If the Boughs Break, Blood Will Flow

Chapter Three - Blood Stained Dress

Chapter Three
Blood Stained Dress

Edward rolled over on the small bed that his father had kept in the room in the back of his office and tried to wake up. He could be in his penthouse apartment in his luxurious king-size bed; however, he promised himself he wouldn't stop until he found out who was behind the hit on his dad. Getting up, he wandered over to the window and looked out at the still dark sky, though he could see the first glow of the morning light in the distance. It was at that moment he thought of Bella and wondered where she was and how she was doing. He hadn't had a lot of time to look for her, though when all this mess was cleared up, it was the first thing he planned on doing. Looking at his watch, he noticed that he had gotten four hours of sleep. Fuck, he was so tired. He had not gotten more than that since that night, he had gotten the call that his father had been shot.
It had only taken him two and a half hours to get from Boston to New York, normally a four-hour drive. He had been on the phone with both Jasper and Emmett, who were trying to find the scumbag who had shot his father. His parents had been at a benefit gala at the Guggenheim Museum. Carlisle Cullen might be the ruthless, cold-blooded mafia captain who controls New York and New Jersey gun and drug trade, but he also gave a shit load of money to charities to help those in need.
It is not like Carlisle had a choice in his career.  When you are born into a family of organized crime, you are destined to live and die in that life.  Carlisle took the reins of our organization from his father, who had been in charge of the family before him, as his father before that. It is a position that is inherited; usually through death or physical dysfunction.
His seanathair, Edward Mason Cullen had immigrated to the United States in 1921 from Dublin, Ireland. Life in Ireland had very little opportunity for him to make a good living and give his lovely wife Maggie the life she deserved. He had been blessed when Maggie O'Connor had looked his way with eyes of the Emerald Isle's Mountain, a wee bit of freckles across her button nose, and hair the shade of the sun on a hot summer's day. All the men in the village were clambering to get her to look their way, though she only loved one man and that was Edward Mason Cullen. The day before her eighteenth birthday, Edward Mason walked over to her house and asked her father's permission to marry her. Patrick O'Connor knew the Cullens were a good family and well respected, he had also noticed the smile on his daughter's face. With his permission, they were married the next day. Six months later they were on a boat to America. Edward Mason's cousin had immigrated two years prior and helped the couple to settle in New York.
Edward Mason started working in a tire plant, day in and day out, until one day the men he worked with invited him out for the evening for some refreshments. It was that night he had first experienced bootlegged liquor. Noticing what a hot commodity it was, he decided to venture into the business of supplying the masses fine liquor. With the help of his family, who lived in New York and New Jersey, he became known as the king of illegal liquor. Over the years, he expanded his empire into also supplying weapons and later on drugs.
His family flourished in America. Maggie gave him a son, Sean Liam and two beautiful daughters Clara and Brianna. They lived in the finest home in New York and never worried about money. Edward Mason knew how to handle the cops and only an occasional rookie caused any problems. When Sean turned twenty-five, his father arranged a marriage for him with a girl from Ireland. At first, Sean was angry over the fact that he was to be subjected to an arranged marriage, and couldn't marry whomever he wanted, but one look at eighteen-year-old Grace Walsh erased any anger he felt.  He fell head over heels in love with her. He worked side by side with his father, helping him run drugs and guns. Edward Mason was gunned down in 1949 by a rival faction. Sean Cullen took over the family and continued to build the empire, ruthlessly ruling the streets of New York and New Jersey, not allowing the interference of any other family from taking their territory. His lovely Gracie had miscarried multiple times, breaking their hearts. Sean thought he wouldn't ever be a father and began to think about who would take over if something horrible would happen to him. Maybe he was being punished for all the illegal things that he had done. He had killed so many men that he had lost count.
Then when Gracie was thirty-five, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Carlisle Anthony Cullen. Even though he loved his mother, Carlisle idolized his athair and strived to be just like him. When he turned thirty, Sean had turned over the leadership of the family and the business to him. He had just married the lovely Esmeralda O'Sullivan. It wasn't exactly an arranged marriage, though Sean had invited the O'Sullivan's of Boston to dinner. As soon as Carlisle laid eyes on Esmeralda or Esme as she preferred to be called, his heart was hers.
Sean and Gracie moved into their new townhome on the upper east side and gave the Cullen mansion to Carlisle and Esme. Four years later, Carlisle and Esme welcomed their first child, a boy who they named after his great-seanathair and seanathair, Edward Liam Cullen. The day before his first birthday, he got his Irish twin brothers, Jasper and Emmett. Carlisle and Esme raised the boys to one day take over the family business. Times were changing and that was why they sent Edward to college for business, Jasper for computer science, and Emmett international business.
Carlisle and Esme were the couple everyone in societal New York aspired to emulate. Everyone wanted to be associated with them and they didn't care about the so-called rumors that they were part of the mob.
Carlisle handled the business much like his athair.  However, he was flexible enough to see the advances that technology offered in enhancing his abilities to expand the business.  He had learned from his athair how to handle the cops, both local and federal.  However, with access to public records and databases, extortion was made easier in ensuring that law enforcement either worked with him, or were eliminated.
When Edward had arrived at the hospital, he parked at the first available spot not worrying if he would be towed or not. Stepping out of his car, he made sure he had both his SVI Tiki-T and Desert Eagle 50 cal. guns. Until he found out who and took the fucker out, security was going to be at its highest. Walking towards the entrance, he noticed two of the family guards standing just outside the doors and once he was inside, he was met by Jasper with two more guards following close behind him.
"Edward, God, man, I am happy to see you," Jasper called out.
"Any updates?" Edward asked.
"No. He is still in surgery. Come, let me take you up."
Jasper led them up to the surgical wing and the private room where their mother was waiting. "The hospital president arranged for the room."
"Good and are all the guards setup as I specified?" Edward questioned, his face hard and cold.
"Yes," Jasper answered, then opened the door.
Esme heard the door open and jumped up thinking it was Garrett bringing her good news about the love of her life. When she looked towards the door, she saw Edward standing there. His clothes were wrinkled and there were dark circles under his eyes.
Edward looked at his mathair from head to foot to ensure himself that she was okay. She was wearing a long, beaded evening gown and it was covered in blood. "Mamaidh, are you okay?" He rushed out taking his mathair into his strong arms.
"I am fine, baby," Esme murmured. "This is your athair's blood."
Giving her a tight squeeze before releasing her. He motioned for her to sit back down on the small couch. He looked around and found Emmett standing near the door. "Em, can you bring us both some coffee?"
"Sure dearthair," he answered, then nodded to Jasper, who took his spot. They were going to make sure at least one of them stayed with their mother at all times.
"Oh, baby, you look so tired," she whispered as she wiped the piece of hair that had fallen over his eye.
"I am fine, Mathair. How are you holding up?"
"By a thread," she confessed.
Emmett returned with a tray with four cups of coffee, handing one to each of them. Jasper came over and sat down with his family.
Edward took a large gulp of his coffee. Placing the cup on the table, he turned towards his mother. "Mathair, I need to know what happened."
Esme sipped her coffee and got her thoughts together. "We had been at the gala and were leaving. When we stepped outside, there was a crowd of people waiting for cars. Michael and Tyler were our guards and walking a few steps behind us as always. Suddenly, I heard two muffled shots and when I turned, I saw both of the guards on the ground. Carlisle was taking out his weapon when he lurched forward and fell to the ground. As I glanced over, I saw a man, average build wearing a dark hoodie and jeans. I didn't see his face. He ran off and I fell to the ground to check on Carlisle. When I placed my hand on his back, I felt the sticky, warm blood. He was on his side and groaning. He murmured to call Garrett. No one around us even paid us one bit of attention. Hell, we have three people on the ground and no one stopped to ask if there was a problem," Esme recounted, her hand shaking at the end, not at fear but rage.
"What happened next?" Edward asked.
"Paul was our caddie and when he looked over he jumped out of the car, then rushed to us. I told him to call Garrett, who told us that he would call an ambulance and meet us here," she continued.
"Did Garrett say anything about him before going to surgery?" Edward quizzed.
"He said that he had been shot in the back and it was bad," she replied as her voice cracked.
Edward wrapped his arm around her. "Mamaidh, Garrett is an awesome doctor and he will do everything possible for Dad."
"Mamaidh, we must keep our faith," Jasper insisted, reaching out and placing his hand on her knee. "Now,  why don't I get someone to go home and get you some clean clothes."
Esme looked down and just now noticed her state. It wasn't until this point that realized how poorly she looked. She was always put together with stylish clothes, makeup, and her hair always perfectly styled. "Oh my. That would be nice."
"What would you like, Mamaidh?" Emmett asked. "I will go get them myself."
"Thank you, a stór," Esme cooed and proceeded to tell him what she wanted and where to find them.
An hour later, Esme had changed and made herself presentable. When she walked out of the bathroom, where Emmett was waiting, they went back to the private room. Stepping inside, Edward was on the phone barking out orders. Listening to his conversation, she smiled, he sounded just like his father.
Edward had called his athair's Clan Chief, Aaron or Aro as he liked to be called. He listed his demands, which included hacking into the video surveillance camera around the museum to see if the man in the black hoodie was caught on tape. Mac soith, he thought, running his hand through his hair. Then chuckled to himself. He had one been back for a few hours and he had already started using his Irish accent and speaking in Gaelic. While he was in school in Boston, he had been careful not to use the accent that he had grown up with or used any of the Gaelic that flowed in his family. It was then it hit him about Bella. Looking at his phone, he was about to call her when he realized that he had forgotten to get her number. FACK!
Garrett walked into the room at that point, taking off his surgical mask. Everyone was on their feet and rushed over to him.
"Garrett, how is he?" Esme cried, wringing her hands.
Taking a deep breath. "He is alive and in the ICU. He is not out of the woods yet, but we all know how strong of a man he is."
Edward heard everything that Garrett said, though there was something in his eyes that worried him. "Garrett, what is it?"
"Damn, you are so much like your athair," Garrett said. "As you know, he was shot from the behind and the bullet severed his spinal cord."
"What does that mean?" Emmett questioned.
"He will never be able to walk again," Garrett replied.
"But he will live?" Jasper asked.
"Yes. He has a long road ahead once he wakes up and we all know that it won't be easy for him," Garrett explained.
"As long as he is alive, we as a teaghlach will handle whatever comes our way," Esme declared.

AN: After some research I have found the correct terms to be used for the Irish Mob. I will also be using some terms of endearment for the family members and some much needed foul language words.  FACK!!!
In this chapter:     
Father ~ athair
Mother ~ Mathair
Mummy ~ Mamaidh
Brother ~ dearthair
Grandfather ~ Seanathair
Family ~ Teaghlach
Darling ~ a stór
Fuck ~ Fack
Motherfucker ~ Mac soith

Please leave me your thoughts on the chapter.