CHAPTER 7 — “The Second Heir Walked Into The Funeral… And Every Lie Finally Began To Collapse”
The burned photograph refused to leave Emma's mind.
"There were two missing heirs."
Those words echoed through the abandoned chapel long after the fire at Greenwood Estate had died.
The little girl in the white dress looked almost identical to Emma.
The same eyes.
The same smile.
The same silver necklace.
Only one thing was different.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written two names.
Emma.
Grace.
Emma stared at the second name.
"I've never heard of Grace."
The old butler slowly sat down.
His hands trembled so violently that he could barely breathe.
"There were twins."
Silence filled the room.
Ethan looked at him in disbelief.
"My mother... Amelia... gave birth to twins?"
The butler nodded.
"Only four people knew the truth."
"Henry."
"Richard."
"Victoria."
"And the doctor who delivered them."
Emma's entire world shattered.
"If I had a twin sister..."
"Where is she?"
Before anyone could answer...
The chapel doors burst open.
Police officers rushed inside.
"The fire wasn't an accident," one detective said.
"We found three bodies."
Emma's heart raced.
"Who?"
The detective swallowed hard.
"The doctor."
"The hospital director."
"And..."
He hesitated.
"...Richard Sterling."
Ethan frowned.
"No."
"He wouldn't die that easily."
The detective placed a burned passport on the table.
"It appears he was trying to leave the country."
Emma noticed something strange.
The passport photo looked newer than the document itself.
Then she remembered something Richard had once told her.
"Only to the people who wanted me dead."
He had faked his death once before.
Could he have done it again?
Just then, another officer rushed into the chapel.
"Sir!"
"We found a survivor!"
Everyone hurried outside.
An ambulance door slowly opened.
A young woman stepped out wearing a hospital blanket.
Her face was covered with bruises.
Her hair was shorter.
But the moment Emma saw her...
She stopped breathing.
It was like looking into a mirror.
The woman looked exactly like her.
The crowd gasped.
Even Ethan stepped backward.
The stranger slowly lifted her eyes toward Emma.
Then she smiled through tears.
"I've been looking for you..."
"...my whole life."
Emma whispered,
"Grace?"
The woman nodded.
Before the sisters could embrace...
A deafening sniper shot echoed across the cemetery.
Grace's smile disappeared.
A crimson stain spread across her shoulder as she collapsed into Emma's arms.
Chaos erupted.
People screamed.
Security agents searched for the shooter.
But the sniper had already vanished.
As paramedics fought to save Grace, she grabbed Emma's hand with surprising strength.
"You don't understand..."
"They don't want the inheritance..."
Emma leaned closer.
"What do they want?"
Grace used the last of her strength to whisper six chilling words.
"Find the vault beneath the cemetery."
Her eyes slowly closed.
Then, from somewhere deep beneath the old cemetery...
A loud metallic rumble shook the ground.
Ancient stone graves began to move.
Hidden beneath the Sterling family cemetery...
A massive steel door was slowly opening.
May you like
And whatever had been buried there for twenty-three years...
Was finally coming back to the surface.
