Chapter 3: The Man at the Door
The chapel seemed to shrink around the gun.
Nobody moved.
Nobody even whispered.
Ricardo stood between the weapon and Bia, every instinct in his body screaming at him to attack, run, or somehow make the impossible disappear.
His uncle remained in the doorway.
The gun was pointed downward, but everyone understood that the direction meant nothing.
“Now,” he said calmly, “give me the phone.””
Ricardo tightened his grip.
“You came armed to your own nephew’s brother’s funeral.””
His uncle glanced at Daniel’s casket.
“I came to prevent another death.””
“Whose?””
His eyes shifted toward Bia.
Ricardo immediately stepped closer to the girl.
“Don't look at her.””
His uncle's expression hardened.
“You don't understand what that child is carrying.””
“A phone?””
“A recording.””
Ricardo lifted it.
“Apparently everybody knows about this recording except me.””
“Then you're already in more danger than you realize.””
Helena moved cautiously away from the wall.
“Please.””
Her uncle looked at her.
“You should have stayed quiet.””
“I tried.””
“You failed.””
Ricardo’s eyes moved between them.
“You two know each other.””
Neither answered.
“Of course you do.””
He looked at the gun.
“If you came here to kill someone, you're going to have to go through me first.””
His uncle gave a humorless smile.
“That's exactly what I was hoping you wouldn't say.””
Suddenly, the sound system crackled.
Every speaker in the chapel came alive.
Static filled the room.
Then Daniel’s voice emerged.
“Ricardo.””
The entire chapel froze.
Ricardo stared at the ceiling.
His brother’s voice was unmistakable.
“If you're hearing this, something went wrong.””
His uncle's face changed.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.
“No.””
The recording continued.
“I knew they would come looking for the phone. I also knew they would try to scare you into surrendering it.””
Ricardo stared at his uncle.
“You knew this would happen.””
Daniel’s voice continued.
“So if they are standing in front of you right now, remember one thing.””
A pause.
“Don't trust the person holding the gun.””
Everyone looked at Ricardo’s uncle.
He cursed beneath his breath.
Then the speakers clicked off.
Silence.
Ricardo's voice came out cold.
“Put it down.””
His uncle didn't answer.
“Put the gun down.””
“You've heard one recording.””
“I've heard enough.””
“No, you haven't.””
He raised the weapon slightly.
Bia whimpered.
Ricardo's entire posture changed.
“Lower it.””
“Ricardo,” Helena whispered.
“Don't.””
His uncle stared at him.
“You think I'm the one you need to fear?””
“Right now, you're holding a gun.””
“That doesn't mean I'm the enemy.””
Ricardo laughed once.
“You walked into a funeral armed.””
“I walked into a room full of people who have no idea what's happening.””
“Then explain.””
His uncle looked toward Helena.
“She can.””
All eyes turned to her.
Helena swallowed.
“I don't know where to begin.””
“Begin with Daniel.””
She closed her eyes.
“I was with him the night he died.””
Ricardo already knew that, but hearing it again made his chest tighten.
“What happened?””
“He called me.””
“Why?””
“He said someone had discovered the files.””
“What files?””
“The accounts.””
“The same ones on the recording?””
“Yes.””
Ricardo looked at his uncle.
“Were you there?””
His uncle said nothing.
“That means yes.””
Helena's voice trembled.
“Daniel wanted to leave.””
“Leave what?””
“The company.””
“Why?””
“Because he found out where the money was going.””
Ricardo frowned.
“Where?””
She looked toward the mourners.
“People are listening.””
“I don't care.””
She hesitated.
Then she said:
“Government contracts.””
Several people gasped.
Helena continued.
“Money was being diverted through shell companies. Payments were made to people who were supposed to investigate us. Daniel found records connecting businessmen, lawyers, police officials, and politicians.””
Ricardo felt the room shift beneath him.
“And my uncle?””
Helena looked at him.
“He managed some of it.””
His uncle finally spoke.
“I managed nothing.””
“You signed the transfers.””
“I signed what I was told to sign.””
“By whom?””
Silence.
Ricardo's eyes narrowed.
“By whom?””
His uncle looked toward the back of the chapel.
“Not here.””
Ricardo stepped forward.
“You don't get to decide that anymore.””
A phone rang.
Everyone jumped.
It wasn't Ricardo's.
It was one of the mourners.
An elderly man reached inside his coat with shaking hands.
“I'm sorry.””
He stared at his screen.
Then looked up.
“I have no service.””
The phone rang again.
The same sound.
But now it was coming from somewhere else.
Then another.
And another.
Within seconds, several phones throughout the chapel began ringing simultaneously.
Nobody touched them.
Helena's face went white.
“What is this?””
Ricardo looked around.
Every phone displayed the same unknown number.
Then all of them stopped.
A message appeared on every screen.
LEAVE THE PHONE.
A second message followed.
OR SHE DIES.
The crowd gasped.
Ricardo looked at Bia.
The little girl was staring at her own doll.
“Who?””
Helena grabbed his arm.
“Ricardo, we need to leave.””
“No.””
“Please.””
“Not until I know what they're talking about.””
“Your mother.””
Ricardo stopped.
“What did you say?””
Helena’s eyes filled with tears.
“They sent me messages before the funeral.””
“What kind?””
“Threats.””
“Against you?””
She shook her head.
“Against your mother.””
Ricardo’s uncle lowered his gun slightly.
Helena noticed.
“You know.””
He looked away.
“You know what happened to her.””
Ricardo turned sharply.
“What happened to my mother?””
No answer.
“Tell me!””
His voice exploded through the chapel.
Bia began crying.
Ricardo immediately softened.
“I'm sorry.””
He crouched beside her.
“I'm here.””
She nodded, wiping her cheeks.
Then she whispered:
“Mommy said Grandma wasn't dead.””
Ricardo stared at her.
“What?””
“Mommy told me Grandma was hiding.””
Helena closed her eyes.
Ricardo turned toward her.
“You knew?””
“No.””
“Then how could Bia know?””
Helena shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Bia looked at her doll.
“She told me to remember the house.””
Ricardo frowned.
“What house?””
“The house by the water.””
His uncle suddenly spoke.
“Enough.””
Ricardo looked up.
“Why?””
His uncle's face had gone pale.
“Because this has nothing to do with the child.””
“Then why are you afraid?””
“I'm not.””
“You are.””
His uncle looked at the phone.
Then the doll.
Then at Helena.
“Give me the recording.””
“No.””
“Ricardo.””
“No.””
“I'm trying to keep you alive.””
“You should have thought about that before you lied to me.””
His uncle slowly lowered the gun.
Then, unexpectedly, he placed it on the floor.
Nobody breathed.
He kicked it toward Ricardo.
“There.””
Ricardo didn't touch it.
“Why?””
“Because now you need to understand.””
“Understand what?””
“That I came here because someone else is coming.””
A violent crash shook the chapel doors.
Everyone screamed.
Ricardo looked toward the entrance.
His uncle whispered:
“They found us.””
“What do you mean, they?””
Before he could answer, every light in the chapel went out.
The darkness was absolute.
Then a red emergency light flickered on.
The side hallway door opened.
A man stepped through.
He was tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Wearing a dark coat soaked with rain.
His face was partially hidden beneath a cap.
He held no visible weapon.
But he walked with the confidence of someone who didn't need one.
He looked at Ricardo.
Then at the phone.
Then at Helena.
And smiled.
“I was beginning to think you wouldn't find it.””
Ricardo's uncle stepped in front of him.
“You weren't supposed to come.””
The stranger laughed.
“You don't give me orders anymore.””
Something about his voice bothered Ricardo.
He had heard it before.
Recently.
Very recently.
Then he remembered the call.
The voice through the phone.
“You.””
The stranger looked directly at him.
“Yes.””
Ricardo's blood ran cold.
“You called me.””
“I did.””
“You said my brother told you my name.””
“He did.””
“My brother is dead.””
“I know.””
“Then how did he call you?””
The man's smile disappeared.
“He didn't.””
Ricardo froze.
“What?””
The stranger pointed at the phone.
“The call you received wasn't from Daniel.””
Ricardo looked down.
“But the number—”
“Can be duplicated.””
Helena stepped backward.
“Who are you?””
He ignored her.
He kept his eyes on Ricardo.
“Your brother made several recordings before he died.””
Ricardo tightened his grip around the phone.
“Where are the others?””
“Safe.””
“Where?””
“Not for long.””
The stranger walked closer.
Ricardo raised the gun from the floor.
The man's expression didn't change.
“Don't.””
“Stop right there.””
“Ricardo, listen to me.””
“No.””
“Your uncle is not the person you need to shoot.””
Ricardo's eyes flicked toward his uncle.
“Then who?””
The stranger pointed at Helena.
“She is.””
Helena stared at him.
“That isn't true.””
“She knows where the money went.””
“I don't.””
“She knows what happened at the warehouse.””
“I already told him.””
“No.””
The stranger smiled.
“You told him what you wanted him to know.””
Ricardo looked at Helena.
“You're still hiding something.””
She shook her head.
“I'm not.””
“Then say it.””
“I can't.””
“Why?””
“Because if I tell you, they'll kill Bia.””
The little girl stopped crying.
She looked up.
“Who?””
Helena's lips trembled.
“The people who killed your mother.””
Ricardo went still.
The stranger's face changed.
“You shouldn't have said that.””
Helena stepped away.
“I have to.””
“You don't understand.””
“I understand enough.””
Ricardo stared at them.
“What happened to Bia's mother?””
Helena looked at him.
“She wasn't supposed to survive.””
Bia whispered:
“But Mommy did.””
Helena nodded.
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Last night.””
Ricardo's heartbeat stopped.
“Last night?””
Helena's eyes filled with tears.
“She contacted me.””
“Where is she?””
“I don't know.””
“You talked to her and don't know where she is?””
“She told me to come here.””
“Why?””
“She said the phone wasn't the only thing she left behind.””
The stranger suddenly pulled a knife.
Ricardo raised the gun.
“Drop it.””
The man didn't.
He looked at Bia.
“The doll.””
Ricardo moved instantly.
He pulled Bia behind him.
“What about it?””
“Give me the doll.””
“No.””
The stranger took one step forward.
Ricardo aimed the gun directly at him.
“I said no.””
The man's eyes narrowed.
“You have no idea what you're holding.””
Bia clutched the doll tighter.
Then something inside it made a faint sound.
Click.
Everyone heard it.
Ricardo looked down.
The doll's stitched mouth had opened slightly.
A tiny compartment had popped loose beneath its dress.
Inside was a second memory card.
Helena stared.
“No…”
Ricardo picked it up.
The stranger's expression transformed.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
“What is it?”” Ricardo asked.
Helena whispered:
“The original.””
Ricardo held the memory card between his fingers.
The stranger lunged.
Ricardo stepped back.
The chapel erupted in chaos.
Chairs crashed.
Mourners screamed.
The stranger reached for Bia.
Ricardo swung the gun.
His uncle tackled the man from the side.
They slammed into a row of chairs.
Helena grabbed Bia and ran toward the altar.
“Move!””
Ricardo followed.
Behind him came a terrible struggle.
Then a gunshot.
Everyone froze.
A second later, the emergency lights returned.
Ricardo turned.
His uncle was on the floor.
Blood spread across his shirt.
The stranger was gone.
Helena screamed.
“Ricardo!””
He ran toward his uncle.
The older man looked up.
“Don't…”
“What happened?””
His uncle grabbed his wrist.
“Don't play it.””
“What?””
“The original recording.””
“Why?””
His uncle coughed.
“Because your father is in it.””
Ricardo went completely still.
“My father?””
His uncle nodded weakly.
“He's not dead.””
May you like
Then his hand fell away.
And somewhere inside the chapel, Bia's doll began playing another recording.
