The two weeks before the wedding were a whirlwind of final preparations. Dress fittings, floral arrangements, menu tastings—every detail was scrutinized and perfected. The wedding was to be the event of the decade, held at the family's sprawling lakeside estate.
Mo Chen floated through it all in a blissful haze. Julian was attentive, showering her with gifts: a vintage Porsche, a stunning necklace of pink diamonds, even a small, valuable painting by a rising Chinese artist she admired.
"For your new sitting room in our London townhouse," he'd said, kissing her cheek. "I want everything to be perfect for you."
It was all so perfect. Almost too perfect.
One afternoon, while reviewing security details with Silas—now grizzled and in his seventies but still the family's unwavering protector—Mo Chen noticed a flicker of concern on his face.
"Something on your mind, Uncle Silas?" she asked. She'd called him that since she could talk.
Silas grunted, his eyes on the estate's blueprints. "The Thorne family's security team is very… insistent. Wanting to handle all perimeter checks. Standard procedure, but they're pushing hard. Too hard."
"They're just being thorough," Mo Chen said. "Julian says his family is very cautious about privacy."
"Cautious is one thing. Controlling is another," Silas said, his gaze meeting hers. "Your mother's instinct… it's a powerful thing. Don't forget to use it."
The comment echoed her mother's warning, but Mo Chen brushed it aside. It was just pre-wedding jitters, affecting everyone.
She spent an evening with her brother, Tian, in his home office, a place of quiet intensity filled with financial data streams.
"The Thornes have been consolidating their assets lately," Tian mentioned casually, not looking up from his screen. "Liquidating a lot of long-held investments. Father finds it… interesting."
"Maybe they're raising capital for a new joint venture with us," Mo Chen suggested.
"Perhaps," Tian said, his tone neutral. "Just make sure you know what you're getting into, little sister. Marriage is the ultimate merger."
Mo Chen laughed. "You see everything in terms of business, Tian. This is about love."
Tian finally looked at her, his expression unreadable. "The most dangerous deals are the ones that are disguised as something else."
The warnings were there, subtle whispers in her golden world. But Mo Chen, raised in safety and adoration, could not hear them. She only saw the fairytale.