A Wedding Under Tension
Jane and Pierre stand in the intimacy of an old, isolated church, bathed in the pale morning light. In front of them, the priest watches them with an inscrutable gaze. He speaks of the importance of signs, of the need to pay attention to details. But his words sound strange, almost like a warning.
Something in the atmosphere seems to weigh on the couple. A fleeting impression, an imperceptible shiver, but enough to plant a seed of doubt. Jane and Pierre exchange a worried glance. Have they made the right choice?
The Church and Its Mysteries
The church is simple yet majestic, its pews adorned with slightly wilting white flowers, as if they had been left there for days. There are only a few close friends, no family members. A deliberate choice. Yet, a man sitting at the back of the church catches Jane’s attention.
She cannot see his face, hidden in a strange shadow, but one detail chills her: he wears the same ring her deceased father had. She shakes her head. A coincidence, surely.
A Troubling Appearance
As the ceremony begins, a blue butterfly flutters through the nave and lands on Pierre’s shoulder. At the same moment, a dull thud echoes through the church, as if something had fallen behind the altar. The priest pauses, his eyes narrowing slightly before he resumes, impassive.
The butterfly flies away, but one detail strikes Jane: on one of its wings, there is a dark mark in the shape of a number. The same number engraved on a bracelet she wore as a child.
The Disappearance of the Rings and a Cryptic Message
When the time comes to exchange rings, a heavy silence falls. The rings are missing. A murmur spreads through the assembly. The priest does not seem surprised, but Jane notices a nervous tic in his hand.
Then, the organ starts playing… by itself. A melody she instantly recognizes: a lullaby her mother used to sing to her before disappearing without a trace twenty years ago.
Pierre tries to reassure Jane, but an envelope placed on the altar catches her attention. Her name is written on it in handwriting she knows well. Trembling, she opens it.
_"This wedding must not take place. You are in danger. Leave while you still can."_
The Intrusion and the Revelation
Suddenly, the great doors of the church swing open violently. A group of people enters. Their families. The ones they had excluded from the wedding. But there’s something else: the man sitting at the back of the church finally stands and steps forward.
Jane’s heart tightens when she finally sees his face.
It’s her father.
Impossible. He is dead. She saw his coffin lowered into the ground. Yet, he is there, alive, smiling at her. But in his eyes, there is urgency, almost a plea.
Pierre, meanwhile, seems frozen. He grips Jane’s hand tightly, his gaze locked on a woman standing among the guests. A woman who looks eerily like him.
The Confrontation and the Truth
The priest steps back slightly, his mask of benevolence cracking. He meets the gaze of the man claiming to be Jane’s father.
"You were not supposed to come," he murmurs.
The tension becomes unbearable. Jane feels her world shattering. Who is this man? Why is their wedding at the center of this strange masquerade?
"Jane, you must leave," says the man with the ring.
But Pierre does not let go. His expression changes. For the first time, she perceives something other than a worried fiancé. A doubt creeps in.
What if she had made a terrible mistake in wanting to marry him?
A Flight Under Threat
Jane has a second to decide. Stay and ignore the warning, or run towards the unknown, towards this father who should not be there. The organ plays louder, the light seems to flicker, and a hidden door slams somewhere behind the altar.
The priest whispers one last phrase, barely audible:
"Some secrets should never be unearthed."
Then, everything collapses.
Epilogue: The Shadow of the Past
Weeks later, Jane is alone, hiding in a small house by a lake. Her father has revealed the truth: Pierre was not who she thought he was. Their wedding was a trap. An old promise, a dark pact their family should have broken long ago.
But just as she believes she is finally safe, a letter is slipped under her door. She opens it apprehensively.
_"Did you really think you could escape, Jane? This is only the beginning."_
A silhouette is reflected in the window behind her.
The nightmare is not over.
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