A Sea of Fatal Blooms

The church bells tolled with a haunting urgency. I clenched the hem of my wedding dress, my fingertips pressing into my palm. Beneath the white veil, the red carpet before me looked like a pool of congealed blood. Sawyer James stood before the altar, a silver clan emblem pinned to the collar of his black suit. The pattern on that emblem was still stamped on the wrist of the man who had kidnapped my sister, Mia Sheen, three days ago. "If you want Mia to live, then come wearing this wedding gown." His voice on the phone was as cold as ice. As the priest recited the vows, I fixed my gaze on his gleaming leather shoes. The tip of the shoe reflected my pale face, like a soulless puppet. "I do." The three words squeezed from my throat, tasting of rust. On the night the wedding ended, the bedroom TV suddenly flickered on. On the news screen, three bodies covered in white sheets floated on the river. "The Sheens and their eldest son were found floating dead in the river; preliminary findings indicate homicide..." The blood in my body instantly ran cold. Sawyer wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, his chin resting softly on my shoulder. "Those who are disobedient deserve such a fate." He spoke in a flat tone, as if commenting on the weather. I bit my lip, not daring to cry. Mia was still in his grasp; I couldn't afford to falter. In the days that followed, I was confined to the villa's second floor. He forbade me from opening the windows or touching any communication devices. Every night, he would sit by the bedside, deliberately recounting the details of my family's so-called "rebellion." I began to suffer from insomnia, unable to stop coughing throughout the night. Until one dawn, coughing uncontrollably, a splash of crimson stained the white pillow. These are petals of the fatal flowers. The elders say that those who suffer extreme sorrow contract this illness; the day the petals fall completely is the day they die. When Ruby Lincoln arrived, I was staring blankly at the petals. She wore a red dress that made the eyes dizzy — Sawyer's most cherished woman. "Shirley Sheen, you have taken my place." She raised her hand and brutally pushed into my lower abdomen. Inside me was a child, two months old. As the searing pain struck, I saw the smile curl at the corner of her mouth. Blood trickled down the hem of the wedding gown, staining the carpet crimson. Sawyer rushed in, took just one glance, then scooped up Ruby. "She didn't do it on purpose. Don't make a fuss." He left those words behind and walked away without looking back. I lay on the ground, coughing up more petals. Sawyer's mother, Mandy, stepped on my skirt as she entered, handing me an agreement. "Trade your fatal flowers for your sister Mia's freedom. Sign it." I stared at the words on the agreement, my fingers trembling. The moment I signed, I didn't see the flicker of calculation in her eyes. At that moment, I still did not realize that this was only the beginning of an even deeper conspiracy.