Chapter 8 - THE ALTAR SCREENSI reached the front of the altar and stood beside Audrey. The priest smiled benignly, opening his leather-bound Bible to begin the ceremony.
“Dearly beloved,” the priest began, his voice echoing off the vaulted stained-glass windows, “we are gathered here today to unite this man and this woman in holy matrimony—”
“Stop the service,” I said clearly.
The priest blinked, dropping his hands. A murmur rippled through the front pews.
My father stood up from the front row, his face twisting into a mask of furious disbelief. “Grant! What on earth are you doing? Say your vows and let’s get on with it!”
I turned my head slowly, looking directly at Audrey. Her radiant smile had vanished, replaced by a sudden, icy tension in her jaw.
“I forgot to give my bride her wedding gift,” I said, my voice carrying clearly across every microphone in the chapel.
I reached into my inner jacket pocket, pulled out the filthy, mutilated white rabbit with one missing ear and loose stitches, and placed it gently on top of the velvet altar Bible.
Gasps echoed through the pews. Several high-society women wrinkled their noses in disgust at the dirt-stained toy.
“Grant, what is the meaning of this childish nonsense?” Audrey hissed, her voice trembling slightly as she stared down at the rabbit.
“It’s not nonsense, Audrey,” I replied calmly. “It’s a family heirloom. It belongs to a little girl named Lily Mercer—the daughter of the man your father and mine murdered two years ago.”
The chapel exploded into total pandemonium.
Shouts of shock and outrage erupted from the guests. Flashbulbs from hidden reporters went off across the aisles.
My father rushed down the aisle toward the altar, his face purple with rage. “Cut the audio feeds! Security, remove him immediately!”
Before a single guard could move toward the altar, the massive twenty-foot LED screens behind the stained-glass windows—intended to display romantic photo montages of Audrey and me—suddenly flickered, hissed, and turned pitch black.
Then, glowing in bright, bold white text across the screens, a single word appeared:
EXPOSED.
The audio files began to play over the cathedral’s surround-sound speakers.
Crystal clear. Undeniable. Unmistakable.
My father’s voice filled the chapel, detailing the warehouse fire that killed Daniel Mercer.
Then Audrey’s voice chimed in, laughing as she confirmed the assassination of my mother on the coastal cliff road.
The entire chapel sat in stunned, paralyzed horror as the darkest secrets of the Vance and Sinclair dynasties were broadcast live to every smartphone, television, and news feed across the country.
Audrey staggered backward, her face draining of all color, her manicured hands trembling violently as she realized the trap had just snapped shut on her own neck.
And from the rear double-doors of the chapel, the heavy oak doors slowly swung open.
A figure stepped out of the morning light, walking slowly down the center aisle.
May you like
It was Daniel Mercer.
And walking right beside him, holding his hand and carrying her stuffed rabbit, was little Lily.
