Chapter 9 - THE FROZEN REVEAL
The cathedral was a masterpiece of Gothic architecture.
The vaulted ceilings were draped in white silk,
and the scent of a thousand lilies filled the air.
The elite of Chicago were there,
the men in tuxedos and the women in diamonds.
They were all there to see the youngest mafia boss marry his blonde queen.
Or,
more accurately,
they were there to see who would take over the throne when the king finally fell.
Vanessa stood at the altar,
looking like a goddess.
Her dress was a waterfall of lace,
her veil a shimmering mist.
She looked calm.
She looked certain.
The priest began the ceremony,
his voice echoing in the vast space.
"If anyone has reason why these two should not be joined..."
The heavy oak doors at the back of the cathedral swung open.
The sound was like a thunderclap.
I walked down the aisle,
my navy robe replaced by a tailored black suit.
I didn't look like a dying man.
I looked like a reaper.
Lorenzo and twenty of my men followed behind me,
their hands inside their coats.
The guests gasped,
the murmur of a hundred voices rising like a wave.
Vanessa’s face went from white to gray in a matter of seconds.
"Dante?"
she whispered,
her hand going to her throat.
"You...
you should be in bed."
"I'm feeling much better,
Vanessa,"
I said,
my voice carrying to the very back of the room.
"The ice has finally melted."
I reached the altar,
standing just inches from her.
"The wedding is off,"
I said.
"But the trial is just beginning."
I signaled to the balcony.
The large screens meant for the ceremony suddenly flickered to life.
But instead of a montage of our romance,
it was a video.
Vanessa in my bedroom,
switching the IV bag.
Vanessa on the phone,
discussing the price of my life with a man from New York.
Vanessa signing the papers to sell the South Side routes.
The silence in the cathedral was absolute.
It was the silence of a tomb.
"You're a traitor,"
I said,
my voice cold as the winter lake.
"And in this family,"
"we have a very specific way of dealing with traitors."
The bodyguards she had planted in the crowd moved to draw their weapons.
But Lorenzo’s men were faster.
The sound of twenty hammers cocking echoed through the church.
"Don't,"
I warned.
"Not in a house of God."
Vanessa looked around,
realizing she was surrounded.
Her calm had finally shattered,
leaving behind a panicked,
ugly desperation.
"I did it for the empire!"
she screamed.
"You were getting weak!"
"You were going to get us all killed!"
"No,"
I said.
May you like
"I was getting human."
"And that's what terrified you."
