chapter 1
The wedding was supposed to be perfect.
Soft violin music echoed through the old stone chapel as Emily walked down the aisle in the dress she had dreamed about since she was a little girl. Every guest smiled. Every camera flashed. Daniel couldn't stop staring at the woman he believed would become the love of his life forever.
But destiny had already written a different ending.
Just seconds before exchanging their vows, Daniel stepped behind Emily to straighten the veil resting on her shoulders.
Then he froze.
Three long crimson scratches stretched across her bare back.
Fresh.
Deep.
As if someone had desperately clawed at her skin only minutes earlier.
His heart nearly stopped.
"Emily..." he whispered, his voice trembling. "What happened to your back?"
Emily didn't answer.
She slowly reached behind herself, touching one of the wounds with shaking fingers. When she saw the blood on her hand, every drop of color vanished from her face.
"No..." she whispered.
Daniel felt a cold wave crawl down his spine.
"Who did this?"
Emily's lips trembled.
Then she leaned closer and whispered just one name into his ear.
"Michael."
Daniel stepped backward as if someone had punched him in the chest.
Michael.
His own older brother.
The best man standing only a few feet away, smiling proudly beside the altar.
Daniel looked toward him.
Michael smiled back... but something about that smile suddenly felt wrong.
Too calm.
Too confident.
Too rehearsed.
The priest asked everyone to stand.
The ceremony continued.
But Daniel couldn't hear a single word.
His eyes remained locked on his brother while a thousand terrifying questions raced through his mind.
Why would Emily say Michael's name?
Had they been together before?
Was there an affair?
Or was something much darker hiding behind those scratches?
Emily quietly grabbed Daniel's hand beneath her bouquet.
"Please..." she whispered without looking at him.
"Don't ask anything here."
"Not now."
"Not in front of everyone."
Daniel wanted answers.
Instead, he nodded.
The vows continued.
Guests clapped.
Flowers fell from the ceiling.
The cameras captured what looked like the happiest couple in the world.
No one noticed that the groom's hands were shaking.
No one noticed that the bride was silently crying beneath her veil.
And no one noticed Michael slipping his phone into his pocket after deleting one final message.
Mission completed.
That evening, during the lavish wedding reception, Daniel couldn't shake the image of those bloody scratches.
Every time he looked at Michael laughing with relatives, his stomach tightened.
Then Emily disappeared.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen.
Daniel searched every hallway until he heard muffled voices coming from an empty bridal dressing room.
One voice belonged to Emily.
The other...
Was Michael's.
Daniel slowly reached for the doorknob.
Inside, someone whispered:
"If he finds out what really happened that night..."
"...we're all dead."
Daniel pushed the door open.
But the room was completely empty.
Only Emily's bouquet lay on the floor.
And beneath it...
May you like
A small silver key covered in fresh blood.
TO BE CONTINUED...
