Chapter 1
The chill of the white marble floor bit through the delicate layers of tulle and silk as Julianna breathed out a shaky, shallow gasp. Her knees throbbed from the sudden impact, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the suffocating pressure in the grand cathedral. Richard stood over her, his grey bespoke suit straining against the sudden, violent tension in his broad shoulders. His face was twisted into an ugly, unfamiliar mask of rage, his short dark hair damp with sweat under the warm overhead chandeliers. Around them, the pews were filled with people who had come to celebrate a union, yet now they leaned forward with morbid fascination, their glowing smartphone screens casting an eerie blue light across their frozen faces.
Julianna raised her chin slowly, her veil slipping back to reveal a face pale with terror and a strange, quiet resolve. The scattered white wedding flowers—roses and lilies she had chosen with such careless hope only months ago—lay crushed beneath the heavy boots of the guests and the violent momentum of Richard’s assault. Just moments before, the organ had been playing a gentle prelude, and Julianna had felt the cold dread pooling in her stomach as she realized she could not go through with the charade. She had turned toward the massive oak doors, desperate for air, desperate for an escape from a life built entirely on lies.
Richard’s roar still echoed off the vaulted ceilings. He had lunged forward like a striking animal, his hand catching her shoulder and spinning her violently down. The guests had gasped, but no one had moved to help. They were a modern audience, trained to capture tragedy rather than prevent it. Richard pointed a shaking finger downward, his voice dropping to a harsh, venomous hiss that cut through the cavernous silence of the holy space.
"You don't walk out of here," Richard had snarled, his eyes bulging slightly as he towered over her crumpled form.
"Crawl!" he commanded next, the word dripping with absolute disdain.
Julianna forced her hands flat against the cold stone. Her palms stung, but she refused to let her tears fall. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with a mixture of distress and a burgeoning, dangerous clarity. Richard pointed down again, his face flushing a deep, mottled crimson as he looked around at the silent crowd watching his humiliation unfold.
"Crawl like the trash you are!" Richard spat, his chest heaving with exertion. "Who the hell—"
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Before he could finish his demand, Julianna shifted her weight. She did not lower her head in submission as he expected. Instead, she turned her upper body and sat back onto the heavy folds of her white skirt, her movements deliberate and eerily calm. She lifted a trembling, gloved hand and pointed straight past Richard toward the grand entrance of the church, where the heavy oak doors were slowly, silently being pushed open by a row of men dressed identically in sharp, uncompromising black suits.
"He's the man who brought us your body," Julianna said.
