Chapter 9: The Cornered Wolf**
The atmosphere inside the chapel turned suffocatingly cold. Richard glanced toward the back doors, only to see Detective Brody entering alongside two armed officers in tactical vests.
"You're making a catastrophic mistake, James," Richard hissed, dropping the benevolent older-brother facade. "You have nothing. Just the delusions of an unstable nurse you picked up off the street."
"We have the dashcam feed from your Mercedes, Richard," Rebecca spoke up, stepping to the edge of the sanctuary platform. "We have the wire transfers to Officer Higgins, and the forged asset transfer signatures you executed while James was identifying Claire’s body."
Richard reached into his breast pocket, but Brody moved faster, closing the distance in three long strides and pinning Richard’s arm against the wooden pew.
"Richard Vance, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit vehicular homicide, fraud, and witness intimidation," Brody announced calmly, clicking the steel handcuffs around Richard's wrists.
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The sanctuary erupted into shouts and gasps from the guests, but James, Rebecca, and Lily stood untouched at the center of the storm.
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