Chapter 1 Wedding Dress, Blood Red

The scent of roses filled the bridal suite-lavender candles, ivory silk, and the clink of champagne glasses. Selena Moore stood in front of the full-length mirror, her hands trembling slightly as she adjusted the lace sleeve of her wedding gown. She looked like a dream-flawless makeup, loose curls, a diamond tiara glinting beneath the soft lights.

But something felt...wrong.

"Cold feet?" Vanessa laughed behind her, swirling a glass of bubbly. Her best friend-maid of honor-wore a crimson satin dress, hugging every curve like it was stitched to her skin.

Selena smiled faintly. "No. Just nerves. It's the biggest day of my life."

Vanessa walked over and rested a hand on her shoulder, but her grip was tight. Too tight. "Then relax. You've already won, Sel. You're marrying Lucas Blackwell. The man every woman in this city would kill for."

Selena's smile widened, but her heart didn't lift. Something about those words made her skin crawl. She turned back to the mirror and whispered, "I still can't believe he chose me."

Vanessa's smile sharpened. "Believe it."

A soft knock interrupted the tension. One of the hotel staff poked his head in. "Miss Moore, the groom sent a package. He said to open it privately."

Selena took the small black box, her fingers brushing the velvet like it might bite her.

When the door shut behind the staffer, she sat on the edge of the couch, heart hammering. "Probably earrings," she muttered.

But when she lifted the lid, she froze.

Inside was a single USB flash drive. Nothing else.

Vanessa leaned in. "Weird. Did he forget the jewelry?"

Selena's chest tightened. Her instincts screamed something was off. "No. He's never been the sentimental type."

Alone in the room a few minutes later, Selena slid the USB into her laptop.

A video file popped up. Titled only: "WATCH ME."

She clicked.

At first, it was dark. Then a flicker of hotel room lighting. A male voice-Lucas's-low, unmistakable.

"Don't worry, baby," he murmured. "After the wedding, her money's as good as ours. Then she's gone."

Selena's blood iced.

Another voice joined in. Light. Feminine. Laughing.

Vanessa.

"She actually thinks you love her," Vanessa said, mockingly. "Poor, stupid Selena. But hey-at least she'll die married."

Selena shot up from the chair, gasping.

This had to be fake. It had to be. A prank. A cruel joke.

But deep down, she knew it wasn't.

Her fingers hovered over the trackpad, and she clicked again-rewinding the video, needing to be sure she hadn't misheard.

"-she'll die married."

The words rang in her ears louder this time. The camera panned to a blurry view of Vanessa straddling Lucas in a hotel bed-her bed. Her white sheets. Her betrayal.

Selena stumbled backward, knocking over a glass vase. It shattered, spraying petals and water across the marble floor.

Her phone buzzed with a message from Lucas:

"Can't wait to see you at the altar, sweetheart. Let's make forever official." 💍

Her legs gave out. She collapsed to the floor in her wedding gown, tears blurring her vision, lungs tightening with betrayal, rage, and disbelief.

She'd given Lucas everything. Her love. Her trust. Her inheritance.

And now they planned to bury her in a silk coffin, veil and all.

A knock sounded at the suite door. Then a voice she once trusted more than her own whispered sweetly through the gap-

"Selena? It's time."

Selena didn't answer. Instead, she looked down at her trembling hands.

Then she looked up into the mirror, and for the first time, she didn't see a bride.

She saw a woman born to burn them all.

To be continued...