Chapter 8 - The Lockout
As Celeste reached the altar step, she paused, looking left and right.
The altar was empty.
The priest was there, standing nervously with his bible, but the groom was nowhere to be seen.
Murmurs rippled through the eight hundred guests. Julian Beaumont frowned, taking a half-step forward.
"Where is Luca?" Celeste whispered fiercely to the priest. "He was supposed to enter from the side chapel!"
Suddenly, a heavy metallic CLANG echoed through the massive cathedral.
The gigantic, double-oak entry doors at the back of the church slammed shut with violent force. Massive steel security bars dropped down into the floor sockets, locking the doors from the outside.
Panicked gasps erupted from the crowd. Julian’s security guards rushed toward the exits, but the heavy oak doors were sealed tight.
High above the altar, the massive twin 8K LED screens—installed by the production team to broadcast the ceremony to the rear pews—suddenly flickered from a static logo to black.
Then, a clear, crisp audio track began to play through the cathedral’s state-of-the-art sound system.
"Elena needs to learn that stubbornness has consequences."
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Celeste’s voice rang out through the holy sanctuary, crystal clear, echoed by the towering stone vaulting.
Celeste went instantly white as snow. Her bouquet of white orchids slipped from her trembling hands, scattering across the altar steps.
