Third-Person POV

Land of the Living, Stonebridge Memorial Chapel (Nine days after Hezekiah's execution)...

"Hezekiah was a son that really never felt right in his skin," Jeffrey Chamblee said sadly as he faced the crowd of mourners (his wife and surviving children, the Coleman family, and selected friends) who were in attendance of the planned and private memorial service, a fancy urn that held his son's remains standing on a lone platform next to his senior-year school picture. "He expected very little in life, yet never truly felt at home with his own flesh and blood. Adelle and I did everything we could to make him feel comfortable, but I guess it's never enough for him. Sometimes I wondered what was on his mind when he pulled the trigger."

"Has he looked in the mirror lately? The answer's right in front of him," Franklin Coleman, Democratic state senator, muttered sotto voce to his wife, who didn't look too happy herself.

"Shh," Andrew said to his father, glaring at the older man.

"He was respectful, dutiful in his classwork, and always making sure that the family name never got tarnished in any way possible," Jeffrey went on as he paced around the chapel as if he was a preacher. "My wife and I knew that he never caused any problems, yet we failed to see that he was hurting himself by keeping his emotions in. Maybe it was because that he wasn't truly my son after my wife's tragedy with the rape charges long ago. Maybe he thought that what he did at school wasn't enough for my approval. Or maybe he was still suffering from the loss of his school friend despite me and everyone else telling him that Dalton was nothing but bad news. In either case, his suicide is something that I can never forgive. He was only hurting himself because he could've at least come to me or his mother to seek help."

"And I wonder why he didn't," Mrs. Coleman muttered loud enough for a few onlookers to hear

"Mom," Andrew admonished quietly, his harsh voice laced with exasperation. "You're making an embarrassment out of yourself."

"She's speaking the truth, boy," Mr. Coleman rebutted.

"Franklin and Dorothy? I assume that you both have something to say," Mr. Chamblee said, his eyes narrowed in silts as he glared his future son-in-law's parents down.

Mr. Coleman stood up and walked up to the podium. "Yeah," he replied as he squared his shoulders. "Yes, my wife and I do. And this is what I really think of you, Jeffrey Chamblee."

POW!

Everyone gasped in horror as the Chamblee patriarch stumbled from the senator's right hook. "What is the meaning odf this?!"

"It's all of this bologna that you're spouting out about your late son," Mr. Coleman spat angrily. "My wife and I know that you don't give two fucking shits about Hezekiah all because he was seen as a thorn in your sides, someone who doesn't fulfill your high standards of your American dreams. Your wife hated him because he resembled the rapist and you agreed with her when she suggested leaving in the care of your former maids and servants if not for him being sent to Europe so you and your brood can live it up. I may not know him very well like I should have, but even I knew that he was a good kid with no bad intentions. He did right by you and stayed out of the way, just like you said. Yet you never showed him any love like you do with your daughters and sons. Hell, my son might as well be a part of your family since you see him as the son that you wished Hezekiah was."

"We did love Hezekiah," Adelle lied smoothly. "He just couldn't handle his emotions properly."

"And I wonder why," Dorothy snidely shot back. "Your husband's standards became too much for him and he felt like he was in the wrong for everything. He kept it all to himself until you thought he wasn't enough no matter what he did."

"He was an attention-seeker," Mariah defended. "No one cares about what he felt. It's all about dignity, anyway."

Mr. Coleman shot his son a dirty look. "Do you see what you're getting yourself into by marrying her?" he said tersely. "She and her family are all stuck-up opportunists who cared more about fame and status over mental well-being and courtesy. Do you want to sink to their level to get to your goals?"

Andrew took a deep breath. "If it means breaking ties with you, Dad, then so be it," he said plainly. "Like Mr. Chamblee said, the twerp just couldn't deal with the pressures so he offed himself."

Mr. Coleman scoffed before storming over to his son and slapping him on the face. "You are no longer a Coleman," he seethed, nose flaring in anger. "By siding with these spawn of Satan, you are officially dead to this family."

"Funny, because you're not much of a family man by siding with a dead loser," Andrew sneered. "Besides, I need to be around winners, anyway."

Finally fed up with what was said, Mr. Coleman pushed his son to the ground before he and Dorothy collected their jackets. "The Chamblee family is nothing but a den of snakes and thieves," the older man intoned. "Those who side with them might as well have sold their souls to their devil. My wife and I will have no part of it! May God have mercy on your souls!"

With that, the duo sailed out of the room.

"Really," Adelle scoffed, helping Andrew to his feet. "Your family is...well, the less I have to say about them, the better."

"Sorry about them, ma'am," the younger man said. "But at least I'm finally free to be a part of this new family. For now, let's just go with the service and wrap everything up."

And the service went on without further delay: the minister offering words of encouragement, the final rites being administered over the urn, and the final prayers being said before everyone left for the Chamblee home where the reception was to be held.

No one happened to notice Cameron Chamblee leaving the chapel quietly after everything was dismissed and heading to a waiting town car where Senator Coleman was getting ready to enter when the young preteen gave him a small notebook that belonged to Hezekiah. "It's his diary," he had explained. "It was the one thing that the new maid forgot to get rid of when everything else of Kiah's was trashed. I can't be seen with it since Dad would have it tossed in the fireplace. So it's best that I give it to you."

"Thank you, son," Mr. Coleman replied. "There might be one good seed left. Just don't let your dad corrupt you. And something tells me that your brother's suicide may not be that."

"I agree," Cameron commented. "Please figure out everything, sir. Let my brother rest in peace wherever he may be."

He bid farewell and ducked back inside in time enough to greet the other guests and rejoin his family.

"That young man isn't like the others," Mrs. Coleman commented as the town car pulled out of the parking lot of the funeral home and made its way to the family home. "Jeffrey and Adelle are nothing more than backstabbers to their own late child."

"And Andrew's now a part of them," Mr. Coleman huffed. "I'll be writing him out of the will completely after today. But I need to make one phone call to someone who knows the family better than I do. And she could be a good ally for my plan to end the Chamblee dynasty for good."

"Who's that?"

Franklin Coleman grinned widely as he grabbed his cell phone and dialed the number. "Minnie Jean Carson Sammons, my old school mum."

**************

At the Chamblee residence...

Jeffrey held the small urn that contained his late son's ashes as he walked outside towards the garbage bin. "Well, Hezekiah, it's the end of the road for you," he said sleepily. "All the final farewells have been said and no one other than your mother and I know the real truth of how you died and why. As long as no one finds out about the family secret, no one will bother to care."

Finally reaching the garbage bins, he opened the lid of the urn. "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and garbage to garbage," he sneered as he opened the lid of the garbage bin and dumped the ashes inside. "Farewell, Hezekiah Chamblee. You will never be enough, not if you were in heaven or hell."

Tossing the urn inside the bin and closing it shut, he headed back inside to enjoy a late-night glass of wine with his wife before they would retire to their room for the evening.

No one would notice that someone who was already on the scene was taking photographs of what was going on. And no one had any idea that the same mystery person had been taking pictures ever since the weeks before Hezekiah's execution and the days afterward. But by the time anyone did notice, it would be too late.

Cumulative word-count so far: 20,439 words (hit the 20k word-count mark! Now to finish this story while not going over 40k words)

Things are definitely heating up for the Chamblee household because while they think that they're going to get away with the perfect murder, secrets and lies will soon be made known and the fall of the Chamblee dynasty will take place! But coming up next, we get to know more about Catalina "Cataluna" Slade as she's cooking up something scandalous for Hezekiah and Chance!

Dedication: DauntlessShadowIce1. Song: "Heartless" by Kanye West.

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