‘Divers are still searching, but I have to tell you, it doesn’t look good. Eyewitnesses report the limo sank at least ten minutes ago.’

‘For those of you just joining us, you’re looking at a live telecast over the Gandy Bridge where a limousine transporting former president Ennis Chaney and one of his godsons was struck by a hit-and-run driver as it was heading east into Tampa. Chaney and his driver have been rescued, but the unidentified Gabriel twin is still missing.’

‘Jennie, from what we understand, Tampa Bay Buccaneers owners Dan and Linda Broersma, had invited Chaney and his godson to watch this afternoon’s football game—’

‘Stand by, Jennie, it looks like divers have surfaced.’

The camera angle changes, zooming in on the stern of the Coast Guard rescue boat where a body is being lifted out of the water.

Lilith holds her breath as the carcass, supported by a team of divers, breaks the surface.

It is the dark-haired twin, Immanuel.

20

For one more terrible moment in man’s history, the world seemed to stop spinning.

Over the years, stories about the Gabriel twins had grown to almost legendary proportions. News of Immanuel’s demise stunned the public as much as the deaths of John Lennon, Princess Diana, or John F. Kennedy, Jr.. But it was in Mesoamerica where the Mayan Indians had worshiped the teens as living deities that the news was hardest to swallow.

Riots broke out in Central America. Zealots took nosedives off pyramids. Schools and businesses closed. People wept openly in the streets. Back in the States, news journalists stormed the gates of the Gabriel compound by the hundreds, forcing the military to shut down access bridges leading into Longboat Key.

What the public wanted was information, what the media insisted upon was proof. They demanded to examine the body, which had been transported back to the compound to be readied for burial.

In her grief, Dominique finally relented, knowing there would be no peace without verification. A team of physicians were allowed to enter the Gabriel compound, along with a CNN film crew and two witnesses drawn from a lottery.

The morbid event was telecast around the world.

After thirty minutes, a heavily sedated Dominique could handle no more. Everyone but Ennis Chaney and the immediate family were banned from the compound.

The former president spoke to the world later that evening, providing sparse details about the hit-and-run, saying only that Immanuel’s body would be cremated. A public mass and international day of mourning was scheduled for Monday in Washington, DC.

Belle Glade, Florida November 5, 2027

The unmarked police car enters the lot of the Belle Glade Breakers Motel and parks. Lilith gets out of the passenger side and knocks on the door of Room 113. ‘Open up, Uncle Don, it’s me—Lilith.’

Detective Colson joins her at the door. ‘Do you have a key?’

‘Yes.’ She slips the magnetic key in the lock and opens the door.