Chapter 10 - Fire in the Sanctuary
“Put it down,” I said.
Richard looked at me with mild annoyance. “You have no idea what you’re risking. This company employs six thousand people.”
“And the foundation serves families who trusted you.”
“You took the money meant to build their homes.”
“I borrowed it.” He smiled. “That’s what powerful people call it when they expect to pay it back.”
Julian lunged for the can. One of the guards caught him and drove him against a pew. The can hit the floor, spilling gasoline across the stone. Richard pulled a lighter from his pocket.
I heard Bell’s voice in my earpiece. “Avery, move now.”
Richard flicked the lighter. Julian kicked it from his hand. The flame skittered across the floor and died near a puddle. The guard punched Julian in the ribs. I grabbed a brass candle stand and swung it into the man’s shoulder, hard enough to make him stagger.
“Run!” Julian shouted.
I reached the east window and found the stone panel. It shifted when I pressed the carved star at its center. Behind it sat a metal box containing the original ledger, signed construction certificates, and a sealed envelope marked with my mother’s name.
Richard saw it and came for me.
The chapel doors burst open. Bell’s officers flooded the room, shouting commands. One guard dropped to his knees. The other tried to bolt through a side door and was tackled before he reached it. Richard raised both hands, his face twisted with fury.
“You can’t arrest me,” he shouted. “I’m the one who keeps this family alive!”
Bell cuffed him. “Tonight you’re the one we’re taking in.”
Julian slid down against the pew, one hand pressed to his ribs. I wanted to help him, but the sight of the ledger in my hands stopped me. Every page was a record of a choice he had made and a person he had failed.
The sealed envelope from my mother contained a final letter and a copy of the trust’s original share certificate. Beneath it was a note from Thomas Ashford, written shortly before his death: If Eleanor ever tries to erase Ruth’s ownership, the board must be shown this document. The company belongs to the people who built it, not the people who inherited its name.
Bell bagged the evidence. Outside, blue lights flashed across the snow.
As officers led Richard away, he turned toward me. “You think you’ve won? Eleanor will destroy you before breakfast.”
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My phone buzzed in my pocket.
A news alert had just gone live: ASHFORD HEIRESS ACCUSED OF STEALING CHILDREN’S CHARITY FUNDS.
