Chapter Two: A Wedding Without a Bride

Though younger, he was unmistakably Victor Gu, Adrian’s father and the conglomerate chairman. “Give me the master tape,” he said. Someone seized Lena from behind. The camera fell, the image spinning until it fixed on polished men’s shoes and a crushed bouquet of white roses. Fire consumed the scene. Mira woke in Adrian’s arms, deafened by ringing. Blood from her nose spotted his white collar. “What did you see?” he asked. Not What happened? What did you see? She shoved him away. “You knew.” He drew out a faded photograph. Before boarding the White Tern, Clara and Lena stood together holding white roses. On the back, someone had written: If the wedding is a trap, let the bouquet choose the one who can dismantle it.