Chapter 12 - The Bride They Prepared for a Funeral
Hazel wore white.
Not because Evelyn ordered it.
Because Hazel wanted her to believe she had won.
Luca hated the plan.
“You are not bait.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re walking into her trap.”
“I’m walking into mine.”
Hazel had learned enough from Luca to plan carefully.
Federal agents surrounded the church.
Sofia monitored exits.
Daniel, still recovering, insisted on helping.
Noah remained protected elsewhere.
Hazel entered alone.
Evelyn waited at the altar.
Salerno stood beside Hazel’s mother.
A gun pressed against her ribs.
“You came.”
“Obviously.”
Evelyn smiled.
“You always were obedient.”
“You don’t know me.”
“I watched you for years.”
Hazel’s skin crawled.
Evelyn revealed the final plan.
She needed Hazel’s biometric authorization to transfer Halcyon’s remaining assets.
Afterward, Hazel would die.
Luca would be blamed.
The Moretti organization would collapse.
Salerno would inherit what remained.
Hazel approached the terminal.
“Let my mother go.”
“After.”
“No.”
Salerno struck her mother.
Hazel’s rage flared.
She placed her finger against the scanner.
ACCESS GRANTED.
Evelyn smiled.
Then the screen changed.
TRANSFER INITIATED.
Destination:
CHICAGO VICTIMS RESTITUTION TRUST.
Evelyn screamed.
Hazel smiled.
“I changed the destination yesterday.”
The money was moving beyond their reach.
Salerno raised his gun.
Luca burst through the side door.
Everything happened at once.
Hazel’s mother dropped.
Agents stormed the church.
Evelyn fled upstairs.
Salerno grabbed Hazel.
Luca stopped.
“Let her go.”
Salerno pressed the gun beneath Hazel’s chin.
“Give me the override.”
“There isn’t one.”
“Then she dies.”
Hazel looked at Luca.
He looked terrified.
Not ruthless.
Not powerful.
Terrified.
For her.
Hazel moved suddenly.
She drove her heel into Salerno’s foot.
Luca lunged.
The gun fired.
Salerno fell.
Hazel ran toward her mother.
Alive.
Then someone screamed from the balcony.
Hazel looked up.
Evelyn stood above them.
May you like
She held Luca’s sister against the railing.
And beneath Sofia’s feet, the old wooden balcony had already begun to crack.
