CHAPTER 9 – The Last Bride
Richard Bennett's funeral was held exactly one week after his death.
No reporters were allowed inside.
No cameras.
No livestream.
Only family...
And twelve men dressed in identical black suits.
Sophia recognized none of them.
Yet every one of them wore the same silver ring engraved with the symbol of the Black Veil.
Claire whispered through the hidden earpiece beneath Sophia's hair.
"They're all here."
The FBI had spent decades searching for the organization's leadership.
Now, for the first time...
Every surviving member had gathered in one place.
Sophia had volunteered to become the bait.
Hidden beneath her black funeral dress was a tiny microphone.
A GPS tracker.
And a miniature camera sewn into her necklace.
As the ceremony ended, an elderly chauffeur approached.
"Miss Bennett."
"The Chairman requests your presence."
Sophia forced herself to smile.
"I've been expecting him."
She climbed into a long black limousine.
The windows darkened automatically.
Thirty silent minutes later...
The car stopped before a secluded stone estate hidden deep in the forest.
Massive iron gates slowly opened.
Beyond them stood an ancient mansion illuminated only by candlelight.
More than a hundred guests filled the grand ballroom.
No music played.
No one spoke.
Every guest wore a black veil.
At the center of the room stood a single wedding altar.
The elderly man with the silver cane stepped forward.
For the first time...
Sophia finally saw his face.
Wrinkled.
Elegant.
Calm.
His smile carried no anger.
Only certainty.
"Welcome home, Sophia."
She stared directly at him.
"You murdered dozens of women."
He shook his head gently.
"No."
"I selected successors."
He raised his cane toward the guests.
"For generations, powerful families have traded marriages for influence."
"Love was never part of the agreement."
Sophia fought to keep her expression steady.
"You killed innocent people."
The old man sighed.
"Innocence has never changed history."
He nodded toward a large wooden door.
It slowly opened.
Inside stood twelve young women wearing identical white wedding dresses.
Terrified.
Crying.
Drugged.
Sophia's blood turned to ice.
"They're the next brides."
The Chairman smiled.
"And tonight..."
"You'll become their queen."
At that exact moment...
Claire's voice crackled through the earpiece.
"We have enough."
"Move!"
Sophia ripped the hidden microphone from her necklace and threw it onto the ballroom floor.
"NOW!"
The mansion exploded into chaos.
Windows shattered.
Flash-bang grenades lit the darkness.
FBI agents stormed through every entrance.
Guests ran in every direction.
Some surrendered immediately.
Others reached for concealed weapons.
Gunfire echoed through the mansion.
The Chairman never flinched.
He simply smiled at Sophia.
"You still don't understand."
Then he pressed a hidden switch inside his silver cane.
Every light in the mansion went black.
May you like
The old man disappeared.
Again.
