Chapter 2 - The Scent of Petrol
Heavy boots echoed down the stone corridor as three men in tactical vests rushed into the chapel. Panic tore through the front rows. Guests shrieked, knocking over floral arrangements and velvet kneelers as they scrambled toward the exits.
""Nobody moves!"" barked the lead operative, a scarred man whose left eye was milk-white.
Clara didn't flinch. She recognized him instantly. He was Victor Kane—Richard’s personal head of private security, the man who had supposedly pulled Clara’s charred body from the wreckage of the cabin two decades ago.
Julianna ran behind her father, clutching his sleeve. ""Victor! Arrest her! She’s an impostor trying to sabotage the merger!""
Victor ignored the bride completely. He stopped three paces from Clara, his sidearm holstered, and drew a stiff military salute. The gesture sent a paralyzing shockwave through the room.
""Report, Victor,"" Clara commanded quietly.
""The perimeter is secure, ma'am,"" Victor said, his gravelly voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings. ""The warehouse files in Zurich have been extracted. Your father’s personal accounts are frozen by federal injunction as of four minutes ago.""
Richard stumbled against the marble altar, knocking a brass chalice to the floor with a hollow clang. ""Victor... you swore loyalty to me. I paid you thirty million dollars to erase her existence!""
""You paid me to kill a seven-year-old child, Mr. Vance,"" Victor replied without an ounce of remorse. ""I took your money, but I hid her in the foster system under an alias. And today, the contract expires.""
Julianna looked wild, her blonde hair slipping from its diamond pins. She lunged forward, her manicured nails aiming for Clara’s throat. ""You ruined my life! You’re nothing!""
Clara caught Julianna’s wrist mid-air with lightning precision, twisting it down until the bride gasped in agony.
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""I didn't ruin your life, little sister,"" Clara whispered into Julianna’s ear. ""I just took mine back. But you should worry less about me, and more about the groom you just bought.""
Marcus Vance looked past Julianna, his face gray with guilt, as sirens began wailing outside the stained-glass windows.
