The Pope had denied his request for retirement just weeks ago. “I need you here,” he had said. Now, in death, he has condemned Lomeli to remain in Rome longer than he ever imagined.

But what he doesn’t know yet is that his greatest trial is only just beginning.

The Vatican Machinery Begins to Turn

At dawn, Rome awakens to the news. The bells of St. Peter’s toll for the Supreme Pontiff. In the square, pilgrims and the faithful begin to gather.

Inside the Vatican, the power struggle has already begun.

Cardinal Joseph Tremblay, the Camerlengo and interim administrator, calls together the Curia’s key members. With his impeccable silver hair and measured voice, he announces the funeral will be in six days. The Church must present unity to the world. But in private, every cardinal knows this is merely the prelude to the real battle: the election of the new Pope.

Names begin to emerge in hushed conversations. Aldo Bellini, the progressive intellectual. Joshua Adeyemi, the charismatic African cardinal. And Goffredo Tedesco, the Patriarch of Venice, leader of the traditionalist faction.