Page 66 of Shared By 3

I look at it and nod. Hunter agrees as well. “There are plenty of places for photos, a limited guest list.”

“What about this?” Mom says before typing something in on my laptop. It brings up a beautiful venue with a small water pool, a number of rooms and the photographs are gorgeous. Couples have plenty of options. “The Larz Anderson House.”

I nod once and the guys pull it up. Hunter whistles. “Love that gold filigree on the doors. It’s luxurious without being ridiculous.”

“The reception area is perfect for a small number of people,” Chase agrees.

Mr. Volkov pulls up another few things and nods. “Good for security.”

“We have two options for Venues then,” I say.

“And the venue can help decide the colors. With either of these venues, I wouldn’t recommend doing diamonds or gems in the décor. Of course, each venue offers its own with the views of the homes,” my father agrees.

“You know about décor?” Chase asks.

My mother pats his chest. “Of course he does. He does all the work inside our homes.”

My phone buzzes as flower talk starts. I excuse myself to take the call since I know it’s the police. “Hello?”

“Hello, we’re calling about the incident that happened at the clinic,” a man says. “Sir.”

Ah, one of our people that we put on the police force. “Yes, an update?”

“We’ve convinced the suspect to accept a guilty plea. There will be no case,” he reports.

I glance at the time. “So quickly? Was it done by the books?”

“It was. We showed that if he pursued a court case, his own dirty laundry would air and it wouldn’t do him any favors to be connected to our business. If anything, it would turn the jury against him further,” the man reports.

“And?”

“He signed a confession. Our business has been omitted. He claimed it was a prolonged psychological break. He had been sending death threats with no plans to back them up, but seeing Valerie and being forced to discuss the issues which challenged him made him snap,” the man reports.

“I see. Anything else we need to be aware of?” I ask.

He’s quiet for a long moment. “Sir ... there are concerns he will not serve his sentence. He’s on a mental health watch.”

“Very well. Be sure he makes it to sentencing. What happens in prison is on him, but it’s best if he’s placed in protective custody because of his past,” I say.

“Are you so concerned for the man who threatened us?” the officer growls. “He deserves to get what’s coming to him in prison. Many believed him dead and-”

“And our boss has requested he lives. We are changing the way things are done. Would you like me to interrupt Mr. Volkov’s important business so he can clarify this?” I ask.

Again, the man falls quiet. He clears his throat. “No, Sir. I will comply. Thank you for being so transparent.”

“Thank you for following this through,” I state before hanging up.

I walk back in and find Chase looking at his phone. “Valerie can get her stitches out tomorrow.”

“Oh, wonderful,” my mother says.

“We have handled the suspect. There will be no trial where Valerie will be involved,” I say.

“Even better,” Hunter says, but there’s something dark in his eyes. “So he’ll be in prison soon.”

Chase arches an eyebrow at me. I’m sure he didn’t cover his desire to keep Yuri alive with Hunter. The man betrayed us all by faking his death, but he’s suffered enough to balance the scales there. I nod once.

“We will have no concern for our wedding,” I say.

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