor Hale is dead."
The officer looked at her.
"Not according to the evidence."
He held up a photograph.
It showed Damian standing beside Victor Hale.
Except the date on the photograph was impossible.
It was taken two weeks ago.
Damian's face went pale.
"I've never met that man."
"Then explain why your fingerprints were found at his property."
"This is a setup."
"Turn around."
Damian looked at Brianna.
She was terrified.
"Damian..."
He stepped toward her.
"I'll come back."
The officer grabbed his arms.
Ariana suddenly screamed.
"NO!"
She ran toward Brianna.
"Take her and go!"
The officer nearest them turned.
Ariana attacked him.
He fell.
Chaos erupted.
Marcus pulled Brianna toward the back door.
"Run!"
They escaped through the kitchen.
Behind them, gunshots rang out.
Brianna ran through the garden with Ariana beside her.
"Where are we going?"
"The old chapel."
"Why?"
"Because that's where the truth started."
They reached the abandoned chapel forty minutes later.
Ariana unlocked the door.
Inside, the building smelled of dust and old wood.
Brianna collapsed into a chair.
"What is happening?"
Ariana stood near the altar.
"Victor Hale isn't dead."
Brianna stared at her.
"How do you know?"
"Because I saw him."
"Where?"
"Three days ago."
Brianna's heart pounded.
"What did he say?"
Ariana looked at her.
"He told me he was our father."
Brianna stood.
"That's impossible."
"He showed me proof."
"What proof?"
"Letters. Photographs. Medical records."
She reached into her bag.
But before she could remove them, a voice came from the darkness.
"You should not have come here."
Both sisters turned.
A man stepped forward.
Older.
Gray hair.
Cold eyes.
Brianna's breath caught.
Ariana dropped her bag.
"Dad?"
The man smiled.
But he wasn't their father.
Brianna recognized him from the old photographs.
The man standing before them was Victor Hale.
Alive.
He looked directly at Brianna.
"My daughter."
Brianna couldn't move.
Ariana whispered,
"You lied to me."
Victor smiled.
"I protected you."
"By kidnapping Mom?"
His smile disappeared.
"Your mother betrayed me."
Damian's absence suddenly seemed unbearable.
Brianna stepped backward.
"What do you want?"
Victor walked closer.
"The trust."
"We don't have it."
"You do."
Brianna froze.
Victor reached into his coat.
He removed a second document.
"Because the moment you married Damian, the trust became yours."
Brianna stared at him.
"And now?"
Victor's eyes hardened.
"Now I need you to sign it over."
"And if I refuse?"
Victor smiled again.
May you like
"Then Damian dies."
:::
