Chapter 5 - THE JUDGE WHO RANSmoke poured into the bell tower as Nathan struck the locked door with the metal bar.
Elena covered her mouth with her sleeve and searched for another exit.
Sofia's eyes watered.
Below them, flames climbed the staircase.
The smell of burning timber thickened.
Nathan swung again.
The bar struck the lock with a sharp metallic crack.
Nothing moved.
“Stand back!” he shouted.
Elena drew her weapon.
“Everyone away from the door!”
She fired twice at the locking mechanism.
The first shot shattered the outer plate.
The second broke the bolt.
Nathan kicked the door.
It flew open.
Heat rushed toward them.
They couldn't descend the staircase.
The flames had already swallowed the lower steps.
Sofia stumbled toward the window.
“There's a maintenance ladder!”
A narrow iron ladder ran along the exterior wall.
Its upper section was badly rusted.
Nathan examined it.
“It's our only chance.”
Elena opened the window.
Cold air rushed into the tower.
Far below, firefighters were arriving.
The ladder swayed slightly when Nathan tested it.
Elena went first.
Then Sofia.
Halfway down, one of the ladder's supports tore loose from the wall.
Sofia screamed as the structure shifted.
Nathan grabbed her wrist.
“Look at me!”
She looked up.
“Don't look down. Keep moving.”
Her hands burned against the rusted rails.
Slowly, she descended.
A firefighter reached her near the bottom and helped her onto a rescue platform.
Minutes later, all three stood safely outside.
The church roof collapsed behind them.
Flames shot into the morning sky.
Sofia watched the building disappear.
Her mother's church.
Her childhood memories.
Another piece of her family consumed by the people who had already taken so much.
Nathan placed a blanket around her shoulders.
“You're safe.”
Sofia shook her head.
“No. We're alive. That's not the same thing.”
Elena approached, her face streaked with soot.
“Morel's car left before officers reached the gate.”
“Did anyone get the license plate?” Nathan asked.
“We have partial numbers. Traffic cameras may help.”
Sofia clutched the leather pouch.
The brass key was still inside.
So was Isabelle's letter.
Despite the fire, the evidence had survived.
For the first time, Sofia felt something stronger than fear.
Determination.
By evening, Nathan had secured an emergency judicial order preserving the courthouse records and obtained authorization for a special investigative team.
Morel was now officially wanted for questioning in connection with attempted murder, evidence tampering, and obstruction of justice.
But the investigation quickly revealed that his influence extended far beyond the courtroom.
Three officials refused to cooperate.
A clerk reported that boxes of old records had vanished from storage.
And the original evidence inventory from Gabriel's case had been accessed remotely just hours before the fire.
Someone was cleaning up the past.
Nathan arranged a meeting in a secure conference room.
Elena spread photographs across the table.
Six men.
All prominent figures during Gabriel's trial.
Judge Richard Morel.
District Attorney Harold Whitcomb.
Businessman Victor Hale.
Police Commissioner Raymond Cross.
Attorney Samuel Dorsey.
And a man named Charles Sterling.
Sofia studied the photographs.
“Who is Sterling?”
Elena's expression tightened.
“He ran the private investment company that financed several major city projects.”
“Where is he now?”
“Dead. Officially.”
Sofia looked up.
“What does that mean?”
“He supposedly died during a boating accident thirteen years ago. His body was never recovered.”
Nathan leaned back.
“Another convenient death.”
Elena nodded.
“Three of these men are confirmed dead. Morel is missing. Hale is living overseas. Cross retired and disappeared from public life.”
Sofia pointed to Whitcomb.
“What about him?”
Nathan hesitated.
“Harold Whitcomb is still alive.”
“Then we question him.”
“It's complicated.”
“Why?”
Nathan looked directly at her.
“Because Harold Whitcomb is the current state attorney general.”
Sofia felt the room tilt.
The man responsible for overseeing major criminal investigations might have helped frame Gabriel.
“And he's the one who authorized your task force?” she asked.
Nathan nodded grimly.
Sofia looked at Elena.
“Then he already knows everything we're doing.”
Nobody answered.
Nathan's phone buzzed.
He glanced at the screen and stood.
“I need to take this.”
He stepped into the hallway.
Sofia watched through the glass as he listened silently.
His expression changed.
When he returned, his face was pale.
“What happened?” Sofia asked.
Nathan closed the conference-room door.
“The attorney general just ordered us to surrender all evidence and terminate the investigation.”
Elena cursed under her breath.
Sofia stood.
“We can't let him bury this.”
Nathan looked at her for a long moment.
Then he placed his phone on the table.
“I already refused.”
A heavy silence followed.
Nathan continued.
“And Whitcomb told me something before hanging up.”
Sofia waited.
“He said Gabriel Varenne's daughter would regret getting involved.”
Sofia stared at him.
“My mother was Isabelle Laurent.”
“I know.”
“My father was Michael Laurent.”
May you like
Nathan's voice dropped.
“According to Whitcomb, neither of them was your biological parent.”
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