Bodies went still.
Tommy stepped forward quietly, already moving to clean the scene the way professionals did.
I lowered the gun.
The cathedral was dead now.
The same place where those boys once came for help.
Now holding the truth that they never got.
I turned toward the doors.
“Let’s go.”
Tommy followed behind me.
My mind was already moving forward.
One name crossed off the list.
Seven left.
Now, I had to see my mother…
CHAPTER 47
Vivi
THAT SAME NIGHT…
“Prayers for a Killer”
The evening felt heavy long before Ares arrived. But a mother always knows when something has shifted when her son says he’s coming over after midnight.
I had been sitting at my small prayer table near the window for almost an hour. My rosary rested in my hands, beads sliding slowly between my fingers while I whispered quiet prayers.
Protection.
Mercy.
Guidance.
Things mothers pray for when their sons walk paths the world would never understand.
I heard a keycard hit my door.
I stood and opened the door before Ares could reach for it again.
He stepped inside without a word.
Ares looked exactly the way his father always did after business.
Calm.
Controlled.
But I knew him too well.
