Chapter 5 - The Sanctuary of TraitorsMarin was thrown onto the cold stone floor of the cathedral’s bell tower, her hands tied behind her back with thick nylon zip-ties.
Above her, the massive iron bells hung like silent beasts in the shadows. Through the narrow slit windows, she could hear the muffled, beautiful singing of the choir below, completely unaware of the execution being prepared just fifty feet above their heads.
Teddy Vance walked into the tower, holding a small, silver-plated pistol.
“Why, Teddy?” Marin spat, struggling against the ties, the plastic biting into her wrists. “You’ve been with him for ten years. He trusted you.”
“And that was his first mistake,” Teddy said, his voice carrying no anger, only a flat, corporate pragmatism. “The Mercer family is old-fashioned. Cash wants to protect the docks, protect the workers, keep the old contracts. But Donato Moretti understands the future. The future is international shipping, unregulated cargo, and digital banking. There’s no room for Cash’s 'honor' in the new world.”
He stepped closer, the barrel of the gun catching the gray light from the window. “The plan was perfect. Cash gets stabbed by a 'random mugger' two days before the wedding. My doctor stitches him up, leaving just enough poison in the thread to ensure his heart stops during the first dance. Gianna becomes the grieving widow, inherits the Mercer holdings, and merges the families under Moretti control. And I get twenty percent of the harbor lanes.”
He shook his head, looking down at Marin. “But then you had to go and fix him. You had to sew him so well that the poison didn't reach his bloodstream in time. You delayed the inevitably, Marin. But you didn't stop it.”
“He knows,” Marin said, her voice steady despite the absolute terror screaming in her mind. “Cash isn't stupid, Teddy. He saw the older stitches. He knew someone inside his own house was trying to kill him.”
“It doesn't matter what he knows now,” Teddy laughed, checking his watch. “In exactly three minutes, the priest will ask if anyone objects to this union. That is the cue for Donato’s men to take the doors. If Cash signs the marriage certificate, he signs his own death warrant. And if he refuses... well, he won't leave this cathedral alive anyway.”
Suddenly, a loud, scraping sound echoed from the wooden stairs leading up to the tower.
Teddy spun around, raising his pistol, his finger tightening on the trigger.
The door was kicked open, and Cash Mercer stood in the doorway.
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He was breathing heavily, his white wedding shirt stained with a fresh, bright smear of blood where his stitches had pulled under the strain of the climb. But his eyes weren't the eyes of a dying man. They were the eyes of a predator who had finally found the scent of his prey.
“You’re late for your wedding, Teddy,” Cash said.
