Page 78 of The Wedding Wrecker

"Oh god," I muttered. "I'm an idiot."

I practically ran to his room, my heart pounding as I knocked. No answer.

Fine. I'd wait.

I used my key card—we were still technically sharing a room, even though I'd been avoiding it—and pushed open the door.

The first thing I saw was papers. They covered every surface—the bed, the desk, even some of the floor. Financial records, emails, photographs...

And right in the center of the bed was a photo of Lily and Marcus, with notes scribbled in James' handwriting.

My heart stopped.

"Emma."

I spun to find James in the doorway, his expression wary.

"What is all this?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Well… this is everything I’ve found about the Wellingtons. Are you ready to hear it?”

26

JAMES

"Iknow we've both been dancing around why I'm really here," I said quietly. "I think you knew all along your mother hired me, just like I knew you'd figured it out."

Emma's shoulders tensed as she looked at the scattered papers. "I guess we've both been avoiding the conversation."

"I needed to be certain before I showed you this." I gestured at the evidence spread across the room. "After what happened in Ireland, I couldn't risk hurting you again without being absolutely sure."

"So now you're sure?" Her voice was carefully neutral. "What did you find?"

I picked up a stack of financial records. "The Wellingtons are broke. Their company is hemorrhaging money, and Richard's been covering it up for years. They're on the verge of complete collapse."

“What?” I breathed. “How is that even possible?”

“Years of ineptitude. Bad investments. Gambling problems going back generations. They squandered hundreds and hundreds of millions. Their properties are either sold or rented out, barely covering the mortgages in most cases. Their businesses are upside down. It’s bad, Em. And they’re desperate. They’ve actually been using credit and some loopholes to make it look like their businesses are still running in the black. But it’s all red. I’d guess it’ll come crumbling down in spectacular fashion any time now.”

"But… well,” she started. “Okay. I know it’s a big deal, but does that really impact the wedding? So Marcus is broke, but Lily does well, and her business is only going to grow with the way the last few months have gone.”

“That’s the thing… Richard and Dick want to leverage Lily’s success once she’s ‘part of the family.’”

Emma sank onto the edge of the bed, pushing papers aside. "How do you know?"

I handed her a transcript of a conversation I'd recorded between Richard and Dick. With the time the two of them spent at the bar, hiding a few small listening devices wasn’t difficult. The fact that they always chose the same seat even saved me the time of screening through dozens of other conversations to find theirs.

Either way, their words were damning—talking about how they could "milk the celebrity angle" and use Lily's business as collateral for loans. They also mentioned how they still had access to one of their powerful family lawyers, a man they believed could manage to make it all happen with the slightest, dubious consent from Marcus, which they believed they could get.

“Wait,” Emma said. “This makes it sound like they don’t know if they can convince Marcus to betray Lily. Does that mean he’s not in on all of this?”

I folded my arms, considering. “He has to at least know about the financial ruin. I’ll admit I have nothing connecting him to the plot to take advantage of Lily’s business. And the debt wouldn’t be his, either. He may feel less desperate and driven.”

"But yes. Marcus knows," I said. "He's been helping them hide their financial situation. For what it’s worth, I do think he genuinely loves her. But he's trapped between that love and his family's manipulation." I sat beside her, careful to leave space between us. "I think he's probably ashamed. Embarrassed that his family isn't what everyone thinks. And afraid that if Lily knew the truth..."

"She wouldn't want him anymore," Emma finished. She picked up a photo of Marcus and Lily, studying it. "She wouldn't care, you know. About the money. She'd probably offer to help them."

"That's what I'm afraid of. Richard and Dick would take everything she offered and still want more. Worse, they might convince her or Marcus to sign over something dangerous to their control. Maybe they’d convince her they could help, but all they want is to dig themselves out of one of many holes. If they have to destroy her business to do it, I think they will."

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