CHAPTER 15 — THE SECOND WILL
The old chapel stood at the edge of the Walker estate.
It had been abandoned since my grandmother died.
Nobody had entered it in years.
At least, that's what my father claimed.
James didn't believe him.
Neither did I.
We arrived at 10:47.
The chapel was surrounded by dead trees.
No cars.
No people.
No movement.
James stopped the vehicle.
“Stay inside.”
I looked at him.
“You're going alone?”
“No.”
He checked the perimeter.
“Lauren stays with you.”
My father looked at him.
“And me?”
“You're coming.”
My father nodded.
Anna stepped out.
She looked at the chapel.
“I remember this place.”
“From when?”
“When I was a child.”
“You were here?”
“Once.”
“With Rebecca?”
“Yes.”
James looked at her.
“What happened?”
“She showed us the basement.”
I frowned.
“There isn't a basement.”
Anna smiled faintly.
“There is.”
We entered the chapel.
Dust covered the pews.
The stained-glass windows were broken.
A large wooden cross hung above the altar.
Anna walked straight toward it.
She touched the base.
Then looked at me.
“Push.”
I did.
Nothing happened.
She pushed beside me.
A mechanism clicked.
The altar moved backward.
A staircase appeared.
My father whispered:
“It's still here.”
James looked at him.
“You knew?”
“I knew there was a passage.”
“Where does it go?”
My father shook his head.
“I never went down.”
James looked at Anna.
She stepped onto the first stair.
“I have.”
We followed.
The stairs descended into darkness.
At the bottom was a circular room.
In the center stood a stone table.
On it was a metal box.
My heart began pounding.
Anna approached it.
“There.”
A small fingerprint scanner was built into the lid.
James frowned.
“That's modern.”
My father shook his head.
“It was installed twenty years ago.”
“By whom?”
“Rebecca.”
Anna placed her hand against it.
Nothing happened.
She looked at me.
“Together.”
I placed my hand beside hers.
The scanner flashed.
Green.
The box opened.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
A key.
And a photograph.
I picked up the photograph.
Rebecca stood beside two infants.
One in each arm.
Me.
And Anna.
But there was another person in the photograph.
Elias.
He was smiling.
Young.
Alive.
And standing behind him was Thomas.
Holding a gun.
I turned the photograph over.
There were words.
This is the last picture before they came for us.
I looked at my father.
“Who took this?”
“Your mother.”
I stared at him.
“She knew.”
“Yes.”
“She knew Thomas wanted to kill us.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she leave me with him?”
“She didn't.”
My father looked at me.
“Your mother stole you.”
My chest tightened.
“She took you from the hospital before Thomas could find you.”
“Then why did she give Anna away?”
“Because she couldn't protect both.”
Anna looked down.
“I was given to Clara.”
“Yes.”
“By your mother.”
My mother nodded.
“I had no choice.”
Anna's expression hardened.
“You never came back.”
“I tried.”
“No.”
Anna shook her head.
“You chose Emily.”
My mother began crying.
“I chose the daughter Thomas knew about.”
I froze.
“What?”
My mother looked at me.
“Thomas knew you existed.”
“But not Anna.”
“Yes.”
“So you hid her.”
“Yes.”
“And you raised me.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Anna.
My twin.
The sister I had never known existed.
The sister who had spent twenty-eight years believing our mother chose me over her.
Now I understood why she had looked at me with such sadness.
She wasn't angry because I had been loved.
She was angry because she hadn't.
Anna wiped her eyes.
“Rebecca wanted us together.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew the final vault required both of us.”
James picked up the sealed envelope.
“Let's see what's inside.”
He opened it.
A legal document.
At the top:
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ELEANOR WALKER.
My hands trembled.
The original will.
The real one.
James read aloud.
“Section One: All public assets shall remain under the control of the Walker family.”
He turned the page.
“Section Two: All private holdings shall remain protected until the birth of the fourth generation.”
He turned another page.
Then stopped.
“Section Three…”
His expression changed.
“What?”
He read:
“Upon activation of the fourth-generation trust, all assets shall be transferred to the descendants of Rebecca Walker, in equal protection.”
I looked at Anna.
“Equal.”
She nodded.
James continued.
“Neither daughter may independently transfer, sell, or surrender the assets.”
My heart raced.
“Then Thomas can't take them.”
“Not legally.”
James turned the page.
“There is more.”
He read silently.
Then looked at me.
“The trust doesn't end with Emma.”
“What?”
“It continues through her children.”
My father whispered:
“That's why Thomas is desperate.”
James nodded.
“If Emma inherits, the Walker family loses control permanently.”
My mother shook her head.
“No.”
James looked at her.
“What?”
“There's another clause.”
She pointed to the bottom.
He read it.
His expression became unreadable.
If either daughter dies before authentication, the surviving daughter becomes sole trustee.
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
Anna looked at me.
“If I die…”
She swallowed.
“You control everything.”
“And if I die?”
“You control everything.”
We both went silent.
Then I understood.
They didn't just want the trust.
They wanted us separated.
Because together, we were stronger.
But divided—
one death could change everything.
A sound echoed from above.
Footsteps.
James immediately turned off his flashlight.
Everyone froze.
Another step.
Then another.
Someone was descending the stairs.
James motioned everyone behind the stone table.
A shadow appeared.
Then a man stepped into the room.
Gray hair.
Tall.
Scar across his temple.
Thomas Walker.
My grandfather.
He looked at me.
For the first time in my life, I saw the face of the man whose name had been spoken in whispers.
He smiled.
“Emily.”
My blood turned cold.
Anna stepped beside me.
Thomas looked at her.
“Anna.”
He smiled.
“You finally found each other.”
James stepped forward.
“Stay where you are.”
Thomas laughed.
“You're very brave, Captain.”
James's eyes narrowed.
“You've been hunting my family.”
“No.”
Thomas shook his head.
“I've been protecting my legacy.”
“You threatened a baby.”
“I never touched her.”
“You hired people who did.”
“No.”
Thomas looked at me.
“Your husband is blaming the wrong people.”
I felt my heart pound.
“Then who attacked Emma?”
Thomas smiled.
“Ask Rebecca.”
The room went silent.
I stepped forward.
“Where is she?”
Thomas looked at me.
“Closer than you think.”
Then the lights came on.
Rebecca stood behind him.
Alive.
Older.
Scarred.
Holding a gun.
I stopped breathing.
She looked at me.
Then Anna.
Then Emma's photograph in my hand.
Tears filled her eyes.
“My daughters.”
James immediately raised his weapon.
Rebecca shook her head.
“I didn't come to hurt you.”
“Then why are you here?”
Rebecca looked at Thomas.
“Because he lied to all of us.”
Thomas's smile disappeared.
Rebecca pointed the gun at him.
“He didn't start the fire.”
My heart stopped.
“He started the war.”
She looked at me.
“And I was the one who finished it.”
Then she lowered the gun.
“I need you to hear the truth before midnight.”
A pause.
“Because after midnight, there may be nothing left to save.”
Outside the chapel, engines roared.
Several vehicles surrounded the building.
James looked toward the windows.
“We're surrounded.”
Rebecca smiled sadly.
“No.”
She looked at Thomas.
“They're not here for us.”
“They're here for the will.”
And then every light in the chapel went out.
May you like
A gunshot exploded in the darkness.
And someone screamed.
