Within less than twenty-four hours, Julian had arranged a lavish private funeral service inside the estate's private chapel. He invited high-society friends, corporate investors, and several local news reporters to demonstrate his great generosity toward his staff. A pristine white wooden coffin sat at the very front of the chapel, surrounded by hundreds of fresh white lilies. Clara was ordered to stay in the back row with the rest of the domestic household workers. She wore her standard maid uniform because Julian had explicitly forbidden the staff from wearing personal dark formal clothing. He wanted everything to look crisp, professional, and controlled for the arriving guests and photographers.
As the chapel filled with wealthy guests in expensive black coats, Clara kept her eyes fixed on Julian. He was shaking hands with wealthy business partners, accepting their soft condolences with a very sad expression. But whenever he thought no one was watching, his face turned cold and completely devoid of emotion. Clara moved closer to the front row, slipping past rows of polished gold chairs where visitors sat softly talking. She noticed that the white coffin was completely sealed with large silver screws along the upper wooden trim. Standard funeral caskets were never sealed so tightly before the main memorial service had even begun.
Clara remembered the legal documents she had seen hidden in Lily's canvas bag just two days before the accident. She stepped backward out of the chapel while the minister began reading opening prayers over the sound system. She quickly sprinted up the rear stairwell that led straight to the estate's private administrative offices upstairs. The door to Julian's office was locked, but Clara used her brass master key to open the heavy lock. The room smelled of expensive cigars and cold leather, and papers were scattered across the massive wooden desk. Clara began frantically opening drawers, searching for any document mentioning her younger sister's full name.
Deep inside a locked metal filing box, Clara found a heavy white folder stamped with red legal ink. The papers inside detailed a massive life insurance policy worth five million dollars taken out on Lily's name. Julian had listed his private investment company as the sole primary beneficiary just three weeks prior to the incident. Attached to the back was a fake employment contract stating Lily had signed over her legal rights. Clara felt a wave of cold anger wash over her entire body as she read the false signatures. She realized that Julian had planned this entire tragic event to save his failing business from complete bankruptcy.
Suddenly, Clara heard heavy footsteps echoing down the tiled hallway outside the private office door. She quickly jammed the folder under her maid apron and slipped out through the narrow side service door. She ran down to the basement maintenance room where tools were kept for daily property repairs and garden care. Hanging on the wooden rack was a heavy iron emergency axe with a long smooth handle. Clara reached out her shaking hands and pulled the heavy tool off the wall rack with determination. She turned around and marched straight back toward the grand chapel where the funeral service was taking place.
The minister was reaching the end of his eulogy as Clara pushed open the heavy wooden chapel doors. The sound of her black work shoes echoed loudly across the polished white marble floor of the room. Guests turned their heads in absolute shock as the maid walked down the center aisle carrying an axe. Julian froze near the front podium, his eyes wide with instant fury as he watched her approach the stage. He raised his hand and called for the security guards standing near the rear exits to intervene immediately. But Clara was moving too fast for anyone to stop her before she reached the platform.