She Sold Paintings on the Street to Survive — Until the Wealthy Merchant’s Offer Shocked Everyone!
Chapter 5
They entered St. Matthew’s after midnight.
The old church smelled of dust, wax, and damp stone.
Clara carried a lantern.
Nathaniel followed.
Neither spoke.
The message had brought them to a forgotten room beneath the sanctuary.
There they found an old wooden chest.
Its lock had already been broken.
Inside were papers.
Dozens of them.
Shipping contracts.
Property deeds.
Cargo lists.
Letters.
And one portrait.
Clara lifted it carefully.
Her father had painted the face of a man.
The same man from the warehouse.
Edmund Blackwell.
But underneath the portrait was a date.
It was painted three years after Blackwell’s supposed death.
Clara whispered.
“He lived.”
Nathaniel stared at the portrait.
“No.”
“Then explain this.”
He could not.
A sound came from above.
Footsteps.
Clara extinguished the lantern.
They waited.
Someone entered the church.
A man’s voice echoed.
“Search below.”
Nathaniel grabbed Clara’s arm.
They moved behind a stone pillar.
Three men descended the stairs.
One carried a pistol.
Another held a lantern.
Clara recognized the third.
Harold Bell.
He whispered to the others.
“The girl found the papers.”
Nathaniel’s expression changed.
“They know.”
The men searched the chest.
One cursed.
“The ledger is gone.”
Bell turned sharply.
“Find them.”
Nathaniel pulled Clara toward a narrow passage.
They escaped through an old crypt and emerged behind the church.
They ran through the rain until they reached the carriage.
Only then did Clara realize she was shaking.
“Who were those men?”
“People who do not want the past uncovered.”
“But why?”
Nathaniel looked at the papers.
“Because your father’s death was not an accident.”
Clara closed her eyes.
She had suspected it.
Now she knew.
The next morning, Nathaniel summoned his lawyer.
His name was Jonathan Reed.
Reed examined the documents.
Then he looked at Clara.
“You should leave this alone.”
She stiffened.
“Why?”
“Because men with this much to hide will not stop at threats.”
“My father didn’t stop.”
“And look where that led.”
Clara stepped closer.
“Then I will finish what he began.”
Nathaniel looked at her.
For the first time, he smiled.
Not because he was pleased.
Because he finally understood something.
Samuel’s courage had survived.
It had simply changed hands.
