Chapter 1 - The Flash Drive in the Bouquet
Nathan Cole smiled at the bruises on his bride’s face like they were part of the ceremony.
The church was full.
White flowers lined the polished aisle. Sunlight poured through the tall stained-glass windows. Elegant guests sat in the pews, whispering behind gloved hands and expensive programs.
At the altar, Nathan stood in a black tuxedo, tall and handsome, his smile polished enough for photographs.
Behind him, a projector screen hung quietly above the floral arch.
No one paid attention to it yet.
The bride walked alone.
Her veil was torn.
Her lower lip was split, a little dried blood still visible at one corner. A bruise darkened her cheek beneath the careful makeup Elise had tried to apply with shaking hands. Her white satin gloves gripped a bouquet of white roses.
She did not look weak.
She looked hurt.
There is a difference.
The guests noticed.
The whispers began before she reached the first pew.
“What happened to her?”
“Where’s her father?”
“Why is she walking alone?”
Nathan leaned toward one of his groomsmen, loud enough for the front rows to hear, and smirked.
“She needed a reminder of who’s boss before we sign the papers.”
The pastor’s face went pale.
Vivian Cole, Nathan’s mother, sat in the front pew wearing a champagne-colored gown and diamonds, her blonde hair styled perfectly. She did not look horrified.
She looked approving.
The bride reached the altar.
Nathan stepped close and gripped her injured wrist beneath the bouquet, his thumb pressing into the tender skin hard enough to make her breath catch.
The pressure showed in her face.
But she did not pull away.
She looked up at him.
“Are you finished?”
Nathan leaned closer, still smiling for the crowd.
“You sign after the vows.”
The bride’s eyes changed.
Pain became stillness.
Stillness became something colder.
She slipped one hand into the bouquet, parting the white roses with deliberate calm.
Elise, her maid of honor, stood behind her, pale and tense.
The bride pulled out a small black flash drive.
The front pew fell silent.
Nathan’s smile twitched.
Vivian’s chin lifted.
The bride looked directly into Nathan’s face.
“Then let’s remind them who you really are.”
She turned toward the projector setup near the altar and plugged the flash drive in with one clean motion.
The projector hummed awake.
A hard white light spilled across Nathan’s face.
His smug expression collapsed.
Vivian rose halfway from her seat, mouth open now, the diamonds at her throat trembling.
The screen behind Nathan began to glow.
The bride did not look at it.
She watched his face.
May you like
Because she already knew what was coming.
And judging by the way Nathan suddenly could not breathe, so did he.
