Chapter 3 — Buried for an Empire
Detectives searched Father Benedict's residence before sunrise.
Hidden beneath loose floorboards, they discovered far more than anyone expected.
Medical records.
Forged death certificates.
Fake wills.
Millions of dollars transferred from estates belonging to wealthy families whose loved ones had died under strangely convenient circumstances.
But the most horrifying discovery was a locked metal cabinet.
Inside sat dozens of identical syringes.
Each labeled with the same experimental drug.
A compound capable of slowing the heart so dramatically that even trained doctors could mistake the victim for dead.
Vivian had never been his first.
Only the first to survive.
Interrogation quickly exposed another accomplice.
Dr. Malcolm Pierce.
The physician who certified Vivian's death.
He confessed after only six hours.
The priest had promised him a fortune.
Edgar's inheritance.
Vivian's estate.
Everything would have passed into Edgar's control.
And once Edgar inherited it...
Father Benedict would receive his share through offshore accounts hidden behind church charities.
But one detail destroyed their perfect plan.
Rosa.
The cleaning woman who always replaced the flowers before every funeral.
She had heard the scratching.
Had she arrived only five minutes later...
Vivian would have suffocated forever.
When detectives asked Rosa why she had dared to swing an axe in front of hundreds of strangers, she simply lowered her eyes.
"My mother once told me..."
"If you ever hear someone begging for life..."
"...don't ask permission."
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"Save them first."
The entire interrogation room fell silent.
