Chapter 1 - The Cathedral of Lies
The gasp from the crowd was deafening as the heavy silk of my gown pooled at my feet.
Standing there in a simple white corset, the dark purple and yellow bruises on my collarbone and ribs were impossible to miss.
Camera flashes began to erupt from the back pews like a violent storm.
Adrian lunged forward, his face twisted into a grotesque mask of pure rage.
He reached out to silence me, completely forgetting the hundreds of influential eyes watching his every move.
Before his fingers could even brush my skin, a towering figure stepped smoothly between us.
It was the priest who had just been asking us to exchange our sacred vows.
Adrian barked an order for his security team to clear the building immediately.
He screamed that I was having a mental breakdown and needed medical attention.
I simply stood my ground, holding a small remote control in my right hand.
With a single press of a button, the massive projector screens meant for our childhood photo montage flickered to life.
Instead of romantic memories, the screens displayed high-resolution scans of forged bank transfers and offshore corporate structures.
Every single document bore Adrian's unmistakable signature next to millions of stolen dollars.
The wealthy donors in the front row began to whisper frantically to one another.
Vanessa, the elegant mistress sitting just rows away, suddenly looked as pale as a ghost.
She tried to slip quietly out of her pew, but the massive cathedral doors slammed shut with a heavy thud.
Adrian turned back to me, his eyes dark with a murderous promise.
He whispered that I was going to pay for this with my life.
I smiled calmly and told him he would have to wait in a very long line.
The priest slowly reached beneath his ornate robes and pulled out a gold badge.
He looked Adrian dead in the eye and introduced himself as Special Agent Miller of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Agent Miller declared that Adrian was under arrest for wire fraud, extortion, and corporate espionage.
Adrian backed away slowly, his hands raised in mock surrender.
But his eyes darted toward the side entrance where his head of security was waiting in the shadows.
A sudden explosion of smoke filled the altar, plunging the entire cathedral into absolute chaos.
People screamed and trampled over each other as I coughed through the thick gray cloud.
When the smoke finally cleared a few moments later, Adrian was completely gone.
Agent Miller swore loudly into his radio, calling for all units to lock down the perimeter.
I looked down at the marble floor and noticed a small, folded piece of paper left exactly where Adrian had been standing.
With trembling hands, I picked it up and opened it.
The note contained only one terrifying sentence.
May you like
"Did you really think I wouldn't secure an insurance policy before I walked down the aisle?"
I felt the blood drain from my face as I realized my younger sister, Lily, was no longer sitting in the front row.
