Chapter 8 - Trapped in the Courtyard
With the mortician in cuffs and paramedics rushing Sophia out toward the emergency vehicle, Fernando knew his life of luxury was over.
He slowly backed toward the side exit leading to the private parking courtyard, his eyes darting frantically toward his partner, Natalia.
"Natalia, get the car keys out of my coat!" Fernando hissed in a frantic whisper. "We have to leave now!"
Natalia took three steps back, looking at him with utter disgust and pure horror. "You put your own six-year-old child in a coffin, Fernando... You're a sick monster. Stay away from me."
"Useless!" Fernando spat under his breath. He turned and bolted through the side exit into the pouring rain, shoving past two shocked guests as he sprinted across the slick asphalt.
He ran toward his luxury SUV, but as he reached the vehicle door, a dark figure stepped out from the darkness of the police vehicles. Valerie was waiting for him, her dark navy dress soaked in rain, her eyes blazing with cold, lethal resolve.
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The heavy rain poured down in sheets across the dark courtyard, plastering Fernando's dark hair against his forehead as he stared in shock at his ex-wife standing between him and his escape vehicle. The red and blue police strobes reflected off the rain-slick pavement, illuminating Valerie's rigid, standing stance. She didn't look like a grieving mother anymore; she looked like an untouchable wall of justice that Fernando could neither manipulate nor bypass. Behind him, the side doors of the funeral home swung open as officers rushed out with flashlights cutting through the storm, calling out for him to freeze. Fernando looked left and right, finding himself completely boxed in by police cruisers, high concrete walls, and the furious woman whose life he had attempted to ruin for money.
👉 Read PART 9 to see Valerie confront Fernando in the storm!
