Chapter 1 - The Altar of Scorn
The cathedral floor chilled Clara through the frayed hem of her linen dress. Behind her, polite society chuckled beneath silk scarves and diamond chokers. They called it a union, yet every guest wore black as if attending an execution.
Richard Kane, Edward’s paternal uncle and self-appointed executor of the family fortune, stood near the front pew. His mouth formed a razor-thin grin. He had plucked Clara from the downtown soup kitchen that morning with five hundred dollars and a promise of shelter, purely to turn his comatose nephew into a town joke before legally seizing control of Kane Enterprises. A clause in old patriarch Kane’s will strictly mandated that Edward must marry before his twenty-eighth birthday to retain the chairman seat. Richard believed an insensate invalid married to a homeless vagrant would give him immediate grounds for conservatorship.
Clara knelt beside the yellow gurney. Her fingers shook as she held Edward’s limp, pale hand. The ICU telemetry machine pinged with rhythmic indifference: heart rate forty-two, blood pressure barely holding. His tuxedo was tailored to perfection, yet his cheekbones were hollow, marked by the faint scar above his brow.
""Do you, Clara Vance, take Edward Kane as your lawful husband?"" the priest muttered, eyes darting anxiously toward Richard.
""I do,"" Clara whispered. She slipped the cheap brass ring onto Edward's fourth finger.
She leaned in, her cheek brushing against his cold jawline. ""They brought me here to humiliate us both,"" she breathed softly into his ear. ""I won't laugh at you. You’re not alone anymore.""
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Richard stepped forward, clearing his throat loudly. ""Sign the certificate, girl, and leave by the servant gate. We have an ambulance waiting to move this vegetable to the hospice.""
Clara rose slowly, gripping Edward's lifeless fingers one last time. As she pulled her hand away, something miraculous and terrifying happened beneath the crisp hospital sheet: Edward’s forefinger twitched, pressing firmly against her palm.
