I Do
The bells of St. Andrew's Church echoed across the quiet London morning.
Inside, every pew was filled.
Family.
Friends.
Colleagues.
All waiting for one moment.
At the front of the church, Dwayne Davies stood beside the vicar, his hands clasped so tightly they had begun to ache.
He kept glancing toward the entrance.
Not because he feared Adeline wouldn't come.
But because he couldn't shake the feeling that someone else would.
Someone who knew.
Someone who remembered.
"Dwayne?"
Oliver leaned closer.
"You've gone pale."
"I didn't sleep much."
Oliver chuckled. But Javis, Dwayne's younger brother couldn't catch the joke
For some reason he had been grumpy all morning like he had just lost a bet
"You won't be sleeping much tonight either."
Dwayne forced a laugh.
His phone, switched off only moments earlier, felt unusually heavy in his jacket pocket.
The photograph.
The messages.
The voice.
He had imagined all of it…
Hadn't he?
The organ began to play.
Every guest rose to their feet.
The doors slowly opened.
Adeline appeared on her father's arm, radiant beneath the soft autumn light pouring through the stained-glass windows.
For a brief, perfect moment…
Everything else disappeared.
The messages.
The photograph.
Blackthorn University.
The past.
Only Adeline remained.
She smiled.
He smiled back.
And silently promised himself…
Whatever was happening…
He would never let it reach her.
…
"Dearly beloved…"
The vicar's voice filled the ancient church.
"We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Dwayne Edward Davies and Adeline Grace Brown…"
Adeline barely heard another word.
She couldn't stop looking at him.
His eyes held the same warmth they always had.
The same quiet kindness that had made her fall in love.
Yet something was different.
Something was hidden behind the smile.
She couldn't explain it.
Perhaps it was only nerves.
When the vows began, Dwayne held her hands.
"I, Dwayne Edward Davies, take you, Adeline Grace Brown, to be my wife…"
His voice was steady.
Almost.
"…to have and to hold…"
A flicker crossed his expression.
"…from this day forward…"
The words caught in his throat.
"…for better…"
His mind betrayed him.
Seven faces.
Rain.
Blood on cold stone.
Someone crying.
Someone screaming—
"Dwayne?"
The vicar's gentle voice pulled him back.
"You may continue."
A murmur rippled through the congregation.
Rose, Adeline's older sister adjusted herself on one of the pews but spoke nothing
Dwayne swallowed hard.
"…for worse… for richer… for poorer… in sickness and in health…"
His eyes met Adeline's.
"…until death do us part."
He slipped the ring onto her finger.
It fit perfectly.
Almost too perfectly.
…
At the rear of the church…
Someone stood unseen.
Watching.
Hidden beneath a dark coat.
Face concealed.
Gloved fingers rested lightly on the back pew.
Watching every smile.
Every promise.
Every kiss.
The stranger smiled.
"So this is what you chose…"
The whisper disappeared beneath the applause.
Before anyone noticed, the figure turned and walked out into the rain.
…
Nearly three hundred miles away…
Detective Inspector Blackwood Hawthorne stared at the evidence board inside North Yorkshire Major Crimes Unit.
One victim.
Male.
Thirty-one.
No witnesses.
No obvious motive.
One handwritten note.
He studied the enlarged photograph of the message.
His eyes narrowed.
"This wasn't left for the victim."
One of the detectives looked up.
"What makes you say that, sir?"
Blackwood folded his arms.
"Whoever wrote this wanted someone to read it."
He tapped the photograph.
"A wedding ring."
"A romantic message."
"And today…"
He glanced at the date on the case file.
"…someone, somewhere, is getting married."
Silence filled the room.
Blackwood reached for his coat.
"Find every wedding taking place today that's connected to Blackthorn University."
The room froze.
One detective frowned.
"Why Blackthorn?"
Blackwood looked back at the crime scene photographs.
"Because instincts don't come from nowhere."
He paused.
"They come from patterns."
Outside…
The rain continued to fall.
Far away, a newly married couple laughed as cameras flashed and guests cheered.
Neither of them noticed the black envelope that had been slipped beneath the windscreen wiper of Dwayne's car.
Inside was another photograph.
The same seven students.
But this time…
One face had been scratched away.
On the back, written in neat black ink, were six words.
"one truth remains. Five more to go"