Rosa's POV
"Julie is alive."
I stare at the letter in Gerald's shaking hands, and the cemetery spins around me. This can't be real. It can't be.
"No," I whisper. "No, I saw her grave. I went to her funeral. I cried for three years—"
"It was staged," Gerald says, his voice hollow. "Just like my father's death. The Syndicate faked the whole thing."
Marcus is already on his phone, making calls. "I'm checking passenger records from Europe. If Julie's coming back, we need to know when."
I can't breathe. Julie is alive. My sister, who I mourned, who I thought was murdered, who I've been trying to avenge—she's alive and working for the criminals who destroyed our lives.
"Why?" The word comes out broken. "Why would she do this? Why would she work for them?"
"Maybe they forced her," Gerald says, but he doesn't sound convinced. "Maybe she didn't have a choice."
"Or maybe she chose them," I say bitterly. "Maybe Julie was always exactly who she seemed—selfish, cruel, caring only about herself. And now she's coming back to kill us because we're threatening her new life."
Gerald looks at me with something like understanding. For the first time, he's not seeing me as Julie's shadow. He's seeing me.
"We need to move the wedding up," I say suddenly.
Both men stare at me.
"What?" Gerald asks.
"The Syndicate wants us married. They want us under control. If we refuse or delay, they'll know we're planning something." My mind races. "But if we go through with it—if we act like nothing's wrong—we buy time to gather evidence and plan our escape."
"You want to actually marry me?" Gerald sounds stunned. "After everything you just learned?"
"I want to survive," I say firmly. "And right now, the safest thing we can do is play along while we figure out how to destroy them. Including Julie."
Marcus's phone buzzes. He checks it and his face goes white. "She's already here. Julie landed at JFK two hours ago."
My blood runs cold. "Where is she now?"
"Unknown. She didn't use her real name, but facial recognition caught her at customs." Marcus shows us a surveillance photo.
It's definitely Julie. Older, harder, with shorter hair and expensive clothes. But unmistakably my sister.
"She looks different," I whisper.
"She looks dangerous," Gerald corrects.
His phone rings. He checks the caller ID and his face goes pale. "It's Victor Rivera."
We all freeze.
"Answer it," I say. "Act normal."
Gerald takes a breath and answers. "Victor. We're still at the cemetery—"
"I know exactly where you are," Victor's cold voice comes through the speaker. "Did you find what you were looking for in James's grave?"
Gerald and I exchange terrified looks. They know. The Syndicate knows we have the evidence.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Gerald lies.
"Don't insult my intelligence, son. You dug up an empty grave and found James's letter. And now you know that your father is alive, working for us, just like I am. Just like we all are."
"Where's Julie?" I demand, grabbing the phone. "Where's my sister?"
Victor laughs. It's a terrible sound. "Julie's where she's always been, Rosa. On the winning side. While you're on the side that's about to lose everything."
"We have evidence," Gerald says. "Everything on that flash drive—"
"That flash drive is encrypted," Victor interrupts. "The password died with someone very important. Without it, you have nothing but useless data. And even if you could crack it, do you really think we'd let you reach the FBI? We own half the bureau, boy. You're playing a game you can't win."
"Then why haven't you killed us already?" I challenge.
Silence. Then Victor's voice turns colder. "Because Julie asked us not to. She wants to handle you herself. She's coming to the wedding tomorrow. And after the ceremony, she's taking you both somewhere private where we can... resolve this situation permanently."
The line goes dead.
Tomorrow. The wedding is tomorrow. We moved it up to this weekend because of the Syndicate's pressure.
"We're walking into a trap," Marcus says grimly.
"No." Gerald's jaw sets hard. "We're setting one. Rosa's right—we go through with the wedding. We act like we don't know Julie's alive. And when she comes for us, we'll be ready."
"Ready with what?" I demand. "We can't decrypt the flash drive. We can't go to the police. We can't trust anyone. How exactly are we supposed to fight a crime organization and my undead sister?"
Gerald pulls out his phone and makes a call. "I'm calling the one person who might help us. Someone who hated the Syndicate and tried to stop them before."
"Who?" I ask.
"My mother," Gerald says quietly. "The real Vanessa. She's not dead either—that was someone else's body in that alley. My father's letter said she's in hiding, but he left a way to contact her."
He dials a number from memory. It rings once. Twice. Then a woman's voice answers.
"Gerald? Is that really you?"
Tears fill Gerald's eyes. "Mom. I need your help. Julie Rivera is alive and she's trying to kill us."
"I know, baby," Vanessa says softly. "I've been watching. And I'm already on my way. But Gerald, you need to know something about Julie before she gets to you."
"What?" he asks.
"Julie's not just working for the Syndicate. She's running it now. Three years ago, she killed the old boss and took over. Your wedding tomorrow? It's not about controlling your companies anymore. Julie's going to use the ceremony to eliminate every rival she has left. She's planning to murder fifty people at that wedding."
My heart stops. "What people?"
"Every Syndicate member who voted against her takeover," Vanessa says grimly. "She's been planning this for months. The wedding is a massacre waiting to happen. And you two are going to be blamed for all of it."
Gerald and I stare at each other in horror.
"We have to cancel," I say. "We have to stop the wedding—"
"You can't," Vanessa interrupts. "If you cancel, Julie will know you're onto her. She'll just find another way to kill everyone and blame you. No, you have to go through with it. You have to let Julie think she's won."
"And then what?" Gerald demands.
"Then you stop her," Vanessa says. "I'll help you. But Gerald, baby, you need to understand something. Your father's flash drive? The encryption password?"
"What about it?"
"It's not a password. It's a person. The only person who can decrypt that drive is Julie herself. She has the biometric key—her fingerprint and retinal scan. Your father built it that way to force her to cooperate."
Understanding crashes over me like ice water.
"We need Julie alive," I whisper. "We need her to unlock the evidence that will destroy her."
"Exactly," Vanessa confirms. "So tomorrow, at your wedding, you're going to have to do the impossible. You're going to have to capture a woman who's planning mass murder, force her to unlock evidence that will send her to prison for life, and stop a massacre. All while pretending to get married."
Gerald looks at me. I look back at him.
"Well," I say with a shaky laugh. "At least the wedding won't be boring."
Marcus groans. "You two are insane."
"We're desperate," Gerald corrects. He takes my hand. "Rosa, I know this is crazy. I know you didn't sign up for any of this. If you want to run—"
"No," I cut him off. My voice is stronger than I feel. "Julie took three years of my life. She made me believe I was worthless. She let me mourn her while she was living it up as a crime boss. Tomorrow, I'm walking down that aisle in her dress, marrying her ex-fiancé, and taking her down."
I squeeze Gerald's hand. "Let's crash this wedding."