There was great murmuring as every member of the Luciano family present at the wedding arrived at the base. There was great conversation as all of them wondered why Marcel summoned them over, however, each of them knew that this was related to his wedding. It was hard to believe that he was left standing at the altar, some of his family members found that laughable.
However, unlike the other family members that were busy with their gossip, Daniel was oddly quiet. No one dared to point out his sudden quietness and simply minded their business else they bear the brunt of his punishment. Everyone in the family avoided Daniel as if he was a pest knowing what he was capable of. No one wanted to get on his bad side.
While Daniel looked calm on the surface, the truth was that he was burning with anger inwardly. Marcel dared to challenge his authority? He wanted to get his hands on Marcel today, or rather, destroy what he currently treasured more – the girl. Daniel knew that Marcel was merely stalling for time, hence, that annoyed him the more. He couldn’t wait for this meeting to be over so he could tear him from limb to limb.
Almost immediately, Marcel made his appearance and the chatter instantly died off. They created a path for him to pass through while the others standing settled down. Marcel went to sit at a chair at the head of the table and Daniel looked at him, watching the gesture. He still hadn’t gotten over the fact that his son was the one in charge, nor did everyone in the room fail to notice the thick tension between the both of them.
With Marcel seated, everyone else still left standing scampered to find their seat and occupied it immediately. An awkward hush fell over the hall, contrary to the lively environment moments ago, but Marcel didn’t mind as he stood up to announce,
“I’m sorry for calling an impromptu meeting, but the situation demanded it and I’m sure all of you in this room must have guessed the reason why I called this meeting,” Marcel said and a low murmur arose once again as they argued on the matter.
Marcel went on to say, “The truth is that I wasn’t abandoned on the altar, rather I kidnapped my bride.”
There was an instant uproar in the room after Marcel confessed. What the hell was going on here? What does he mean by kidnapping his girlfriend? There was commotion all around him. Daniel in question was so livid that veins were showing on his face, however, he didn’t speak out immediately.
He knew his son Marcel and he wouldn’t make such a rash move without a plan in the first place, hence Daniel was able to control his emotions and waited for Marcel to reveal the card he had up his sleeve.
.....
“However, it was done for a good reason and I’m here to announce that Clara Alberta broke the one rule of our family...” Marcel trailed off, looking straight at his father as he announced, “Harming the Mafia Don of our family.”
There was a shocked gasp, then followed by a cry of outrage from the family members. As much as they hated each other’s ass, blood was still thicker than water and they would rather harm Marcel than let an outsider look down on him.
Daniel collapsed back into his seat at once as everything began to make sense to him. The reason Marcel was cocky enough to go against him, was all because he knew what Clara did. His son was confident he would win against him in this case and he did. Marcel was smart, no wonder, he brought it out in front of all of the family members. It was so he couldn’t have any leverage over him anymore.
Now that his family members knew Clara as a betrayer, Daniel was afraid that even with all of his authority and position in the family, he couldn’t make the marriage happen this time. It was beyond him and Marcel knew that when he was planning this all along.
Marcel went into details, “Clara instigated and bribed one of my men to cause me trouble and he ended up contracting the phantom ghost who stole my shipment and caused me the loss of some of my men which you all know.” He reminded them of the incident in the past.
Knowing this was serious, Daniel turned to his assistant sharply, “Why didn’t I know about this?”
His assistant pushed his glasses back with his head bowed, “I had no idea either nor could I have predicted that she would do such a thing. Clara must have detested Marcel that much.”
Hearing that didn’t comfort Daniel, instead, he grabbed his seat’s arm so tight it looked like he would crush it. So his plan wasn’t going to work and it was all because of that stupid girl, Clara. Daniel knew Clara was dumb, but not to this extent. Sigh.
Maybe, it was a good thing Marcel got rid of Clara anyway. With her stupidity, if they got married, who knows the amount of trouble that she would have caused the family in the future? But then, without Clara in the way, that meant that Marcel could easily be with that woman’s daughter. No way! Over his dead body! He was not going to let that happen.
Daniel was still thinking of a plan when he saw his cousin Benjamin lift his hand to ask, “If you had known your bride’s sins, why did you still go ahead with the wedding?” He was smug, having known that Daniel set Marcel up to it.
However, Marcel answered, “Why did you think I kidnapped her and ended the wedding? It wasn’t until today that I found out about her crime and I couldn’t forgive her for that even if it was in the past. If she could commit such a thing while we dated, what would she do then when we get married and know all my secrets and I provoke her? Trust me when I tell you that I thought about this matter thoroughly, Uncle. Any more questions?” Marcel said arrogantly and Benjamin only lifted a brow at his attitude.
“There is nothing more to ask then. I was just concerned about you, you know? I had to know if Clara has any more power over you else you end up forgiving her. You do know women have such persuasive powers.” Benjamin claimed.
“Oh, that, you do not have to worry about that uncle.” Marcel told him with all sincerity with just a hint of sarcasm, “How magnanimous of you to care about me, I’m so touched uncle,”
Daniel always knew his son was a big actor. He watched Marcel place his hand on his chest and gave Benjamin a grateful look. After all, to succeed in this family, one needed a mask that suited all occasions.
Marcel went on to say, “How selfish of me to make my uncle worry about me when you have enough trouble on your plate already. I heard just this week that your daughter tried to rape Adele’s assistant’ because the handsome man was playing hard to get?”
At once, there was a great murmuring in the hall and everyone began to look at Benjamin and Cindy for the juicy details. Her family had wrapped up the issue because it was embarrassing, however, Marcel was the Don and big details like that never failed to reach his ears especially when he had a capable assistant like Adele.
“But don’t worry uncle,” Marcel told him, “Cindy is still a growing child and It’s completely normal for sexual appetite to surge. It’s completely normal for her to have a huge libido, but if it gets in the way of her normal activities, I would help get a doctor for her. After all, you can’t worry about me and all of your children as well, otherwise, you would age faster than your older brother, my uncle, Robert. Worse, even more than your pals, ” Marcel subtly insulted him.
It was completely normal his ass! Robert was enraged, but there was nothing he could do. This was completely his daughter’s fault! He glared at Cindy who lowered her head and refused to look him in the eyes.
“Of course, I would be so much happy if you do that,” Robert swallowed the insult and gave Marcel a smile that did not touch his eyes. As the family’s Don, he couldn’t go against Marcel.
Almost immediately, Robert raised his hand, “Why did you have to gather us here then? You could have just canceled the wedding and none of us would have said anything about it.” He questioned.
Robert knew that it was his father’s arrangement, and Marcel recognized his trickery. His uncle wanted him to admit that Daniel arranged their meeting and forced it upon him. However, Marcel wasn’t born yesterday.
“Yes, you are right,” Marcel admitted.
“I could have canceled the wedding without informing any of you and calling a meeting like this. However, I love to respect my elders and since all of us were gathered at the wedding anyway, I thought why not explain it all to my family members? Also, it was so you elders wouldn’t have any objection when I decide to marry another one in the future, ” Marcel said and Daniel’s gaze sharpened.