The rain at JFK wasn't a drizzle; it was a deluge.
The sky was the color of a fresh bruise, heavy and low. I stood on the tarmac, the water soaking through my trench coat, plastering my hair to my skull. I refused the umbrella the ground crew offered. I needed to feel this. I needed the cold to remind me that I was still biological matter, still alive, despite the numbness spreading from my core.
The C-130 Hercules taxied to a halt, its four propellers cutting through the rain like giant knives. The ramp lowered with a mechanical groan that sounded like a beast in mourning.
Twelve men in dress blues marched down the ramp. They moved as one organism, their steps splashing in unison on the wet concrete. They didn't look at the private jets parked nearby. They didn't look at the skyline of New York. They looked only at me.
And they saluted.
It was a sharp, violent snap of hands to brows.
I straightened. My spine, curved for three years under the weight of being "Julian's mousy wife," snapped into a line of steel. I raised my hand. The muscle memory was instant. My fingers aligned perfectly with the brim of an invisible cap.
Two flag-draped coffins were carried out.
My mother. My father.
The silence on the tarmac was absolute, heavier than the roar of the engines had been. I walked forward. My hand touched the wet fabric of the flag covering the first coffin. It was rough, synthetic, and freezing cold.
"I've got you," I whispered. "I'm here."
My phone rang. The shrill, cheerful ringtone Julian had set for himself cut through the sacred silence like a scream.
I pulled it out. Julian Calling.
"Where the hell are you?" his voice barked before I could speak. "Mother is at the manor, and the florists delivered lilies. You know she hates lilies. Fix it."
I looked at the coffins. I looked at the soldiers standing at attention, tears mixing with the rain on their stoic faces.
"I'm busy," I said.
"Busy? Doing what? Buying groceries? Get to the manor. Now."
I hung up. Then, I opened the settings and blocked the number.
The ride to the Vanderbilt estate was silent. I sat in the front seat of the hearse, not the back. When we turned into the long, gravel driveway of the estate, I saw the cars. Bentleys, Rolls Royces. The brunch was in full swing.
The hearse stopped at the iron gates. A security guard I didn't recognize stepped out, hand raised.
"Delivery entrance is around back," he shouted over the rain.
"Open the gate," I said, rolling down the window.
"Mrs. Vanderbilt? Look, Mr. Vanderbilt said no interruptions. You can't bring… that… in here. It's a party."
"Open the gate," I repeated. My voice was low, but it carried the same frequency as the hum of a drone before a strike.
The guard hesitated, looked at my eyes, and flinched. The gates swung open.
We drove up the main drive. The black hearse was a scar on the perfectly manicured landscape. We pulled up right to the front steps, blocking the view of the garden where Victoria Vanderbilt held court under a massive white marquee.
The music stopped. The chatter died.
Victoria came rushing down the steps, her champagne glass sloshing over her hand. She was wearing white, of course.
"What is this?" she shrieked. "Jade! Have you lost your mind? Get this death-mobile out of my driveway! We have guests!"
Julian appeared behind her, Seraphina clinging to his arm. He looked furious.
"I told you to handle the flowers, not bring a funeral to my brunch," Julian hissed. "Do you have no shame?"
I stepped out of the car. The rain hit me instantly, but I didn't feel it. I signaled the driver. The back opened. The soldiers-who had insisted on escorting the bodies to the final resting site-began to unload the coffins.
"No!" Victoria screamed, rushing forward. She grabbed the arm of a Marine. "Put that back! You are not bringing dead bodies into my house! It's bad luck! It's disgusting!"
The Marine didn't move. He looked at her like she was a speck of dust on his boot.
"Stop it," I said.
Victoria turned on me. "You ungrateful little gutter rat. You think because you married my son you can pollute our ground with your trash? Your parents were mercenaries who died for a paycheck! Take them to the dump where they belong!"
The world went silent.
The blood roared in my ears. The three years of biting my tongue, of lowering my head, of apologizing for existing-it all evaporated.
I took two steps.
My hand moved faster than thought. It was a tactical strike, open-palmed, fueled by the torque of my hips and the rage of a thousand silent nights.
Crack.
The sound was like a gunshot.
Victoria spun a full hundred and eighty degrees and collapsed onto the wet gravel. Her champagne glass shattered.
Julian froze. The guests gasped. Seraphina's hands flew to her mouth.
Victoria sat up, clutching her cheek, her eyes wide with shock. She wasn't hurt, not really. She was just… stunned. She had never been touched by consequences before.
"You…" she sputtered. "Julian! She hit me!"
I stood over her. I felt tall. I felt huge.
"Get up," I said. My voice wasn't loud, but it carried across the lawn. "And get out of my way."
"Julian!" Victoria screamed. "Throw her out! Divorce her! Make her pay!"
I looked at Julian. He was staring at me as if I had grown a second head.
"Don't bother," I said to him. "I'm already gone."
I turned to the Marines. "Take them to the private plot. The one I bought. Not the Vanderbilt mausoleum."
"Yes, Ma'am," the lead Marine barked.
I walked past Julian, brushing his shoulder. I didn't look back at the woman in the mud or the man in the suit. I followed the flag.
