The heavy, centuries-old oak doors at the rear of the cathedral slammed shut.
The echo vibrated through the floorboards, settling into a terrifying, trapped silence.
From the shadows of the vestibule, a booming, authoritative voice echoed down the center aisle, cutting through the lilies and the lies.
“Per the deceased’s strict, legal instructions,” Attorney Sterling declared, his voice a blade of cold steel, “no one leaves this room until the projector is turned on.”
The congregation whipped around in unison.
Sterling & Vance, David’s fiercely loyal corporate law firm, was a fortress of legal warfare, and its senior partner, Attorney Sterling, looked every bit the executioner.
He strode down the center aisle, a ruthlessly efficient man in a charcoal suit, flanked by two imposing men whose broad shoulders and tactical stances suggested they were much more than mere paralegals.
“What is the meaning of this outrage?” Eleanor shrieked, clutching her throat, the facade of the grieving mother instantly slipping to reveal the snarling dictator beneath.
“Stop this at once! The service is over!”
“The service,” Attorney Sterling replied calmly, stopping just short of the altar and pressing a remote control toward the choir loft, “has just begun.”
With a mechanical whir, a massive, hidden cinematic screen rolled down from the vaulted ceiling, dropping directly over the altar and casting a stark, white, fluorescent glow over the shocked faces of the elite congregation.
Eleanor scoffed, adjusting her posture and smoothing her veil.
A smug, self-satisfied smirk returned to her lips.
She assumed this was a final, pre-recorded tribute—a montage of David praising her as the guiding light of his life.
She readied herself for the applause.
The projector flickered.
And then, David’s face appeared on the twenty-foot screen.
My breath hitched.
It felt as if a fault line had cracked open right through my chest.
He was sitting in his home office—our home office.
He looked pale, the dark circles under his eyes bruised and profound, but his jaw was set with a terrifying, absolute resolve.
This was not the smiling, charismatic tech mogul the public knew.
This was the predator who had conquered Silicon Valley.
The church erupted in gasps….
