Chapter 2 TWO. FIONA

"I am. You must be my mother's future husband."

"Go to your seat. The wedding is about to begin."

I gaped in disbelief at his friendliness. On the contrary, he was very cold and even more annoying than his men. He turned around and gave me a view of his straight back as he walked towards the priest.

This was the most shitty wedding in my life. I don't know what was going through my mother's mind when she accepted that cold man to be her husband. My father was a warm and humorous man. I was pretty sure my mother's ideal type was a man like my father, not an icy man with ocean-blue eyes like Joshua Craig. Something must be wrong here. Maybe my mother was under the influence of alcohol when she said yes to him. Or maybe my mother was under the threat of a gun. It seemed very possible considering all the armed men filling this place.

My butt landed right on the pew that had my name written on it. I sat next to a middle-aged woman who was busy with her cellphone. From her style, she looked like old-money. She was wearing a black long-sleeved dress with swarovski stones sprinkled on her chest to waist. Her fingers were full of diamond rings and she wore a gold bracelet that was very dazzling. The other guests looked just as glamorous as the woman next to me. They were wearing expensive tuxedos or expensive dresses with flashy jewelry adorning their bodies. Maybe I was the only poor girl here. The dress I was wearing was even a gift from my mother's future husband. There was no way I could afford this expensive dress with my salary as a waitress at an ice cream shop.

"Boss, the bride has arrived."

"Let's start the wedding now, father."

Everyone straightened their backs and put their phones into their bags or pockets as Joshua Craig spoke to the priest. Classical music began to be played by an orchestra in the right corner of the hall. The atmosphere instantly turned silent and sacred.

I turned to see my mother walking down the aisle holding a bouquet of white lilies. Her face was beaming, and her gaze was only focused on Joshua Craig, who was standing stiffly beside the priest. I began to doubt if my mother said yes to him under threat. My mother would not look that happy if this was a forced marriage.

I wished I could wave at my mother and give her a flying kiss. I was happy for her, even though she married a strange man like Joshua Craig.

Bang

Bang

It happened so fast. The white dress that my mother was so proud of this morning suddenly turned red. Blood seeped all over her dress. The happiness on her face quickly faded, replaced by a blank stare before my mother fell to the church floor with a thud.

"Mom!"

My voice was drowned out by the deafening sound of gunfire around me. Someone grabbed my wrist and forced me to duck under a pew. The gunfire didn't stop. I saw people being shot dead in cold blood. The beautiful marble floor turned into a horrific sea of blood.

"Let go of me!"

My heart was pounding so hard in my ribcage. A man who was hiding under a pew, six feet away from me, was suddenly pulled out of his hiding place. He was shot right in the forehead by a masked man before being thrown to the floor.

My palms covered my mouth tightly before I screamed hysterically. The shooting scene was real. Everything that I usually only saw in action movies suddenly really happened before my eyes.

"We've killed the bride. What else should we do?"

"Our boss will be very happy if we can kill Craig Junior. Get him now."

The masked men were standing very close to where I was hiding. My heart was pounding so hard. Most of the guests had fallen victim to their brutality. The middle-aged woman who had been sitting next to me was nowhere to be found. I hoped she was okay and did not become one of the victims of the shooting.

"Look, what I found down here?"

I gulped nervously. A voice came from behind my back. I didn't have time to turn to see who it was because suddenly he grabbed my elbow and forced me to stand up.

"Let me go. You damn cruel people. You killed my mother."

I struggled as the masked man dragged me to the altar. I just realized that the condition of this church was worse than terrible. From under the pews, I saw a sea of blood, but from the altar, I saw a sea of blood with piles of corpses. Many were dead and many were injured. Joshua's surviving men looked overwhelmed by the attacks of the masked men. No one looked at me, or even intended to save me from these masked men. The few guests who survived and were hiding under the pews could do nothing but look at me sympathetically.

"What did my mother do wrong? Why did you kill her?"

"Who is your mother?"

Tears welled up in my eyes. My mother's body lay in the aisle, in a pool of her own blood. The bouquet of white lilies she was holding was thrown a few inches from her hand and turned red.

"You killed her on her wedding day."

"Oh, so you're the bride's daughter, huh? Too bad your mother had to die in the middle of this war. She probably never did anything wrong to our boss. Her only mistake was marrying Joshua Craig."

"If you have a problem with Joshua Craig, settle it with him instead of killing my mother!"

I tried to jerk free from the man's grip on my elbow. He squeezed harder, even pulling my hair. The braid I had worked so hard to make this morning broke, and my hair tie fell to the floor. My dark hair fell in a mess down my back and face.

"Listen, you don't know anything. Joshua Craig has caused trouble with our boss. He deserves this. You'll be joining your mother in hell soon."

"Let me go, you bastard!"

Tears welled up in my eyes. But this time it was from the pain that was shooting through my scalp. The bastard was pulling my hair hard and pressing the muzzle of his gun to my temple.

"Look at all this horror. Record this event well in your head before you meet your maker."

"Bastard. If I become a ghost, I will haunt you and kill you."

I closed my eyes as I heard the soft click of the gun pressed against my temple. I was going to die. It wouldn't be so bad because my father and mother were waiting for me in heaven. We would be together again and become the most harmonious family in heaven.

Bang

Something warm splashed onto my face and the man's grip on my hair was released. I hurriedly opened my eyes and was shocked to find the man collapsed at my feet with a gaping hole in his head.

He died? How could that be?

When I turned to my right, I found Joshua Craig standing about five feet away from me. His hand was holding a gun. He didn't look as shiny as he did a few minutes ago. His suit was wrinkled and stained with blood. He stared at me with his blue eyes for a few heartbeats before gripping my arm tightly.

"Move. You have to hide. They're still roaming around here."

"What exactly happened? Why did they shoot all of us?"

Joshua didn't answer, instead, he pushed me behind the pulpit. The priest was surprised to see us. He was cowering in fear behind the pulpit while muttering a prayer.

"Pray with Father Robert here. Ask God for their death."

Joshua pressed my shoulder to duck under the pulpit before leaving me with the priest.

I rarely pray. I didn't know what the priest was chanting in his mouth. He was still muttering while holding the cross hanging around his neck. I wanted to ask him what he was chanting, but he seemed too frightened to make a sound. I was afraid the priest would faint from fear. His face was so pale. And I was sure his hands were very cold.

I didn't know when it would end or who would win. Joshua wasn't coming back. He hadn't even promised to come back. The masked men had probably already shot him and were celebrating his death.