Vengeance Sets Its Target

The Agent

I never expected my funeral to be so extravagant.

It was held in a huge cathedral with beautiful stained glass windows. Bouquets of white and blue flowers decorated the altar. A sleek white coffin sat closed atop the altar. A photo of me from the masquerade ball, sans my mask, sat nearby, my feigned smile beaming.

More people than I actually knew filled the pews, their faces stained with tears.

The people closest to me sat in the front pews. My mother, draped in a black veil to cover her sobs. Her husband stood beside her with a hand on her back, still as a rock for her to lean on.

Gabriel sat with his hands clasped in his lap and his bloodshot eyes moist with tears he refused to let fall in public.

And Isabelle…

She hung forward in her seat like a wilting flower. Her eyes, flowing with slow tears, were fixed on the casket. She was probably praying for me to pop the top open and surprise her. Tell her this was nothing more than a bad dream.

The thought of approaching her and hugging her crossed my mind more than once throughout the service. My face was hidden well in the large black sunglasses and oversized hat. There was a chance she wouldn’t recognize me.

But knowing Isabelle, she’d recognize my natural scent or the shape of my body on hers. She was the only person I could never truly hide from. An instance like that wouldn’t be any different.

When the minister gave the invitation for others to speak, Isabelle was the first to rise. She floated to the altar, a ghost of the bubbly woman she used to be. Her watery eyes slowly grazed over the crowd.

My stomach twisted when they landed on me.

Her gaze lingered for a moment, her brows twitching in confusion. The thought passed through her eyes, but she quickly shook it away.

“Simone was…” she started, cracks already appearing in her voice.

“She was more than my sister. She was my best friend, my protector, my heart in human form. Before I met her, I was…empty. When we met, I was grieving something I didn’t remember, longing for something I barely knew.

I took one look at her and suddenly, I was…

I felt whole again. She didn’t understand at first, why I latched onto her so quickly.

She hated it even. I remember one time she kicked me out of her room and called me an annoying little brat.

” She laughed through her tears, a tiny sliver of hope shining through the storm.

“But, the…the first time she saw me cry, she sat beside me, threw her arm over my shoulders, and promised me everything would be okay. I wish…I wish she were still here to tell me that now.”

A tear slipped from my eye and trickled down my cheek. I didn’t bother wiping it away. Not when there were a ton more falling behind it.

A warm hand slipped over mine, offering a gentle squeeze.

“Without her, I feel empty again,” Isabelle continued.

“Only this time, it hurts ten times worse. Like someone reached inside my chest and tore out the most important parts of me. But, I’m going to put the pieces back together.

Replace them with all the best parts of her, so I can carry her with me for the rest of my life. ” She pointed to her chest. “In here.”

My throat burned from the silent sobs. I grasped his hand tight, praying for an end to the pain they brought.

“A bond, a love, between sisters is one of the strongest things in the world. And the one we shared will never go away.” She turned away from the altar and pressed her manicured hands against the glossy top.

“I love you, Simone,” she whispered, but I could hear her loud and clear. “Now and forever.”

The crowd clapped for her as she descended from the altar.

A different knife sliced through me at the next person climbing up the steps. His badge glistened underneath the colors of the stained glass, a reminder that not everything that glitters is gold.

I couldn’t stomach the sight of his face let alone the lies that were about to spill out of his mouth.

Gripping Mateo’s hand tighter, I rose from my seat and pulled him up with me. I didn’t look back as we pushed through the church doors.

The only thing I wanted to hear from Logan were his last breaths.