2025-07-17 18:32:38Harry Solomon stood alone at the altar, his hands trembling slightly as he adjusted his tie for the third time.
The ornate wedding venue buzzed with uncomfortable whispers from the guests, their eyes darting between empty seats and the groom who had been waiting for over an hour.
"Where is she?" an elderly woman muttered from the front row.
"This is embarrassing," another guest whispered. "How long are we supposed to wait?"
The priest cleared his throat awkwardly. "Perhaps we should—"
Harry's phone buzzed. Mona. Relief flooded through him as he quickly answered.
"Mona, thank God! Where are you? Everyone's waiting—"
"Harry Solomon, where the hell are you?" Mona's voice cut through the phone like ice. "Frank is in the hospital and you're nowhere to be found!"
Harry's breath caught. "Frank? But Mona...do you now what the day is today?"
"I don't care what day it is! Your brother is sick and needs you, and you're off doing God knows what!"
"I'm at the church! It’s our wedding day, Mona!" Harry's voice cracked with desperation. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"
A long pause. Then Mona's voice returned, colder than before. "Oh. Right. The wedding."
"You... you forgot?"
"Enough! Is this really the time for you to be thinking about that wedding? Can you stop being so petty? It’s just a wedding—delaying it doesn’t matter, but Frank’s condition can’t wait!”
"Mona, please—"
Mona said indifferently, “You’re being so immature! At a time like this, you’re still competing with your brother for attention! You have one hour to get to the hospital, or forget about the wedding!"
The line went dead. Harry stared at his phone, his mind completely blank.
She chose him. Again. The realization hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest.
Even on their wedding day—the one day that was supposed to be about them, about their future together—Frank came first.
I'm nothing to her. I've always been nothing.The pain in his chest felt physical, like his heart was being crushed.
How many times can one person be abandoned? First his family when he went missing, then when he returned, and now his own bride on their wedding day.The guests' murmurs grew louder, more pointed, but all Harry could hear was the echo of Mona's voice choosing Frank over him.
"I'm sorry," he announced mechanically to the crowd. "The wedding is... postponed."
He walked out of his own wedding venue like a lifeless shell, ignoring the pitying stares and hushed conversations that followed him.
Twenty minutes later, Harry stepped out of a cab at St. Mary's Hospital.
As he approached Frank's room, he heard laughter and cheerful voices spilling into the hallway.
His entire family was there—he could hear his mother's distinctive laugh, his sisters giggling, even his father's rare chuckle.
At least Frank's feeling better, Harry thought bitterly.
He pushed open the door. The laughter died instantly.
They're all here. Every single one of them dropped everything for Frank, but none of them came to my wedding.
The betrayal cut deeper than any physical wound. Harry felt hollow, like someone had scraped out everything inside him and left only an aching void.
Melissa Solomon's face twisted with disgust the moment she saw him.
"Why are you so late? We've been here for hours!"
"I was at the church," Harry said quietly. "At my wedding."
Frank, propped up in bed looking perfectly healthy, smirked.
"Oh right, that thing. Sorry, Harry. I guess I ruined your big day."
"You didn't ruin anything," Terry Solomon said sharply, not even looking at Harry. "Family comes first. Frank had severe chest pains."
"I'm fine now though," Frank grinned, clearly enjoying the attention.
"Just needed everyone here to feel better."
Mona finally appeared from behind Terry, her wedding dress replaced with a casual outfit. She wouldn't meet Harry's eyes.
Harry stood in the doorway, still in his wedding suit, watching his family celebrate around the brother who had stolen everything from him—including his bride.
This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. Instead, he felt like he was dying inside, piece by piece.I'm twenty-four years old and I've never mattered to anyone. Not once.The wedding suit that had felt so hopeful that morning now felt like a costume for a play where he was the only one who didn't know he was the joke.
"You look ridiculous in that tux," one of Harry's sisters snickered.
"Did you really think she'd show up?"
"Sarah, enough," Melissa snapped, then turned back to Harry with venom.
"Next time, don't make us wait. Frank's health is more important than your little fantasies."
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Chapter 50
Harry crouched behind a shipping container, his lungs burning as Lydia and Sergeant Myles caught up to him. The sounds of pursuit were growing fainter, but the failure weighed heavily on all of them."Thomas is gone," Harry said through gritted teeth. "We had him and they took him back.""At least we're alive," Myles replied grimly. "Frank's network is bigger than we thought. Those weren't just dockworkers—half of them knew exactly who we were."Lydia checked her phone, scanning for messages. "Harry, Frank's reach goes beyond the estate. I'm getting reports from contacts across the city that people have been asking questions about you, about me, about anyone connected to this investigation.""Old contacts, trusted sources, even some of the Anderson staff we thought were clean," Myles added. "Frank's been building this network for years."Meanwhile, back at the Anderson estate, Alice was putting her intimate knowledge of the house's secrets to use. Using details gleaned from years of c
Chapter 49
The abandoned storage facility squatted like a diseased growth among the shipping containers at the docks. Harry crouched behind a rusted truck with Lydia, while Sergeant Myles positioned himself near the main entrance and Old Thom covered the back exit."Guard rotation every twenty-two minutes," Harry whispered into his radio. "Frank's always been obsessive about timing. Two men on patrol, one at the entrance.""Copy that," Myles responded. "Thom, you in position?""Been ready for ten minutes," Thom's gravelly voice came back. "These Vultures ain't as smart as they think they are."Meanwhile, at the Anderson estate, Alice was executing her part of the plan. She had left a series of carefully planted notes in locations where she knew Mona would find them—fake plans detailing a meeting with journalists in town, complete with fabricated times and locations.Sure enough, within an hour, she overheard Mona on the phone."Frank, darling, you need to get into town immediately," Mona was say
Chapter 48
The warehouse district was shrouded in early morning fog as Harry approached with Lydia Chen and Sergeant Myles. The building they'd identified from cross-referencing the Black Vultures' financial records looked abandoned, its broken windows like dead eyes staring into the gray dawn."This feels wrong," Myles muttered, checking his weapon. "Too easy, too obvious.""We have to check," Harry replied, though his instincts were screaming the same warning. "If Thomas is in there...""Then Frank wants us to find him," Lydia finished grimly.They entered through a side door that had been conveniently left unlocked. Inside, the warehouse was empty except for a single chair in the center of the vast space, with rope scattered around it as if someone had been recently freed.On the chair sat a manila envelope and a handwritten note.Harry picked up the note, recognizing Frank's distinctive handwriting immediately: "Stop digging, or she disappears forever.""It's a trap," Myles said, scanning th
Chapter 47
Lydia Chen spread a collection of photographs across her cramped office desk, each one labeled with dates going back over a decade. Harry leaned forward, studying the black and white images with growing horror."This one's from 2015," Lydia said, pointing to a photograph of Frank shaking hands with a scarred man outside a warehouse. "The man he's meeting is Vincent Torrino."Harry's blood went cold. "You're certain it's Torrino?""Positive. I've been tracking the Black Vultures for years. This photo proves Frank's been working with them for at least eight years, not just recently.""Eight years," Harry repeated, the implications hitting him like a physical blow. "He's been planning this for decades.""Planning what, exactly?"Harry stared at the photograph, remembering Torrino's face from his past life—the man who had personally overseen his beating, who had whispered threats about what would happen if he ever crossed Frank again."Control," Harry said finally. "Frank doesn't just wan
CHAPTER 46 PART 2
While Alice continued her performance, Harry found Frank's office door unlocked. Inside, filing cabinets lined one wall, and a large desk dominated the room. He quickly began searching through drawers, looking for anything that might connect Frank to the Black Vultures or Thomas's disappearance.In the bottom drawer of the desk, he found what he was looking for—a leather-bound ledger with detailed financial records. Page after page showed payments to "BV Security Services" for various amounts, with coded descriptions next to each entry.Harry's hands trembled as he read through the entries. Most were mundane—"Protection services," "Consultation fees," "Security enhancement." But near the end, one line made his blood freeze:"Anderson servant—disposal. $15,000."Thomas hadn't just disappeared. He had been murdered, and Frank had paid for it to happen.Harry quickly photographed the relevant pages with his phone, then tucked the ledger under his jacket. As he prepared to leave, he heard
Chapter 46 PART 1
The bass from The Raven's Nest thumped through the walls as Harry approached the club's back entrance with Lydia Chen.The neon sign cast everything in a sickly red glow, and the smell of cigarettes and spilled alcohol hung thick in the air."Remember," Lydia whispered, "you get in, find the office, grab whatever records you can, and get out. Don't try to be a hero."Harry nodded, but his hands were shaking slightly. Being here brought back visceral memories from his past life—the taste of blood in his mouth, the sound of his ribs cracking, the feeling of being dragged through this same alley half-dead."You sure about this?" Lydia asked, noting his pale complexion."I'm sure," Harry lied, forcing himself toward the service entrance.Inside, the club was exactly as he remembered—dark, crowded, and dangerous. Black Vultures members were scattered throughout, their tattoos visible on muscled forearms and necks.At the bar, Harry spotted the same man who had followed him to the library,
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