The cemetery was still settling after the last handful of mourners drifted away while their hushed whispers faded between rows of headstones. The air smelled of damp soil and wilted flowers, heavy with fake sorrow.
Vincent Liroux stood alone at the edge of the freshly filled grave, his silhouette framed by leaning crosses and marble angels. His expression remained perfectly sculpted in grief...downcast eyes, tight jaw, shoulders bent with devastation. Anyone watching would see a man shattered by loss.
Anyone watching...and that was precisely the point.
When the final guest stepped beyond the wrought-iron cemetery gates, Vincent let his posture shift. The sorrow drained from his features like water slipping off polished stone. In its place grew a small, satisfied smile. A controlled smil
