VEIL OF VENGEANCE

Chapter One: The Funeral The rain fell in thin, cold sheets, soaking through the black fabric of Selene Carter’s dress. She barely felt it. The numbness had set in long before she stepped foot in the cemetery, long before the coffin had been placed above the freshly dug grave, long before she had to hear the priest utter words of peace, rest, and forgiveness. She gripped the single white rose in her hands, its petals already beginning to wilt from the force of her fingers. How fitting. A life cut short before it had a chance to bloom—just like Adrian’s. The priest’s voice droned on, muffled by the roar of the wind and the whispers of mourning family members around her. "We commend the soul of Adrian Hale to eternal rest…" Eternal rest. No. There was no peace in a death like his. No justice in a life stolen and a name dragged through the mud before the final breath left his lips. Beside her, her mother sniffled into a tissue, shoulders trembling. Her father stood stiffly, his face hard, refusing to show his grief. Selene remained still, her breath shallow, her vision tunneling as the casket was lowered inch by inch into the dark earth. Her heart clenched as if someone had wrapped a hand around it and squeezed. He was really gone. She could still picture the way he used to laugh, head thrown back, eyes crinkling in that way that made her fall in love with him all over again. The way he would pull her into his arms after a long day, murmuring how much he loved her against her hair. Now, all of that was just a memory. She had been forced to say goodbye before she was ready, forced to mourn a man who should still be here, standing by her side instead of lying six feet under. And all because of one man. Selene didn’t have to look far to find him. Victor Langley. He stood a short distance away, beneath a black umbrella, dressed in an expensive tailored suit, his face carefully composed into an expression of solemnity. The grieving business partner. The man who had lost a dear friend. Liar. Selene’s fingers curled tighter around the rose, its thorns biting into her skin. Victor Langley was the reason Adrian was dead. He was the one who had framed Adrian for a crime he didn’t commit, the one who had manipulated the press, bought out the prosecutors, ensured Adrian’s swift conviction. He was the one who had sentenced Adrian to death without ever stepping foot inside a courtroom. And now, he had the audacity to stand here, at his grave, pretending to mourn? Selene’s blood burned. The people around her saw a respectable man paying his respects. But she saw the truth. The man who murdered Adrian was standing just a few feet away. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be breathing while Adrian was beneath the ground. Something inside her cracked, raw fury bleeding into her grief like ink spreading through water. She took a step forward. A hand caught her arm. “Selene.” Maya’s voice was quiet but firm. Her best friend, always knowing when she was about to do something reckless. “Not here,” Maya murmured, her fingers squeezing just enough to ground her. “Not now.” Selene swallowed, forcing herself to breathe. Not here. Not yet. She unclenched her fist and looked down. Blood beaded along her palm where the rose’s thorns had pierced her skin, tiny red drops blooming against the pale petals. She let it fall. The flower tumbled down, landing atop the casket with a soft thud. Her fingers curled into a fist at her side, and she turned, forcing herself to walk away. But she could still feel Victor’s gaze on her back. And then—he did something that made her body go cold. He smiled. A flicker of amusement. A smirk. It was barely there, gone in an instant, but she had seen it. Victor Langley was mocking her. Selene stopped walking, the weight of the moment pressing down on her chest. Did he think he had won? That he could stand over Adrian’s grave and walk away untouched? Her breath came slow and steady as she turned her head, meeting his gaze across the distance. She didn’t look away. Neither did he. A silent promise passed between them. Selene had spent the past few weeks mourning, lost, drowning in grief. But standing here now, in the cold, in the rain, staring at the man who had taken everything from her—something inside her shifted. She had wept for Adrian. She had mourned him. Now, she would avenge him. She didn’t know how. She didn’t know when. But one day, Victor Langley would fall. ____________________________________________ Selene didn’t remember driving home. The funeral had been a blur of hollow condolences, forced whispers of “stay strong,” and the weight of a hundred eyes watching her every move. Now, she sat alone in her apartment, the silence pressing in around her. The dress she wore was still damp from the rain, clinging to her skin like a second layer of grief. She should have changed, should have showered, should have done anything other than sit here, frozen, with her fingers curled around the stem of a half-full glass of whiskey. She had never been much of a drinker. Adrian used to tease her about it, saying she could barely handle a glass of wine before getting tipsy. She squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t sit here and wallow, let herself drown in grief and memories while Victor Langley went on with his life, untouched, untouchable. Selene opened her eyes and stared at the laptop on the coffee table. It had been sitting there since the night she found out Adrian was dead. She had avoided it. Avoided looking at his name in the news, avoided reading the lies about him, avoided the rage that lurked beneath the sorrow. But not anymore. She set the glass down, leaned forward, and powered it on. The screen flickered to life, and within seconds, she was staring at the last thing she had pulled up—Victor Langley’s profile. The man who had everything. Wealth. Power. Influence. A reputation so clean it gleamed. But she knew better. She clicked on another tab. The one she had opened and closed a dozen times before. The one she had never been able to face. Adrian Hale—Guilty in Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Scheme Selene’s throat tightened. She forced herself to read. "Former CFO of Hale & Langley Enterprises, Adrian Hale, was sentenced to twenty years in prison after being found guilty of embezzling over ten million dollars from the company he co-founded with longtime business partner Victor Langley. Despite his claims of innocence, overwhelming evidence proved his involvement. Hale was found deceased in his cell just three weeks after his sentencing. The cause of death has been ruled as suicide." Selene slammed the laptop shut. Her pulse roared in her ears. Suicide? That was the story they had gone with? She had seen Adrian’s body. The bruises, the cuts. It hadn’t been a suicide. It had been a message. Her hands shook as she pulled out a notebook from the drawer beside her. It was blank, fresh, untouched. She clicked open a pen and wrote the first name at the top of the page. Victor Langley. Beneath it, she started a list. 1. Find out who forged the evidence. 2. Track down Adrian’s lawyer. 3. Investigate prison records—who had access to his cell? The old Selene—the woman she had been before Adrian’s death—wouldn’t have done this. That Selene believed in the law, in justice. But justice had failed Adrian. And if no one else would make Victor Langley pay, then she would. No matter the cost.