CHAPTER 7 — THE BULLET THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
The gunshot thundered through the cathedral.
Sophia screamed.
Guests threw themselves to the floor.
The sniper's bullet tore through the air...
...but it never reached Alexander.
At the last possible second, Richard Carter lunged forward.
BANG!
The bullet slammed into his shoulder.
He crashed onto the marble floor as blood spread across his white shirt.
"Richard!" Ethan shouted instinctively.
Detectives rushed toward the shattered stained-glass window while snipers searched the rooftops across the street.
But the shooter had already vanished.
Richard struggled to breathe.
For the first time in Ethan's life...
...the powerful billionaire looked terrified.
"Listen to me..." Richard whispered.
"You only have a few minutes."
Ethan knelt beside him.
"Who hired the sniper?"
Richard grabbed Ethan's wrist with surprising strength.
"It wasn't Alexander."
"It wasn't Victoria."
"It wasn't Sophia."
His voice became weaker.
"It was..."
Suddenly, every light inside the cathedral went dark.
The building fell into complete darkness.
Panic erupted.
People screamed.
Children cried.
Emergency alarms echoed through the halls.
Then...
One spotlight flickered on.
It illuminated the altar.
Someone was standing there.
Wearing a black mask.
Their voice echoed through hidden speakers.
"Welcome to the final act."
A massive screen behind the altar lit up.
One by one, photographs appeared.
Richard.
Alexander.
Sophia.
Victoria.
Ethan.
Each photo was crossed out with a red X...
...except Ethan's.
The masked figure laughed.
"You've all been chasing the wrong enemy."
"I created every accident."
"I arranged Sophia's kidnapping."
"I hired Victoria."
"I forged the marriage."
"I leaked the Carter secrets."
"I even ordered today's sniper."
Alexander's expression hardened.
"You..."
The masked figure slowly removed one glove.
A distinctive tattoo appeared on the wrist.
Richard's eyes widened in horror.
"No..."
"It can't be..."
The stranger reached up...
...and slowly removed the mask.
The entire cathedral gasped.
Standing beneath it...
...was Ethan's younger sister.
The sister everyone believed had died in a house fire twenty years ago.
She smiled through tears.
"My name isn't Emily Carter anymore."
"It's Evelyn Blackwood."
She pointed directly at Ethan.
"And everything I've done..."
"...was to make my big brother remember the night he accidentally killed our mother."
The cathedral fell into stunned silence.
Ethan felt his heart stop.
May you like
Because somewhere deep inside his mind...
...a memory he had buried for twenty-five years was finally beginning to return.
