Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN ON THE FLOOR
Julian drove to Saint Alden Cathedral himself.
He ignored the driver, security detail, and coordinator shouting behind him.
When he reached the entrance, the cathedral doors were partly closed.
He heard a sharp crack.
Then another.
He shoved through.
A woman was already on the polished floor near the front aisle.
She was older. Bald. Pale. Trembling.
Vanessa stood over her in a white wedding gown, gripping a thin wooden cane.
The woman dragged herself backward.
"Please! Don't hit me again!"
Vanessa seized her shoulder.
"Stay away from my family!"
Julian did not think.
He charged forward, grabbed Vanessa by both shoulders, and drove her several steps away.
"Get away from her!"
The cane clattered across the floor.
Vanessa stared at him.
"Julian, wait—"
He did not.
He dropped beside the woman and slid one arm behind her shoulders.
"Ma'am... look at me."
She raised her eyes.
Julian froze.
Something inside him moved before memory caught up.
The shape of her eyes.
A faint scar near her left eyebrow.
The way one corner of her mouth trembled when she tried not to cry.
He had seen all of it before.
Not in photographs.
In childhood.
A bedroom illuminated by a night-light.
A hand smoothing his hair.
A voice telling him that thunderstorms could not enter a house unless someone invited them.
Julian's hands began to shake.
"Wait..."
The woman stared back.
No explanation.
No plea.
Only terror and recognition.
Julian gently supported her face and leaned closer.
The years changed everything.
Illness had changed more.
But the face was still there beneath it.
"No... it can't be... she is my—"
He stopped.
Vanessa's expression changed.
Not surprise.
Fear.
Julian looked over his shoulder.
"You knew who she was."
Vanessa recovered quickly.
"I knew who she claimed to be."
"Why were you hitting her?"
"Because she broke into the cathedral and threatened me."
The woman in Julian's arms flinched.
Vanessa pointed toward a side door.
"She came through there with forged documents. She said she would destroy the wedding. She grabbed me first."
Julian looked at the woman's hands.
Thin.
Weak.
No obvious sign she had attacked anyone.
Still, Vanessa understood what evidence mattered.
She crossed to a pew and picked up her phone.
"I called security before you arrived. The cameras will show everything."
Julian looked toward the ceiling.
Saint Alden had extensive surveillance.
For one moment, he felt relief.
Then Vanessa added, "Except this aisle camera has been offline all morning. The coordinator already knows."
Julian stared at her.
Too convenient.
The cathedral doors opened again.
Eleanor entered.
She saw the woman on the floor.
Her entire body stopped.
The older woman's lips parted.
"Eleanor."
Julian slowly turned.
His aunt's face contained no confusion.
Only guilt.
"You know her," Julian said.
Eleanor whispered, "Yes."
Vanessa stepped backward.
Julian looked from one woman to the other.
"Mara?"
The woman nodded once.
Julian felt the world tilt.
His mother had not died twenty-eight years ago.
And the aunt who raised him had known she was alive.
May you like
Then Mara tightened her hand around Julian's sleeve.
"Your father didn't die the way they told you."
