CHAPTER 6 – The Billionaire's Funeral Was the Perfect Trap
Three days later, the nation watched Richard Hale's televised funeral.
Thousands attended.
Government officials praised him.
Business leaders cried before the cameras.
A polished black coffin sat beneath white roses.
Everyone believed the billionaire was dead.
Everyone...
Except Emily.
She had discovered the funeral was staged.
The burned body found inside the prison transport wasn't Richard.
It belonged to a terminally ill inmate whose DNA records had been secretly altered years earlier.
Richard had bought himself a second life.
Emily made one impossible decision.
She walked into the funeral dressed in black.
No security guard recognized her beneath the veil.
As the ceremony reached its emotional climax, the minister asked everyone to bow their heads.
Emily quietly approached the coffin.
She unlocked it with the silver key from Locker 117.
The lid creaked open.
The crowd gasped.
The coffin...
was empty.
Suddenly every church door slammed shut.
The lights went dark.
A slow applause echoed through the cathedral.
One spotlight illuminated the balcony.
Richard Hale stepped forward, smiling.
"Congratulations, Emily."
"You passed the first test."
He wasn't alone.
Around him stood nearly twenty of the most powerful people in the country—judges, senators, CEOs, media owners, and police commissioners.
Richard laughed.
"You thought you destroyed my empire."
He spread his arms.
"You've only met the employees."
Then someone behind Emily whispered softly:
"Don't turn around..."
She froze.
The familiar voice continued.
"I'm your mother."
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
She turned slowly...
And came face-to-face with the woman she had mourned for twenty-three years.
But before mother and daughter could embrace...
A sniper's laser sight settled on Emily's chest.**
CHAPTER 6 – The Billionaire's Funeral Was the Perfect Trap
Three days later, the nation watched Richard Hale's televised funeral.
Thousands attended.
Government officials praised him.
Business leaders cried before the cameras.
A polished black coffin sat beneath white roses.
Everyone believed the billionaire was dead.
Everyone...
Except Emily.
She had discovered the funeral was staged.
The burned body found inside the prison transport wasn't Richard.
It belonged to a terminally ill inmate whose DNA records had been secretly altered years earlier.
Richard had bought himself a second life.
Emily made one impossible decision.
She walked into the funeral dressed in black.
No security guard recognized her beneath the veil.
As the ceremony reached its emotional climax, the minister asked everyone to bow their heads.
Emily quietly approached the coffin.
She unlocked it with the silver key from Locker 117.
The lid creaked open.
The crowd gasped.
The coffin...
was empty.
Suddenly every church door slammed shut.
The lights went dark.
A slow applause echoed through the cathedral.
One spotlight illuminated the balcony.
Richard Hale stepped forward, smiling.
"Congratulations, Emily."
"You passed the first test."
He wasn't alone.
Around him stood nearly twenty of the most powerful people in the country—judges, senators, CEOs, media owners, and police commissioners.
Richard laughed.
"You thought you destroyed my empire."
He spread his arms.
"You've only met the employees."
Then someone behind Emily whispered softly:
"Don't turn around..."
She froze.
The familiar voice continued.
"I'm your mother."
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
She turned slowly...
And came face-to-face with the woman she had mourned for twenty-three years.
May you like
But before mother and daughter could embrace...
A sniper's laser sight settled on Emily's chest.
