Chapter 6 - The Poisoned Bloodline"Elena..." I whispered, slowly turning around, keeping my hands visible. "What are you doing? We unlocked the doors. It's over."
Elena laughed—a hollow, hysterical sound that echoed mournfully through the empty, ruined cathedral. Sunlight streamed through the shattered stained-glass windows, illuminating the dust particles and smoke hanging in the air.
"Over?" Elena said, her voice dropping to a terrifying whisper. "For you, Liana, it's a grand revelation. You're the tragic heroine who was secretly the rightful heir all along. You get the fortune, you get the truth... and you get my fiancé."
"Elena, I never wanted any of this!" I pleaded, taking a cautious step forward. "I didn't ask for Dad's secret letter! I didn't ask for Julian!"
"Don't take another step!" Elena snapped, raising the barrel directly at my forehead. Her trigger finger was visibly tensing. "You think I didn't notice the way he looked at you at every family dinner for four years? You think I didn't see him watching you when he was supposed to be holding my hand? I was the placeholder, Liana! My entire existence was a goddamn waiting room for you to turn twenty-five!"
"Elena, listen to me," Julian said calmly, slowly pushing himself up from the altar, stepping between me and the barrel. "Shoot me if you're angry. I'm the one who kissed her. I'm the one who broke the contract today. Leave Liana out of this."
"How brave," Elena sneered, tears pouring down her pale cheeks. "The noble hero taking a bullet for his true love. How beautiful. But you're missing the point, Julian. If I kill her... the trust defaults to the secondary heir. The adoption papers were forged, yes, but legally, I am still registered as the eldest living child of the Vance estate."
"You really think you can walk away with the money after committing murder in front of God and everyone?" a sharp, stern voice interrupted.
My mother stepped out from behind a pillar. Her silk dress was stained with soot, her perfectly styled hair disheveled, but her posture was suddenly unyielding.
She walked directly toward Elena's gun.
"Mom, stay back!" Elena yelled.
"Shoot me then, Elena," my mother said coldly, taking another step. "Shoot the woman who pulled you out of that cold Prague asylum when you were three years old! Shoot the woman who spent twenty years pretending you were her real blood so you wouldn't feel second-best!"
Elena's hand began to shake violently. "You... you used me as a decoy!"
"Yes!" my mother shouted, her voice echoing with immense grief. "We used both of you! Your father was a monster, Elena! He controlled everything, including me! He forced me to treat Liana like an outcast so Marcus wouldn't target her! He forced me to give you the spotlight so you would draw the crosshairs! I sacrificed both of my daughters to protect a fortune built on blood!"
My mother stopped inches from the barrel of Elena's gun, placing her chest right against the cold metal.
"If you want to kill someone for ruining your life, Elena... kill me. I'm the one who let your father do this."
Silence hung heavy over the cathedral. The only sound was the distant wail of police sirens approaching in the distance.
Elena stared into our mother's eyes. The murderous rage in her expression slowly melted away, replaced by the profound, agonizing heartbreak of a daughter who realized she had never been loved for who she was.
A soft sob escaped Elena's lips. The gun slipped from her fingers, clattering onto the marble.
She collapsed to her knees, burying her face in her blood-stained bridal veil, sobbing uncontrollably.
My mother sank down beside her, pulling Elena into a tight, desperate embrace, weeping into her daughter's hair.
Julian grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the side exit of the cathedral. "We have to go, Liana. The police are coming, and Marcus's men are going to wake up. We need to get to Zurich before Marcus's legal team freezes the bank accounts."
I looked back at my mother and sister holding each other in the ruins of the wedding.
"Julian..." I hesitated. "What about them?"
May you like
"They have to answer for what they did," Julian said quietly, his grip on my hand warm and firm. "But right now, we have to finish this. Together."
We ran out into the bright afternoon sun, leaving the burning cathedral behind.
