Shadow Marsh Castle loomed atop the desolate cliff, its Gothic spires impaling the leaden sky like the spines of some dormant leviathan. Tonight, the long-abandoned fortress blazed with light, every window glowing amber against the encroaching sea mist.

Inside, the castle had undergone a startling metamorphosis. Medieval stonework now housed cutting-edge holographic systems. Crystal chandeliers suspended from vaulted ceilings concealed smart-lighting arrays. Elegantly dressed guests murmured in hushed tones while the air carried notes of vintage champagne mingled with the subtle heat-scent of high-end electronics.


The wedding of the century was about to commence.

Lucas Blackthorn stood before the hastily erected altar in a bespoke suit worth more than most people's annual salary. His right hand remained encased in its black tech-glove, his complexion unnaturally pale beneath the lights, his vigilant gaze sweeping the hall continuously. He knew Viola would come and had prepared accordingly—biometric scanners, energy weapons, and elite security teams saturated every corner of the castle, all systems at highest alert.

At precisely the appointed hour, the massive doors—intricately carved with black thorns and roses—swung inward. Every head turned, anticipating Selina in virginal white.


Instead, Viola Sterling stood in the threshold.

She wore a wedding gown, but not as anyone expected. The heavy vintage creation featured thick ivory silk from bodice to sweeping train, grotesquely stained with massive patches of dried blood that had oxidized to a dark rusty brown. The macabre stains bloomed across the fabric like nightmarish flowers. The gown had been strategically modified—restrictive boning removed from bodice and back—preserving mobility despite its weight.


Her face remained bare of cosmetics, her hair severely pulled back to emphasize her sharp, uncompromising features. Instead of a bouquet, she carried an unusual dagger with a narrow, elongated blade that gleamed with an eerie blue sheen—unmistakably coated with lethal toxin. She advanced into the hall with measured steps, her blood-soaked train whispering across marble floors, her presence radiating suffocating menace.

A collective gasp rippled through the assembly. Black-suited security personnel reacted instantly, converging from both flanks.

"Freeze!" barked the two guards nearest her, lunging to seize her arms.

Viola didn't spare them a glance. Her empty left hand pressed casually against her thigh, activating a concealed trigger hidden within the gown's heavy folds.

ZZZZT!

Blue electrical arcs exploded from the guards' wristbands! Their security devices catastrophically overloaded, sending both men crashing to the floor in convulsing heaps, their screams echoing through the hall. The remaining security team froze, staring in disbelief at their colleagues' smoking wristbands, then at Viola with newfound wariness. She could remotely disable their tech!

Lucas's face drained of color. He raised his left hand in a tightly controlled gesture, halting his security team. His gaze locked onto Viola's blood-soaked gown, recognition dawning amid the fury and suspicion in his eyes. He knew that dress—it was part of the trousseau Viola had once lovingly prepared for their daughter, "White Rose."

"Viola," Lucas's voice barely contained his rage, "what is this sick costume? Where's Selina?"

"Your bride?" Viola's laugh was soft and chilling. "I'm afraid she's been unavoidably detained. But don't worry—I've brought a different wedding gift."

Her left hand rose, executing a complex sequence of gestures with practiced precision.

WHUMMM—

The massive crystal chandelier suspended from the vaulted ceiling abruptly went dark! The hall plunged into blackness. Before guests could even cry out, dozens of hidden projectors activated simultaneously, their beams converging to form a massive, high-definition image floating in the center of the hall!

The projection revealed a sterile laboratory filled with advanced medical equipment. Selina Cole lay strapped to an operating table, eyes vacant, her body connected to various tubes and monitors. Faceless figures in hazmat suits manipulated horrifying instruments around her. The image zoomed in with merciless clarity on an illegal, invasive egg-harvesting procedure being performed on her unconscious body!

No audio accompanied the footage, but the clinical brutality of the high-definition images spoke volumes. Selina's expression of drugged pain, the mechanical precision of the extraction—every grotesque detail exposed before the horrified wedding guests.

"NO! SHUT IT DOWN! SHUT IT DOWN NOW!" Lucas roared, his composure shattered. He screamed into his concealed communicator, "Security override! Neutralize the target! Destroy those projectors!"

Silence answered him. The castle's vaunted security system had gone completely dark.

Viola's voice cut through the darkness, tinged with cold amusement: "Save your breath, Lucas. You forgot that I personally wrote most of Shadow Marsh's original security architecture. And those fancy upgrades you installed?" She paused, savoring the moment. "Your precious 'Fortress' security firm's lead vulnerability analyst recently received an anonymous donation he found… irresistible."

Internal knowledge combined with elite external hackers. Lucas's face went from pale to gray.

In this crucial moment—with Lucas distracted by system failure and the damning footage—Viola struck!

Despite the heavy gown, she moved like a phantom, gliding through the holographic images with preternatural speed, closing the distance to Lucas in seconds! The azure dagger sliced through the air in a perfect thrust!

Lucas—no stranger to violence—twisted desperately aside. But Viola hadn't aimed for a killing blow. The blade whispered through his left sleeve with a soft hiss, slicing cleanly through expensive fabric to draw a thin line of blood!

The cut was shallow, but within seconds, devastating numbness exploded from the wound, racing through his arm toward his heart and brain! Lucas groaned as his left arm went dead, his right leg buckling beneath him, dropping him to one knee. Neurotoxin! His vision blurred, breathing labored, as he struggled to remain upright. He attempted to activate the emergency protocols in his glove, only to discover the sensation in his right hand rapidly fading too.

The holographic footage continued its silent display of Selina's exploitation, casting Lucas's helplessness in cruelly ironic light.

Viola gazed down at his kneeling form, her blood-stained wedding dress taking on an otherworldly quality in the projection's ghostly light.

The castle's damp air caused the darkest bloodstains on her gown's hem to subtly reactivate, their edges bleeding almost imperceptibly into the ivory fabric.

"Enjoying your wedding, Lucas?" Her voice was winter itself. "This is merely the prelude."

The castle's electrical system sputtered back to partial function, main lights flickering weakly before stabilizing at half-strength. Yet the advanced defensive systems and surveillance networks remained dead—their digital nervous systems severed by invisible hands.

Who had provided that "anonymous donation"? Which shadow-network hackers had coordinated so perfectly with her inside knowledge? These questions haunted the dimly lit hall, whispering in the minds of every horrified witness.

And beneath those slowly spreading bloodstains on Viola's macabre gown lurked secrets darker than mere violence.