Page 47 of Black Wedding

“We believe the threats are coming from the Marcushios. He has made contact, making it very clear he wants revenge for what happened to Leon. We are gathering information at the moment, doing recon. We won’t move, or should I say, I will not go to war with them until we know everything there is to know about him. But I can assure you, his little acts of rebellion as he tests the waters are being shut down all over the UK. If he tries anything, we will know,” Liam explains, his voice confident and very sure of himself. He doesn’t see the Marcushio’s as an issue, but they are.

“We have reason to believe that Vinnie may have been planning to gain power long before the shit with his father went down. He was the one stealing from you, and that’s why Dad thought it was Leon. All the signs pointed to him, but it was Vinnie all along. So I think until we make an active plan to take him out, he will always be a threat,” I add onto the end of Liam’s statement.

“Liam, you disagree? I caught that little shake of the head,” my grandfather asks, always the perceptive one.

“Honestly, no, I agree. I think Vinnie is emotionally unstable since the death of his father. He holds some guilt that his actions caused his father to get killed. But, from what we have heard, he was planning this out long before Leon’s death. So, of course, his death would have an impact. But I did a lot of research on the family before the hit and have done a lot since, and I do not see these threats as coming from him,” Liam states, and my head flies around to face him quickly.

“Why have you never said this to me?” I ask, my voice becoming a high-pitched squeak.

Liam takes a deep breath before turning his body slightly to face me, making sure I see his face clearly as he talks. “I didn’t want to worry you until I had proof, but I couldn’t lie to your grandfather.”

“So, who do you think is sending the threats?” my grandfather asks the question that’s sitting on the end of my tongue.

“This is just a theory, and it lacks any real proof. I acknowledge that the Marcushios should remain a person of interest, not to mention any new enemies that crop up. Originally, I suspected my father, but I don’t think it is after talking to him. I think there’s more chance of him being obvious about his threats. He wouldn’t try to disguise them,” he explains, and I shake my head in agreement. Then he looks at me with a wince, and I know he is worried about whatever he’s going to say next. I indicate for him to go ahead.

“There is a part of me that is wondering if this is Vernon. A lot of the threats have had a personal connection to Bree, something only someone close to her would know,” he mutters, and my heart starts to race. I never even considered him. He wouldn’t threaten his own daughter. Would he?

“I have to admit that I have been wondering that too. Ever since the first threat with the cross, I have wondered if he is involved somehow. I hope that he is not, but I think it warrants more investigation...which I will do. Of course, you are free to investigate and deal with the Marcushios, wipe them all out as far as I am concerned, but leave Vernon to me. Understand?” I feel as though I am sitting there in a blur, my mind whirling with Gramps and Liam’s words.

The afternoon passes quickly while we finalise all the details of how the business will transfer over to us after we get married. It’s so strange to see my Gramps and Liam actually getting along, which is definitely what starts to happen by the end of the day. They are having a laugh and a joke together, but I can’t get that statement out of my head. My mind is continuously assessing every threat, looking for that connection between it and my father. Liam is right; they are there.

Trying to ignore that suspicion now it is there is difficult, but as we part, we agree that no action will be taken until after we marry. We agree on a date and a venue. After a very handsome bribe from my grandfather, we got the place we wanted. So, in just twenty-five days, I will be walking down the aisle and marrying the man I never saw coming. A man who has become my everything. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Doughty.

The wedding day arrives in no time, after what feels like a chaotic five-day build up. Every day my ecstatic mother would arrive on my doorstep at the crack of dawn. Either to finalise another wedding detail or whisk me off somewhere to look at all the things she had in mind for a wedding. So, when I completely ignored her and told her exactly what I wanted, she almost had a mini-stroke. She hates all of Liam and my ideas, but we do it our way or not at all.

Nobody was safe from her reach. I took numerous phone calls from both Liam’s sisters and Mia, as my mother was harassing them for their measurements so she could order the bridesmaid dresses. She even came over with a personal baby shopper so that Hallie could try on some gorgeous flower girl dresses. Her reach knew no bounds as Desmond even called me to say that she was being unreasonable and wouldn’t let him pick who sits at his table. With the number of people coming, he is lucky he even got a table.

Liam and I had a vision of an intimate ceremony, where it was just us and a few of our closest friends and family, but nobody else wanted that. Desmond wanted at least half his employees, as did Patrick. Not to mention the associates we have to invite to not piss them off and accidentally start another war. One is enough.

The Marcushio’s have been strangely quiet since the wedding preparation began. Well...if it is even them sending the threats. They seem to have almost disappeared, and Liam thinks this is further proof that my dad is involved, that Gramps must have confronted him about it, which is why they stopped. Although we couldn’t rule the Marcushio’s out yet. So, we kidnapped Richie Ricardo, former second in command when Leon was alive.

It was actually the easiest interrogation I have ever done. He sang like a canary without me even having to get my knife out, since he no longer has an allegiance to the Family. He was supposed to be in charge if anything happened to Leon. Leon only wanted Vinnie to take over when Richie thought he was ready, but Vinnie is a typical know-it-all teenager who wants it all. So, it was the perfect opportunity to set the Marcushios up as not just a rival Family, buttheFamily. His stupidity knows no bounds, and Richie even admitted to us that the longer Vinnie has any kind of power, the more danger everyone will be in.

After a lengthy discussion, not only did Richie strengthen his allegiance with my family and me, he also helped us with information about Vinnie and his plans. Strangely, he is sure that Vinnie doesn’t have any weapons since he called Richie only two days before, asking if he knew how to get any. Vinnie is definitely looking to arm, but he isn’t armed yet. This further supports Kellan’s idea that my father still has the guns and has been playing us for the beginning, sending me on a wild goose chase. But why?

When I‘m not wedding planning, I seem to spend every waking moment thinking about what my father could be doing. My mind goes from best to the worst-case scenario in a flash. Initially, I can’t help but think he is making his move against who he sees as a rival, but then Liam reminds me that I am not just his daughter but his only child. Would he really kill his child? So then I think of the best-case scenario, which doesn’t end with my death. Maybe he just doesn’t want me to marry Liam? Sadly, no matter what his agenda is, and what he plans to do, I will be ready. He is in for a shock if he doesn’t think I can see all of my enemies, and I have a plan to weed them all out, but first, I have to get ready to go to my own wedding.

Since our wedding planner from hell couldn’t agree with what we wanted to happen, we all decided to compromise slightly. I was never a girl who dreamed of having a wedding. It never really entered my head until I started to fall for Liam. Before, it was just going to be another business transaction, another contract to sign, but then it became more. The longer Liam and I thought about it, we realised we somehow wanted Ireland to be represented in the wedding. The thing I love most about Ireland is the beautiful architecture and green spaces. So after some research, we opted for Farnham Castle as our venue. Not only was it not far from London, but its adaptability and flexibility meant that we could cater to what everyone wanted.

So in just under half an hour, I will be walking to the gorgeous Lantern Room, which is a beautiful, bright room lined with a wall of stunning arched windows. We have chosen to have it laid out with black lace bows secured around them and black flowers lining the aisle. I chose all the flowers that Von recommended. My mother and her bonded nicely over the bouquets. Although I have had to rein them in slightly, their lavish minds got slightly too big for my liking.

If I’m honest, this part of the day is what I am looking forward to the most. This is our private ceremony that is just for our family and friends. We will not be legally married, as the church ceremony we will have an hour later will be for that, but this is for us. The church is so that everyone who matters can sit there, in front of a God that they don’t acknowledge unless it’s Christmas or they want to atone for their sins, and watch us be married.

Both me and Liam are catholic, but I can’t remember the last time I ever stepped foot in a church. It was probably the last time someone died or got married. It’s ironic, given that my family is the epitome of sin. My dad is fucking someone less than half his age, and my mother operates on a healthy mix of antidepressants and gin. So, we are not the poster family for the church, but since my parents agreed to let me have the ceremony we wanted, we decided to do the church wedding too.

After that, we will go onto a sit-down meal held in the most beautiful hall, followed by an evening event where we have managed to invite even more people. There are literally a handful of people that I can tolerate in this world, and yet I have just over three hundred people coming to this wedding in total. Thank fuck we don’t have to feed them all because there is no way my venue can seat that many.

I go to check on all the rooms first thing, but the assistant my mother hired, who looks literally the most stressed I have ever seen her, has it all in hand. She is all set up and waiting for our beautiful five-tier wedding cake to be delivered. In the meantime, she was instructing people on where to hang lights or put flower arrangements. So, safe in the knowledge that she has everything in hand, I come back to the house, but I feel lost without Liam.

We decided to do things a little traditional and spend the night before apart. Let me tell you now it was fucking torture. I haven’t slept a night without Liam since we met, and I had no idea how much I have come to depend on his warmth. I usually lay my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, tracing the ridges of his abdomen. At the same time, he strokes my hair, and we just talk until we fall asleep. I’m sure once I am sleeping, he rolls me off his chest. His arm goes dead, if not, but he always curls up behind me to keep me close.

So last night, not only am I at my most fucking stressed, paranoia and fear of every little thing going wrong with the wedding are taking over me. I also don’t have the one thing that calms me down and helps me get some sleep, Liam. This morning when I woke up, it’s apparent I had less than four hours of sleep. I’m running on fumes, trying to be in a million places at once. As someone who is used to leading, letting others do the jobs for me is hard. I want to make sure they have done it to my specification, which is why I found myself driving to the venue and then rushing back for my hair and make-up.

Mia, Ryleigh, Freya, my mother, and Von are all in my living room. People are milling around, all of them either handing out breakfast pastries and champagne or doing someone’s hair and make-up. Everyone is dressed in silk black robes embroidered with their names. They’re in various stages of preparation, and the fantastic photographer I managed to grab for the wedding is trying to get as many candid shots as possible. I hired two photographers to work together. One is to capture all the memorable, posed style photos, and another is to take the ones that nobody realises. The one with the genuine reactions. They are the ones Liam and I want to keep.

As I let two people pull, twist, and curl my silky, bright red locks, I can’t help but imagine what Liam is doing. He is already at the venue. They usually give the honeymoon suite to the bride to get ready in, but I wanted to be at home. I felt like being in my own surroundings would be better for me, so Liam and Kellan decided to move to the hall for the night. Finn and Evan are meeting them there this morning. I’m surprised Evan has agreed to be in the wedding party, but I’m more shocked Liam asked him to join. However, he says he doesn’t ever want his brother to think he has given up on him. He needs to always know that leaving is an option.

My father and Gramps have suits that match Liam’s, but they aren’t going to the venue to get ready. Unless mother got them their own room, I have no idea. I know they had a massive argument over who would be the one to walk me down the aisle. My mum actually asked me if I could pick who would I want. I didn’t even hesitate for a moment. Jimmy. He has been like a father to me my entire life, raising me, caring for me, teaching me to survive this life. On the other hand, Vernon has never really seen me, having consistently underestimated me, even now. However, my choice was not allowed. We finally agreed that Gramps could escort me for our service and Vernon for the official one. Jimmy was assigned to get me to the castle on time, something he strangely did not seem too happy about.

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