No one knows exactly what goes down inside the big white house. And even if they do, they won't dare tell anyone. You can barely see the house through the hedges, which look like they touch the sky. They overlook the massive garden, a couple of surveillance camera hidden between the leaves. And if you look at the tape in camera 9 right now, you can see right inside our living room where my father has just announced a family meeting. Like I don't have enough on my plate as it is.
"What is this about, father?" Jasper asks impatiently, leaning up against the sofa where I'm sitting. My head is resting on a pillow and my eyes are closed.
"I would like you all to take a seat, and Edward, open your eyes for heaven's sake." His voice is toneless, but as I open one eye to look at him, his body language tells me something completely different. He's walking back and forward, cracking his knuckles and throat as he slowly moves his head from side to side.
He sighs and finally sits down on the chair next to Leo. "Alright, this is very important." He looks over at me with a stern look. I sigh inwardly and sit up straight, both eyes open. It's only 11 in the morning, I should not be up yet, especially not after last night, but I get the expression that father is about to share some rather large information.
He opens his mouth and a tense feeling fills the room and every single person in it. "We all know that Baron, rest in peace, was killed by the Corradini's."
We're all silent for a couple of seconds, all thinking about the recently dead family member. It's weird he's not here anymore. I always expect him to come crashing in with his big mouth and insult somebody. I miss it so dearly.
"May the Corradini's burn in hell." Emmett pulls me out of my thoughts. He's resting his elbows on his knees, a deadly look on his face.
"And they will," father says, "That is what this meeting is all about."
My interest is officially caught. I lean forward, looking at my father with curiosity. I can almost feel the excellent plan in his head. We make eye contact and he smiles in that sneaky way, confirming my thoughts, that yes, his plan is indeed excellent.
"We're going to make them break The Pact." My eyes widen.
"No!" Mother sits her coffee mug down on the glass table harshly. "Do you wanna end up dead?"
"Mom, let him talk." Jasper is obvious very interested about what father is about to say. So am I. The Pact is almost holy between our families - it means everything.
3 months ago the cops were unbelievable close to getting us all thrown in jail. They had planted agents in each of the families, ours included. They had worked for us for several years before they got any secret knowledge, and even then, it wasn't enough to get us thrown in jail. But after 15 years one of them had finally gotten some importance in my families work, and it only went down hill from there. He got so much shit on us, and so had the agents in the other families, that the cops were about ready to throw us in a sell. Until the Albero family caught them all, and probably took some innocents by accident as well. All the families handed in their traders and they got killed. Some of them had worked with us for 20 years. I have to give them credit for keeping the parade up for so long.
After a week we were sure all the agents were gone and without them the cops didn't have enough evidence. The whole thing had been a secret to keep the agents as safe as possible. They knew we had our own people planted in the investigation so they kept no files, nothing. Only the agents had files and the Albero's made sure that it was all destroyed.
But they still had too much on us, on everyone for that matter. Because if one family goes, why wouldn't they want to take the others down with it.
So we made a pact, which consists of a few rules to keep us safe until the investigation dies down a little. It says not to share any secrets with anyone who's not family, to be completely throughout and delete any kind of evidence. And most importantly, so every family can trust each other until The Pact has ended, do not spill the blood of any other mafia family.
And that rule was broken when my uncle Baron was murdered by the Corradini's. There's no evidence, no body, and therefore, no murder in the other families eyes. But we know it was them. He had asked his chauffeur to drive him to their house and wait there with his two bodyguards until he would come back 30 minutes later. But he never came back. We have no idea what he was doing there. One of the bodyguards called us after 40 of waiting and we all stormed to the house as fast as we could. But the Corradinid's denied that he had ever been there. Smart move on their side, I have to admit. That way, it was their word against a chauffeur and two bodyguards. It's not hard to figure out whom the other families choose to believe.
Two weeks later, a woman found Baron's body in a lake. You couldn't recognize him but the teeth that were left were his.
"I've been planning it for a long time now, discussing it with my father as well. It's going to be hard to pull off but I think we'll manage. Baron deserves justice."
"Worst-case scenario, this could start a war," I say, looking at him with stern eyes. I know that Baron's dead hurt him but he has to think rationally.
"It won't. They have broken The Pact – It will be us and every other family against them. They will not stand a chance."
I'm about to open my mouth again but he beats me to it. "Edward, just listen to me, please. This plan…" He leans back in his seat. "It's bulletproof."
"The let's hear this magnificent plan of yours!" Emmett sight, rolling his eyes.
Father rolls his eyes right back at him but still starts telling his plan. "Alright. The Pact's most important rule is to never spill the blood of another mafia family. We're going to make them do exactly that, or at least get the other families to think they did."
"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Mother looks angry. Her lips are a tight line and her eyes serious. She knows this will end in blood, just like everything else.
Father pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolds it, tossing it on the glass table so we all can see what it contains. But I didn't expect so see what hits my eyes next. A portrait of a girl is starring at me from the paper, her eyes big, brown and deep, a mournful, somber expression filling them. Messy brown hair is flowing over her shoulders, framing her heart-shaped face. She looks too pale, with marked cheekbones and too seeable bone structure. She looks like she could use a proper meal. Her lips are full and pouty. She's trying to smile, trying to look happier than she really is, but you can see right through it.
"Who is this girl?" I ask, still looking at the picture.
"This is my solution, Isabella Swan."
I look up at him with a bewildered expression. "I don't understand."
He nods, ready to explain. "Isabella Swan currently lives in a group home after years of switching between foster families. I've researched the group home, the families she's been with and from what I could tell, she would be stupid if she wanted to stay there, and that's exactly what I've been looking for. This group home could really use some money – It's a dump to say the least. I offered them a big check if they are willing to delete some of Isabella Swan's records if I adopt her."
Mother gasps and runs her small hands down her face in frustration. "No way! Carlisle, are you crazy?"
"Let me finish," he says, "please." She closes her mouth but still looks angry.
"I want to adopt her, then change her records slightly. I want people to think she's Baron's daughter. I want them to think that he never knew about her and his one nightstand, the mother, gave her away for adoption. Then when sweet Isabella tries to find her lost long father, her only family, she finds us instead. We take her in, shows everyone how grateful we are for each other, throws dinners and parties so everyone can get to know this unlucky girl who have lived an orphan almost her whole life. We make everyone love her, and then, we'll make it look like the Corradini's killed her."
Everyone falls silent, thinking it trough. I'm still looking at the picture. It's not fair. After such a hard life he wants her to live here, in this awful world? Like she hasn't been through enough.
The room erupts in voices, one louder than the other.
"We're not actually going to kill her, are we?" Emmett stands up, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Why would she even want to come here? She doesn't know us? Jasper asks.
"There has to be another way. I don't think this is a good idea," I say.
"So I'm going to have a sister?" Leo actually smiles.
Mother is still silent, looking at the brain behind this complicated plan with sad, expressive eyes. It's like they're having a conversation without actually using words. Everyone else just keeps arguing. Emmet is asking in shock if we're going to kill her. "Of course we're not," I say. Then I look at father. "Right?"
He sighs and shakes his head, rubbing the side of his head with his fingers in a tired manner. "Please calm down and sit."
We all do because we're too interested in hearing what he's about to say, we can't wait another second.
"First off, no, we're not going to kill her. And it's her decision if she wants to come, but I don't see what would keep her there. The places she has been are awful. She'll come here and play her part and then leave with a large amount of money – more than she'll ever need. We're going to make her untraceable, give her a new name, move her to another country, make sure she will never see a familiar face again. Everyone have to believe she's dead."
Silence again. Then Jasper asks: "How will we make sure no one is going to find out that she's not actually Baron's daughter?"
"As I said before, I have the permission to delete some of her records. It will look like she was left at the doorstep to a foster home, no information about any of her parents. We'll keep the rest of her information as it is, so if anyone wants to check if she has really lived in a foster home, everything and everyone will tell them that she has."
"I have to admit, it's a smart plan," Jasper says.
"But how will we pin the murder on the Corradini's?" I ask, still unsure.
"I haven't figured that out yet but we have lots of time. And besides, it's not the first time we've done it."
For the first time, my mother opens her mouth. "When would she arrive?" Her voice is quiet, almost like a whisper. I can see it in her eyes how the wheels is turning inside her head, figuring out if this is the right decision.
"As soon as possible. If everything goes as planed, I'll meet her tomorrow."
Silence as thick as metal falls upon us yet again. I look down at the picture; take it up in my hands to get a closer look. I want to see those brown eyes in person, but I don't want them to see this world I live in. It can destroy even the most beautiful of things.