Chapter 9
The heavy oak double doors of St. Jude’s Church groaned as Thomas pushed them outward, revealing the bright, unforgiving glare of the mid-afternoon sun. The shock of the natural light made Leo squint, burying his face deeper into his mother’s shoulder. The air outside tasted crisp, smelling faintly of pine needles and exhaust fumes from the highway a mile away, a stark contrast to the stagnant, claustrophobic air of the white coffin.
Sarah stepped over the threshold, her legs trembling with every step, but she refused to let her grip on Leo loosen. The dark suit he wore now felt like a relic from another lifetime—a costume for a funeral that had turned into a battlefield. Thomas walked beside them, his shoulders hunched as if carrying an invisible weight, guiding them toward a sleek black sedan parked directly beneath the weeping willow tree in the courtyard.
"Get in the back," Thomas instructed quietly, holding the rear door open. His fingers were shaking slightly as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket and handed them directly to Sarah. "Take the back roads through the valley. Avoid the interstate; Arthur has contacts with the highway patrol."
Sarah slid into the leather interior, pulling Leo in beside her. She clutched the silver flash drive in one hand and the car keys in the other, her hazel eyes staring intently at the lawyer. "Why are you doing this, Thomas? After all these years of protecting the firm, why break now?"
Thomas offered a sad, hollow smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Because watching an eight-year-old boy pick open a coffin with a rusty tool to save his mother tends to recalibrate your moral compass, Sarah. Some debts aren't worth paying with a soul." He gently closed the car door, locking it from the outside, and stepped back onto the gravel driveway.
As Sarah started the engine, the low, powerful purr of the V6 engine vibrated through the chassis. Through the tinted windshield, she saw Arthur step out from the side entrance of the church, holding a heavy iron fireplace poker in his right hand. His eyes locked onto the sedan just as Sarah threw the gearshift into reverse.
"Hold on, Leo," Sarah whispered fiercely, her knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. She slammed her foot down on the gas pedal, sending the car backward in a spray of gravel and dust.
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Through the rear window, Leo watched Arthur sprint toward the driveway, his face twisted in a mask of impotent rage, shaking the iron poker in the air as the distance between them rapidly grew. Beside Arthur, Thomas stood motionless near the willow tree, watching them leave with an expression of quiet resignation.
The car swung out onto the county road, picking up speed as the spire of St. Jude’s Church receded into the distance, swallowed up by the sprawling green hills of the valley. Leo let out a long, shuddering breath, the tension finally beginning to drain from his narrow shoulders as he leaned his head against his mother’s arm.
