Chapter 1

Dressed in the most beautiful wedding gown she had ever imagined herself in, Moira Viscoli momentarily paused outside the chapel. She had promised herself not to entertain any pre-wedding jitters but the more her decision to elope tried settling in her mind, the more she questioned its wisdom. It was impossible not to have second thoughts.

But the idea of finally being with the love of her life gave Moira all the reasons she needed to proceed with the plan. This was no time for second thoughts; Tony had already purchased their one way tickets to his hometown, where they’d settle and start a new life… away from her imposing parents.

Moira signalled the lone chapel usher to open the door as she took a deep breath; knowing that once she stepped into that almost empty chapel there was no turning back. With just the priest and the lone usher, Moira didn’t expect the ceremony to last more than ten minutes; then she’ll walk out as Mrs Tony Scott, headed straight for the airport- to her freedom. That thought instantly put a wide smile on her face.

The doors swung open and Moira was greeted by the silence she expected to prevail within the chapel. She cast her glance to the altar upfront, where her groom waited in the company of the priest who was going to marry them. To her surprise, there was a third man standing at the altar. “Could Tony have changed his mind and invited a friend to be his best man?” Moira silently wondered as she stepped into the chapel.

Oddly, none of the men at the altar turned when the door was opened. Moira at least expected Tony to be eager to see how his bride looked like. She paused again in the doorway, expecting the men at the altar to acknowledge her presence. But before she could induce the men to at least turn their heads towards her, she was hit by an even bigger surprise.

“You didn’t think I would let you walk down the aisle alone, did you?”

It was her father’s unmistakable voice whispering into her ear.

“Papa, what are you doing here? How did you find us?” Moira almost jumped out of her skin but managed to keep her voice down.

“Don’t worry about that, my dear. Your Mama and Papa are here for you?” her father, Mario Viscoli whispered back. Clad in his usual- blue jeans and his company-branded golf shirt; he didn't seem concerned that he wasn't appropriately dressed for the special occassion.  Luckily, his attire was the least of his daughter's concerns at the time.

“How did you find us? Tony didn’t call you, did he? I’m going to… I’ll not forgive him if he messes this up for me.” Moira exclaimed. “It’s called eloping for a reason, you know; it means you and Mama are not supposed to be here.”

Mario kept staring at his daughter. For a moment he marvelled at how beautiful his daughter looked in her wedding gown. But what awaited her at the altar reminded him to quickly shift focus back to the big problem at hand.

Mario’s lips moved but no words came out of his mouth.

“Well, don’t just stand there and stare at me; say something, Papa. But you better not try to stop me from marrying Tony because I love him and he’s the one I want to marry. You can’t expect me to submit to those old fashioned traditions of yours, do you? I will not marry Paulo…” Moira demanded.

“Don’t worry about any of that, my dear. Come; let’s get you to the altar so you can get married.”  Mario said as he looked away from his daughter’s piercing gaze.

“What is it, Papa? What’s really going on?” Moira asked. Her father’s surprise appearance made her curious about the identity of the mystery third man standing with Tony and the priest at the altar.

“Let’s just go, everything will be fine.” Mario said, still avoiding eye contact with Moira.

But Moira would not be fooled so easily. She quickly assessed the situation and was convinced that her father’s sudden acceptance of Tony was too suspicious to ignore; especially after they attempted to elope.

“What? No, Papa; what is really going on; how did you get here? Tony and I made sure nobody knew about this and he particularly promised not to tell you and mum. So how the hell did you find out and why are you not mad at me right now?”

Mario knew that his stubborn daughter would not budge until he told her exactly what she wanted to hear.

“Angelo Manzini.” Mario responded, still looking away from his daughter.

“That murderous Mafia Boss… what about him? What has Angelo got to do with any of us?” Moira asked; her voice starting to rise out of control as shock gripped her.

“He’s the one who brought us here, sweetheart.” Mario said while signalling his daughter to lower her voice. “He told your Mama and I that you were eloping with Tony. But you need not worry about that right now…”

“Angelo… Manzini…? Papa, that doesn’t make any sense; why would a man like Angelo be interested in any of this? Or did you get mixed up in his dirty business?” understandably, Moira was panicking.

Mario shook his head but wouldn’t answer his daughter directly. He simply could not tell his only daughter that her worst nightmare was yet to be revealed at the altar; it was just too painful for him.

“Let’s just go; we don’t want to cause a scene, do we? Besides, it’s really disrespectful to do this in the church. We can always discuss this afterwards. We’ve already kept everyone waiting for too long. ” Mario said in a tone that gave away his desperation before urging Moira to take his arm.

“But this doesn’t make any sense…” Moira sighed resignedly. She gazed at her father for a long moment before finally taking his arm without questioning him any further. The expression on Mario’s face suggested that he was deeply troubled; and something told Moira that Angelo Manzini had a lot more to do with the drama at her wedding than her father cared to admit.

Eager to get answers, Moira threw wedding etiquette aside and briskly walked to the front of the chapel; practically dragging her father along. Finally, the men at the altar turned to face Moira; and she nearly got a heart attack. The infamous Angelo Manzini was standing with Tony and the priest at the altar.

Confused, Moira paused at the foot of the altar but her father urged her on with a little tug at her arm. “Follow my lead, honey, and this will soon be over. Just focus everything will be alright, I promise.” Mario whispered persuasively.

Moira quickly checked the chapel for any more surprise attendants but except for the chapel usher and her mother who was standing between two strange men, the chapel was practically empty.

Confused but curious about what this weird situation meant, Moira proceeded to the altar with the hope of asking Tony to explain what was going on.

Angelo’s face seemed expressionless but Tony looked just as confused as Moira was. Even the priest seemed like he was itching to ask Moira and her father what the heck was going on in his holy chapel.