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Gabriel’s knee touched the cold marble floor of St. Augustine’s Cathedral. The distance between him and the white casket felt like a canyon of fractured glass. / Chapter 6 / 10

Chapter 6 - The Wrong Bet“You forgot one thing, Cole,” Gabriel said, his voice as cold as the stone tombs around them.

Cole frowned, his finger tightening slightly on the trigger. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You assumed I trusted you,” Gabriel said smoothly. “A man in my position doesn’t survive thirty years at the top by trusting his executioner. Three days ago, when you first requisitioned the industrial-grade plastic and the coroner’s transit permit… I had my tech division trace your digital footprint.”

Cole’s face paled instantly. “That’s… that’s impossible. I routed through three secure proxies in Zurich.”

“My tech guy is better than yours, Cole,” Gabriel replied calmly. “And as for the bakery on 4th Street… do you really think I didn’t recognize the address when Lily mentioned it? That’s not a safehouse. That’s our oldest munitions bunker. The one you and Vivian secretly converted behind my back.”

Vivian’s eyes widened in sudden, absolute terror. She whipped out her cell phone, frantically tapping the screen to check the live security feed of the 4th Street bunker.

The screen flickered to life, showing empty, smoking concrete rooms. The C4 charges hadn't detonated. In fact, the screen showed federal tactical agents calmly carrying out heavy crates of explosives while leading a terrified, bound guard out into the night.

“No… no, that’s impossible!” Vivian shrieked, dropping the phone. It shattered against the stone floor. “We checked the feeds an hour ago!”

“An hour ago, you were busy planning a theatrical funeral,” Gabriel said, raising his pistol with blinding speed.

Bang.

The gunshot cracked through the crypt like thunder.

Cole let out a sharp gasp, dropping his weapon as a bullet cleanly pierced his right shoulder, spinning him around and sending him crashing hard against a stone sarcophagus. He screamed in agony, clutching his bleeding arm.

Before Vivian could reach into her coat for a concealed blade, Gabriel closed the distance between them in two massive strides. He grabbed her by the collar of her expensive wool coat, slammed her back against the ancient stone wall, and held the barrel of his pistol an inch from the bridge of her nose.

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He Moved His Mistress Into the Beach House I Bought His Parents—So I Sold It and Cut Off His Cards The woman who opened the door to my beach house was barefoot, freshly showered, and wearing my husband’s favorite college T-shirt. Three seconds later, I saw his shoes by the sofa, his overnight charger plugged into the wall, and two half-finished glasses of wine on the coffee table. By the time Evan came out of the bedroom and asked, “How did you know I was here?” I understood that the affair was only the first thing he had been hiding from me. The ocean was loud that afternoon. Not violent, not stormy, just constant—the heavy Atlantic rhythm that had once made me fall in love with the North Carolina coast. Wind moved through the sea oats beyond the porch, carrying salt and the damp smell of sand through the open screen door. I had driven from Wilmington after finishing a bookstore event three hours earlier than expected. The plan had been simple. Surprise Diane and Frank with lunch. My in-laws had lived in the house for six months, ever since I bought it as the retirement place they had talked about for years. Frank’s cardiac procedure had frightened everyone, and Diane had begun saying they were tired of winters inland, tired of stairs, tired of being so far from the ocean. I could afford the house. That mattered. I was a commercial novelist, and after fifteen years of inconsistent beginnings, my backlist had finally become predictable enough to create the strange kind of financial stability writers rarely admitted existed. Royalties came from older books, foreign editions, television options that mostly went nowhere, audiobook licensing, and one series that kept selling long after I expected readers to forget it. The down payment came from an investment account I opened before I met Evan, combined with proceeds from intellectual property I had created before our marriage. The deed was in my name. At the time, that had not felt like strategy. It felt like paperwork. I loved Evan. I loved his parents. When I gave Diane the keys, she cried. “This is too much,” she said. I hugged her. “Then enjoy too much.” Frank stood behind her with tears in his eyes and said, “We’ll take care of it like it’s ours.” I thought that was gratitude. Six months later, another woman opened the door. She wore Evan’s faded black concert shirt, the one with the cracked white logo of an alternative band he had loved in college. Two years into our marriage, I once tried to place the shirt in a donation box. Evan took it from my hands so quickly I laughed. “No.” “It has holes.” “It survived college.” “So did you.” “Exactly. It’s family.” He folded it himself. Later, when Diane stored a box of Evan’s old belongings, the shirt apparently went with it. Now it fell nearly to a strange woman’s knees. She had damp brown hair and pale bare feet. “Hi,” she said. “Can I help you?” For several seconds, I didn’t answer. I looked past her. A light cardigan hung over the sofa. Two wineglasses sat beside takeout containers. Pink slippers rested beside gray sneakers I knew immediately. Evan’s. Beside the shoes was his black travel charger with blue tape around the cord. I had packed that charger for him before his supposed sales conference in Atlanta. On the console near the stairs sat his leather toiletry bag. Ordinary details. That was what made them devastating. Nothing looked rushed. No one had been caught in the middle of some spontaneous mistake. Continued in the first c0mment

He Moved His Mistress Into the Beach House I Bought His Parents—So I Sol...

The dark walnut paneling of Valance absorbed the ambient amber light, making the private dining room feel like a velvet trap. Sabrina shifted slightly beside Nathan, her fingers grazing the base of her crystal water glass. She had spent two hours curling her hair and selecting a dress that whispered corporate elegance, convinced tonight was the night she cemented her place not just in Nathan’s office, but in his life.

The dark walnut paneling of Valance absorbed the ambient amber light, ma...

The amber light of the Fairmont ballroom caught the subtle glimmer of the diamonds against Madison's neck—my diamonds. From my vantage point on the mezzanine, looking down through the polished brass railing, I could see the exact way Ethan placed his hand at the small of her back. It was the same possessive, practiced grip he used to use on me during our early years, before the long hours, the late-night "investor calls," and the quiet erosion of our marriage.

The amber light of the Fairmont ballroom caught the subtle glimmer of th...

“You lost, Viv,” Gabriel whispered into her ear. “Now… where is my wife?”

Vivian laughed hysterically, blood fleaking her lips as she stared defiantly into his eyes. “You’ll… you’ll never find her in time, Gabe. She’s not at the bakery. She’s not in the city. And the person holding the key… isn’t me.”

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