The bell's echo had barely faded when the chapel changed.
Not in appearance.
In intention.
The air tightened, heavy with awareness. The man at the altar did not move, but his eyes shifted slightly, listening. Calculating.
"You planned this," he said calmly.
Aria did not answer.
Outside, engines cut low and slow along the road, far enough to avoid attention, close enough to act. Marcelo's men moved through the tree line in disciplined silence, weapons lowered but ready, each step measured to avoid sound. Drones hovered high above the chapel, invisible against the gray sky.
The leader smiled faintly. "You never intended to come alone."
"No," Aria replied evenly. "I intended to come honestly."
"There is no honesty in deception," he said.
"There is no mercy in kidnapping," she answered.
Something hardened in his face.
"You are willing to risk their lives," he said, "just to prove a point."
Aria shook her head. "I am willing to trust that you still believe you are right."
