"Anli!" Meera's face lit up when she saw her daughter approaching. She excused herself from her friends and hurried over, her sari's pallu fluttering behind her. "There you are, my love. I was starting to worry."
She enveloped Anli in a hug—that familiar embrace, the one Anli had dreamed about for a year. The scent of her mother's perfume, jasmine and sandalwood, filled Anli's senses. The warmth of her body, solid and real, pressed against her. The sound of her voice, so close to her ear, speaking words of love.
Anli broke.
The sob tore from her chest before she could stop it, raw and agonizing. She clutched her mother like a drowning woman clutching driftwood, her face buried in the silk of her sari, her body shaking with the force of her grief and relief and joy and terror all tangled together.
"Anli? Anli, what's wrong?" Meera's voice shifted from joy to alarm. She tried to pull back, to see her daughter's face, but Anli held on tighter. "Sweetheart, you're scaring me. What happened?"
I watched you die. I held your cold hand in the morgue. I buried you in the ground. And the man you're about to marry pushed me off a building.
The words burned on Anli's tongue, desperate to escape. But she couldn't say them. Not here. Not now. Not with her mother's happiness shining so brightly.
"I'm fine," Anli managed. Her voice cracked on the word, but she forced a smile. "I'm just so happy for you, Mum. So happy."
Meera's expression softened. She cupped Anli's face in her hands. "Oh, my love. My sweet girl." She kissed Anli's forehead. "Everything is going to be wonderful. You'll see."
"Can we talk?" Anli asked. "Before the ceremony? Just the two of us?"
Meera nodded, concern flickering in her eyes again. She led Anli to a small garden behind the register office—a flagstone path, climbing roses, a bench beneath an apple tree. They sat together, and Anli struggled to find the right words.
"Mum," she began slowly, "do you really know Marcus? I mean, really know him?"
Meera's expression flickered. "Anli, we've been together for over a year. I think I know him quite well."
"People can hide things for a long time. Especially when they want something."
The hurt on Meera's face deepened. "You've never liked him. I know that. But I hoped that in time—"
"It's not about liking him." Anli turned to face her mother fully. "It's about you. About your safety. Your happiness. I just need you to be sure. Absolutely sure."
Meera was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice was soft but firm. "I am sure, Anli. More sure than I've been about anything in a very long time. Marcus makes me happy. He makes me feel seen, cherished. After all those years alone—don't I deserve that?"
The question was a blow. Of course her mother deserved happiness. But Marcus was a monster wearing a human suit.
"I want you to be happy," Anli whispered. "More than anything."
Meera's face softened. "I know, my love. I know." She pulled Anli into another embrace. "Everything will be wonderful. You'll see."
Anli hugged her back, but her mind was racing. She couldn't stop the wedding. Not without proof. But she could use it. Let Marcus marry her mother. Let him think he was winning. And then, when he least expected it, she would destroy him.
The ceremony began. Anli watched from the back as her mother walked down the aisle, radiant and joyful. She watched Marcus take her hands, repeat his vows with perfect sincerity. She watched him slip a ring onto her mother's finger.
And she smiled.
Because while Marcus thought he was trapping a vulnerable widow, he was actually walking into a cage of his own making.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
The blue interface shimmered in Anli's vision.
[NEW DATA AVAILABLE: MARCUS WORTHING - CRIMINAL HISTORY]
[ACCESS?]
[YES]
The interface expanded, filling with text—a list of crimes spanning twenty years. Fraud. Theft. Suspicious deaths. Pattern after pattern after pattern.
Anli read it all. And when she finished, the fire in her heart had changed. It was no longer the hot rage of a daughter who'd lost her mother. It was the cold determination of a hunter who'd found her prey.
Enjoy this moment, Marcus, she thought as the registrar pronounced them husband and wife. Enjoy thinking you've won. Because your world is about to crumble. And when it does, I'll be there to watch every second of it.
[MISSION STATUS: PHASE 1 COMPLETE]
[MARCUS WORTHING BOUND TO TARGET FAMILY. SURVEILLANCE PROTOCOL ACTIVE.]
[NEXT OBJECTIVE: FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE. BUILD RESOURCES TO COUNTER MARCUS'S SCHEMES.]
[RECOMMENDED ACTION: UTILIZE 20/20 FORESIGHT FOR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GAIN.]
Anli raised her champagne glass in a toast, her smile never wavering.
The game had just begun.