Chapter 9 - The CemeteryThe cemetery was almost empty.
A cold rain had started.
Eleanor's name was carved into an old stone.
But she wasn't buried there.
It had been a false grave.
A grave designed to make everyone believe she was dead.
Margaret stood beside me.
“She wanted to see this place.”
“Why?”
“To remember the person she used to be.”
We heard a car.
Avery was pushed out.
Alan followed.
She was bruised.
But alive.
“Dad!”
I moved toward her.
Alan raised a gun.
“Stay there.”
Avery cried.
“I'm sorry.”
“You don't have to apologize.”
Alan laughed.
“You always were weak.”
He turned to me.
“Bring the original beneficiary documents.”
“I don't have them.”
“You will.”
“How?”
He gestured toward a second vehicle.
Vivian Rook stepped out.
She was carrying a small child.
Julian.
I stopped breathing.
“He's six months old,” Vivian said.
“Put him down.”
She smiled.
“Give me the trust.”
I looked at Avery.
She was crying.
“Dad, don't.”
Vivian stepped closer.
“The trust isn't about the ranch anymore.”
“What is it about?”
She held up a document.
“Julian inherits everything.”
“Then why do you need me?”
“Because the trust contains a condition.”
Robert's voice suddenly came through my phone.
He had called.
“Clifford, listen carefully.”
Vivian looked annoyed.
Robert continued.
“The trust cannot transfer while the beneficiary is under threat.”
I looked at Vivian.
“You can't inherit if you kill Julian.”
She smiled.
“Exactly.”
Then she pushed Julian toward Alan.
“I don't need to kill him.”
Alan caught the baby.
I nearly collapsed.
Vivian continued.
“You sign.”
“Or?”
“Alan becomes Julian's guardian.”
Avery screamed.
“No!”
Vivian looked at her.
“You married him.”
Avery shook her head.
“I didn't know.”
Alan looked at me.
“You have five minutes.”
I took one step forward.
“Let my daughter go.”
Alan moved the gun toward Avery.
“Four minutes.”
I reached into my coat.
Pulled out a folder.
“This?”
His eyes widened.
“The trust.”
I threw it at his feet.
He picked it up.
Opened it.
His face changed.
“What is this?”
“Everything.”
He looked at me.
“Where is the original?”
“You have it.”
He stared.
Then smiled.
“You're bluffing.”
“No.”
He turned to Vivian.
She opened the document.
Her expression changed.
“This is a copy.”
“Yes.”
“Where's the original?”
I smiled.
“At the ranch.”
Vivian laughed.
“You expect me to believe—”
“Your problem is you still think I'm trapped.”
I pointed toward the cemetery.
“There's a police tactical team behind every hill.”
Vivian froze.
Then gunfire erupted.
Bullets struck the ground.
Alan dropped Julian.
Avery screamed.
I lunged forward.
Caught the baby.
Vivian ran.
Alan grabbed Avery.
But before he could escape, Margaret stepped in front of him.
She held a gun.
Alan stopped.
“You.”
Margaret's face was cold.
“You killed my daughter.”
Alan shook his head.
“I was a child.”
“No.”
She lowered the gun.
“You weren't.”
She pulled out a recording.
Alan's voice filled the rain.
“I remember the crash.”
His face went white.
“You recorded me?”
Margaret smiled.
“For twenty-one years.”
Then another voice came through.
Vivian.
“We paid the hospital.”
Alan stepped backward.
“You lied to me.”
Vivian's voice continued.
“We needed Eleanor declared dead.”
Alan stared at Margaret.
“Why?”
Margaret answered.
“Because she knew who killed your father.”
Alan froze.
“What?”
Margaret looked at me.
“Clifford, your father was not working for Vivian.”
“He was investigating her.”
Vivian suddenly turned toward the road.
A police vehicle blocked the cemetery gate.
Daniel Cross stepped out.
“Vivian Rook, you're under arrest.”
Vivian laughed.
“You don't understand.”
She pointed at Julian.
“The child is only one half of the inheritance.”
I looked at her.
“What other half?”
She smiled.
“The woman who gave birth to him.”
I turned.
Eleanor stood behind the police.
May you like
Alive.
And she was holding a folder.
