Chapter 1: The Death and Rebirth of Vanessa Belmont
VANESSA BELMONT
I’m scared.
Fiona Bright drives wildly, barreling down the private road away from the Jang Estate. Rage contorts her features as tears course her cheeks.
I press both hands against the stab wounds in my chest. My wedding dress is more red than white. Fear seals my mouth, barring any words that might calm the woman who’s trying to kill me.
"You married him," she says. "So the contract is fulfilled, right? It’s my turn for happily-ever-after. You just have to die, bitch!"
She swerves and the car bounces off the road. Headlights pinpoint the thick, twisted trunk of the Sweetheart Oak. We smash into the massive 100-year-old tree. For a microsecond, I see an explosion of pink sparkles.
Fiona is wearing her seatbelt.
I am not.
Only her airbag deploys, so I slam against the dashboard, hitting my head on the fragmented front windshield. I hear the crack in my chest, and suddenly, I can’t breathe.
Saved by both seatbelt and airbag, Fiona stares at me. Blood trickles from her mouth as she slowly grins.
"Fiona!" Nate arrives, still wearing his tuxedo. He wrenches open the driver’s side door and pulls his white moonlight out of the car.