Chapter 5: The Honeymoon Trap

Things felt wrong from the start.

About six months ago, Mariah Bell met her neighbor Diego Cruz on a Delta flight back to New York. Diego was handsome, smooth-talking, and charming as hell. They talked the whole flight, and by the time they landed, sparks were flying. Mariah was head over heels—she refused to marry anyone but him.

Her dad, a wealthy tech entrepreneur with only one daughter, was dead-set against the marriage. But once Mariah brought Diego home, the whole family fell for his athletic, sun-kissed good looks and charisma. They tied the knot fast and headed to Miami—and then the weirdness started.

The Bells threw a blowout engagement party at their upstate New York mansion—think rolling lawns, champagne towers, and a jazz trio playing under the string lights. Uncle and Aunt Bell used every connection they had to find Savannah. She tried consulting her spirit, but nothing worked. The only clear thing? Mariah’s love life was off the charts.

But how could someone whose fate was so murky be riding a romantic high?

Neither her parents nor Savannah could figure it out, so Savannah sent her spirit to check things out. But it never came back; after several tries, nothing. That’s when she realized her spirit had been captured.

Her spirit was a thousand-year-old white serpent—one of the heavy hitters—and even it got snatched.

That’s when Savannah realized they were up against a serious threat, so she came to me.

I study the photos of Mariah and Diego—always looking like the perfect couple, eyes only for each other. But something’s off. Mariah looks at Diego like he’s her whole world; Diego looks at her like she’s his next big score.

These days, there are scammers who play the perfect boyfriend, targeting rich women for whirlwind marriages—then doing the unthinkable for money. It’s worse than any romance scam you’ve seen on Dateline.

Mariah probably fell for one of these predators.

Savannah’s skeptical. She says Mariah studied abroad, ran her own business, was smart and independent—not the type to fall for a con.

I point out the red in Diego’s eyes—if I’m right, he’s into Caribbean fox spirit magic. That’s a type of folk sorcery people whisper about in Miami—like those urban legends where people use seductive spirits to lure and control their victims.

He cursed Mariah with a fox spirit. If I’m right, she was already in trouble the minute she landed in Miami.

But Savannah still doesn’t get how Mariah can be both dead and alive, with a love life that’s supposedly thriving.

I break it down: “You know Miami’s got a reputation for the flesh trade—not just for the living, but for the dead, too. Corpses get used.”

Savannah’s face drains of color as she starts to put it together.

I keep going: “Some people say it brings windfall luck or ‘ghost money.’ There are ways to keep a body looking fresh—dead at night, alive by day. ‘Alive’ just means there’s a bit of breath left. It’s actually worse than death.”

Savannah looks sick.

I add, “To spell it out, it’s a kind of local sorcery—refining ghost brides…”

“Don’t say it!” Savannah cuts me off, horrified.

Right then—

Thud! Two people collapse behind the privacy screen.

I glance over, already knowing: it’s Mariah’s parents.