I stood at the altar, my hands clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. Lena should have been walking down the aisle by now. Thirty minutes had passed. The whispering among the guests was growing louder, their eyes flicking between me and the church doors.

Then Emily, one of Lena’s bridesmaids, came running inside. Her face was pale, her hands shaking.

“She’s gone,” she gasped.

The room fell silent.

“What?” My voice barely came out.

“She left. The bridal suite is empty. Her dress is still there—she just… ran.”

The words hit me like a freight train. I turned toward the front row, where my dad had been sitting earlier. His chair was empty.

I felt a cold rush down my spine.

Then, my phone buzzed. A message from my friend Mark.

A photo.

Lena at the airport, hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing an oversized jacket. And standing beside her? My dad. Still in his suit from the wedding.

My breath hitched. My hands started to shake.

No. No, no, no.

Without a word, I turned and sprinted out of the church. The sounds of gasps and murmurs barely registered in my ears. I needed answers. Now.

### **At the Airport**

I drove like a madman, my mind racing with worst-case scenarios. Was this some twisted love affair? Had they been sneaking around behind my back? My father—my own father?

By the time I reached the airport, my chest was burning. I stormed through the entrance, scanning the crowd. And then—I saw them.

Lena and my dad stood near the check-in counter, their backs to me. I took a step closer, my heart slamming against my ribs.

“Lena!” I bellowed.

They both turned.

Lena’s eyes went wide with shock. My dad’s face, however, remained unreadable.

“What the hell is going on?!” I demanded.

Lena looked at my father, then back at me. Her mouth opened, then closed.

And then my dad spoke.

“Son, you need to leave.”

I let out a hollow laugh. “Oh, I need to leave? Are you serious? My fiancée just ran out on our wedding, and she’s here. With *you!*”

Lena stepped forward. “It’s not what you think—”

“Oh, so you didn’t just abandon me at the altar and run off with my father?” I snapped.

Tears welled in her eyes. “I had to leave, I—”

“WITH HIM?!” My voice echoed through the terminal. People were staring now.

My father exhaled sharply. “We don’t have time for this. We have to go.”

“Go where? *Where?!*”

He exchanged a look with Lena, then back at me. And finally, he said something that made my blood run cold.

“She’s not running away with me, son.”

I stared at him. “Then what the hell is this?”

“She’s running *from* someone.”

My stomach twisted. “What?”

Lena wiped at her face, her hands trembling. “I couldn’t tell you. I wanted to, but I couldn’t risk it.”

“Risk *what?!*” I demanded.

She swallowed hard. “Two weeks ago, I got a message. A threat.”

My father pulled out his phone and showed me a screenshot of a message.

**”If you marry him, you won’t live to see your honeymoon.”**

My knees nearly buckled.

“What…?” My voice came out hoarse.

Lena gripped my arm. “I didn’t want to leave you. But I had to. Your dad was the only one I could trust to help me disappear.”

The weight of it all crashed over me. I had spent the last hour thinking the worst, assuming betrayal. But this? This was something far worse than I had imagined.

“Who sent this?” I whispered.

Lena’s lips parted, but before she could answer—

A loud **BANG** echoed across the airport.

Screams erupted. Security guards rushed forward.

And as I turned toward the sound, I saw him.

A man in a dark coat, standing at the entrance. Holding a gun.

And he was looking straight at Lena.