Chapter 6 - The Funeral TrapThe plan was simple, but every detail had to be controlled.
Madison would enter the cathedral after Preston made statements confirming his motive. Undercover officers would remain among the guests. Detectives would record conversations between Preston and Celeste.
Elias arranged for the insurance documents to be brought to the service.
Detective Quinn warned Madison that appearing in public could be physically and emotionally overwhelming.
“You do not have to confront him yourself,” Mara said. “We can arrest him before the funeral.”
Madison looked through the hospital window at the city.
“For twelve days, the world has listened to him describe my death. He cried for cameras while sleeping in my house with the woman who helped him plan it.”
“You have nothing to prove.”
“This isn’t about proving I survived.”
Madison placed a hand over her belly.
“It’s about making sure he sees that he failed.”
The doctors reluctantly approved her release under strict conditions.
She would remain accompanied by medical staff and avoid unnecessary physical strain.
On the morning of the funeral, Madison dressed in a dark green maternity dress.
It was the same dress she had planned to wear at a foundation dinner before the trip to Colorado.
Elias waited outside her room.
When she appeared, he looked at her for a long moment.
“You look like your mother,” he said.
Madison’s mother had died from cancer when Madison was seventeen. She had been direct, fearless, and impossible to intimidate.
“She would have hated Preston,” Madison replied.
“She distrusted him before I did.”
“You never told me.”
“She said you needed to see people clearly for yourself.”
Madison looked down.
“I saw him too late.”
Elias shook his head.
“The shame belongs to the person who betrays trust, not the person brave enough to give it.”
At the cathedral, Preston greeted guests with practiced sorrow.
He accepted condolences from executives whose money he had stolen. He promised journalists that he would continue Madison’s charitable work.
Celeste remained close to him.
She had already selected a real-estate agent to sell Madison’s coastal home.
During a private conversation near the altar, she reminded Preston of his promise.
“When the money arrives, we leave the country.”
“Not immediately,” Preston said. “That would look suspicious.”
“You told me we would be gone within a week.”
“I told you what you needed to hear.”
Celeste stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“It means stop asking questions.”
An undercover officer standing nearby recorded every word.
Then Celeste asked the question that destroyed her last possible defense.
“You promised she would never survive that fall.”
Preston leaned close.
“She didn’t.”
Seconds later, the pallbearers entered.
The cathedral doors closed.
The funeral began.
Outside, Madison waited beside her father.
Detective Quinn touched the radio attached to her coat.
“We have the statement,” she said. “Both suspects confirmed their knowledge.”
May you like
Madison heard the organ begin.
“Open the doors.”
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