DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer...blah blah blah.

CHAPTER 1: THE INHERITANCE

"Hi Mom, I'm about to head into a meeting right now, so I can't talk very long." Bella Swan was sitting in her cramped office at the Gold Bird Publishing House.

"Isabella Marie Dwyer, you best make time for your mama." Renee said in mock anger.

"You know I don't like it when you use my full name, it makes it seem like I'm in trouble or something." Bella leaned back in her chair and bit the end of her pen thinking maybe she was in trouble after all.

"You're not in trouble Bella, don't worry." Renee hesitated and the line went silent for a few seconds. Bella was starting to get worried. She knew her mother very well, they were best friends after all, and silence from Renee was never a good thing.

"Mom, what is it? You're starting to freak me out a little bit."

Angela, one of Bella's coworkers stopped by her office door and pointed to her watch signaling the meeting was going to start soon. Bella waved her hand and began to gather the materials she was going to need.

"Bella…"

"Sorry, mom but I really have to get going." Bella began to stand up and walk out the door, but remembered she wasn't using her cell phone but her desk phone which pulled her back when the phone cord ran out.

"Okay, but sweetie, I need you to come over as soon as you can. After work, okay? Don't worry, you're not in trouble and me and Phil are fine. I just need to tell you something and I'd actually rather not do it over the phone, now that I think about it." Renee said rushed.

"Alright mom, I'll come over for dinner tonight then. I'll see you, bye." Bella hung up the phone and rushed out of her office hoping she wasn't going to be too late to the meeting. Unfortunately, she was a bit of the clumsy type and tripped on her doorframe causing her to drop all her papers.

At the end of her work day, Bella walked to her car. It was one of those nondescript cars, just a regular gray two door vehicle. It wasn't new, in fact, she's had in since she was in high school. But it was reliable. Bella often liked to think of herself like the car she drove. She wasn't a stand out girl. She was intelligent and reliable.

The 30 minute drive to her mom and Phil's house was a pleasant one. Luckily, she got out of work late enough that she didn't have to drive in too much traffic. It was times like these, when she was completely by herself, that she realized she was in fact, by herself.

Bella Dwyer was only 25 and lived in Phoenix, Arizona her whole life. Her mom, Renee, was an elementary school teacher and her father, Phil, coached high school baseball. Bella went to college in Arizona and never really felt the need to go off to live somewhere else. She traveled of course, every year with her parents to a different state for their summer vacations. She loved going to new places, but she always knew her home was wherever her family was. She may not have had a big family, but they were still her family.

After she graduated college, she was lucky enough to get the job that she wanted. Kind of. Bella wanted to go into publishing and ultimately wanted to become an editor of her own established publishing house. As of right now, she was working as an assistant. It's been three years since she had gotten that job and felt like it was about time she got a promotion.

But the little publishing company she worked for now had a small staff. And with the economic downturn, no one else had been getting promotions or raises. So, for the moment, Bella was content. Well, except for the fact that that little publishing company only published high school and college textbooks. So Bella often found herself reintroducing herself to history and literary material she read years and years ago.

As soon as Bella pulled into the small driveway at her parent's house, her mother came running out.

"Bella, dinners ready!" Renee gave her daughter a quick hug. She surveyed her, hoping Bella didn't notice the frantic look on her mother's face. Renee had been keeping a secret from her daughter for the past 25 years. She knew it was wrong of her to mislead her daughter, but she always believed it was best for her. Unfortunately, secrets often get out. The longer they sit in wait, the bigger the explosion.

"Hi mom, where's dad?" Bella noticed that her mother's voice was an octave higher than usual, but since Renee had told her she wasn't in trouble and they were perfectly healthy, Bella couldn't imagine what else it might be. For all she knew, Renee probably just wanted to reveal where they were going to go for their summer vacation.

"He's watching the game." Renee led her daughter into their home. Bella usually liked coming home. It was a very modest two bedroom home, the same home she lived in all her life. It had a living room, kitchen and a small dining room. The backyard was her favorite though. When she was in elementary school, Phil had surprised her with a little house that he had built one weekend. Bella stored all her books and often retreated to that little home when she wanted to be alone. To this day, that little house that Phil built for her was still there in the backyard underneath a tree.

Unfortunately, as soon as Bella entered the house, she could feel that the walls in the living room were containing the tension she couldn't feel outside. Phil was sitting in his usual chair watching some sporting game but didn't seem to actually be paying attention to it. As soon as he saw Bella enter, he shut off the television, which was quite out of character, and went to hug Bella.

"Hi dad." Bella hugged him tightly.

"Hi Bella, how's the wonderful world of textbook publishing?" He usual comment would make her laugh, but tonight, the way he said it seemed kind of forced. Now Bella was starting to get nervous. Something was going on and as much as her parents tried to hide it, it was very apparent.

Renee ushered all of them to the dining room where a simple meal of chicken and salad sat. Bella kept trying to force the uneasy feeling out of her system, but with each furtive glance one of her parents would pass her or when they would share a look between themselves, it would only cause her heart to beat faster.

"Mom, you made dessert too? Is this a special occasion?" Bella tried to joke as Renee cleared the dinner table and brought out a pie dish, but it only caused a stricken look on her mother's face and Phil to stuff a big piece of apple pie in his mouth.

"Oh Bella, you know I don't bake." Renee gave her a tight smile.

"Okay…mom." Bella bit a piece of pie. The gooey apple was warm in her mouth and as she chewed, she decided to finally learn what the point of her coming home was.

"Mom, why did you ask me to come over tonight?" Bella pushed her half eaten plate of pie away from her. Renee visibly gulped and looked uncomfortable.

"Does anyone want coffee first?" Renee began to stand up.

"Mom, seriously, you're scaring me now. What's going on?" Bella knew her voice went up a notch. Her heart was beating loudly and her palms were starting to sweat.

"Honey, just tell her." Phil looked as his wife and nodded. "Just like a band aid, remember? The faster you do it, the faster it'll be over."

Renee nodded and sat down again. She grabbed her daughter's hand and looked into her eyes. Bella's eyes, the rich chocolate brown eyes she remembered so well. She looked at her husband, who had blue eyes, just like herself.

"Bella, you know I had you when I was very young." Renee started. "You know me, I'm kind of impulsive and…"

"Mom?" Bella prompted Renee after a minute of silence.

"Well, the truth is, Phil isn't really how old he says he is."

"I don't understand." Bella looked at Phil. His crystal clear blue eyes, were often jovial, but tonight they were somber.

"I'm 4 years younger than your mom." Phil explained.

"Okay…did you really need me here to tell me that?" Bella knew something was coming, something that was going to change her life forever. Both her parents stayed silent, as if giving her the time to figure this out on herself. Her mother's hand was still tightly grasping her fingers and Bella pulled them away to allow the blood to circulate through it.

Then Bella began to do the math in her head. Her mom was 45 right now. Bella was 25 which meant her mom was 20 when she had her. Okay, she knew that part already. Renee always told Bella she never regretted having her, but didn't want Bella do be having babies at such a young age. But Phil was 4 years younger than Renee? That meant he was only 16 when Bella was born. Phil was only 16 years old when she was born!

"Mom!" Bella jumped up, surprised at this revelation. She stared at her parents. That simple fact just changed how she saw them. How could her mother get with, Bella could barely stomach to think about this, a 16 year old boy?

"Bella, I know this may come as a shock…" Renee didn't realize what her daughter could be thinking. It definitely wasn't what Bella was thinking.

"How…did that happen? He was only 16 when I was born? Oh god…I'm not sure I want to hear about this…" Bella began to pace the dining room, trying to dispel the images of her 20 year old mother with a 16 year old Phil. There was a very good chance that she was about to throw up her dinner.

"Wait…Bella?" Renee stood up and stopped her daughter from pacing. "What are you thinking?"

"That…you and Phil…when he was…sixteen?" Bella whispered, almost disgusted with the fact that she was born out of statutory rape.

"What? Oh no, honey." Renee looked surprised, then looked like she wanted to laugh out loud.

"Wait…then, I really don't understand. Is he not 4 years younger than you or not? And…why did you have to lie about his age?" Bella looked at her dad, who wasn't looking at either of them. Rather, his gaze was focused on something outside the dining room window. Bella followed his gaze to see that little house he built her.

"He is 4 years younger than me. The reason why I'm telling you this is because…." Renee looked at Phil quickly before focusing on Bella once again. Renee took both her hands tightly.

"I'm telling you this because Phil isn't your real father."

Bella felt the world go silent. That bomb of a secret finally exploded leaving her confused and disoriented. Surely, this had to be a joke. Renee's eyes were trying to hold Bella's to hers. Bella had to yank her hands out of her mother's grasp so she could sit down.

It was a few minutes before anyone could speak.

"Why, after all this time, are you telling me now?" Bella asked, looking at the wood grain on the dining room table.

"The man, your biological father, has passed away." Renee sat down at the table once more.

"Why did you keep this a secret from me? Why did you lie?" Bella asked angrily.

"It's complicated. I wanted to tell you. So many times I wanted to tell you. It's just that, the longer I waited, the harder it was to tell you. I know this is my fault, you had a right to know the truth. It's just…you grew up with Phil and he is your father in every respect, and the other man…he wasn't going to be coming back in the picture." Renee silently had tears running down her face. This was her shame, she knew. She knew she should have told Bella years and years ago. Nothing she could do now would change was she did in the past. She could only work on fixing it with her daughter.

"I'm going to leave the two of you to talk." Phil stood up and walked over to Bella, who he truly saw as his daughter. He knelt down next to her chair and held one of her hands. "No matter what Bella, you are my daughter and I've always loved you as my own. Nothing changes this."

He kissed her lightly on the forehead just as he had when she was a little girl. Bella felt her heart break a little bit, knowing that she wasn't really his. Despite what he said, that little fact changed everything.

When Phil left the room, Bella continued to stare at the table.

"I know not telling you is the worst thing I could have done. I know this. But…" Renee began.

"What was his name?" Bella asked, finally bringing her eyes to her mother's. "My…f-father, what was his name?"

"His name was Charlie, Charlie Swan." Renee nodded, she could see what he looked like even after 25 years.

"What happened between the two of you?" Bella asked. She still wasn't sure how she was feeling about everything.

"We married very young. I was only 20, as you know, and he was 21. He had just gotten out of college and started a job in his father's company. We met a year before and…it was love at first sight. At least…what I thought was love." Renee told her daughter everything, about how she and Charlie got married after 6 months of dating. Renee had found out she was pregnant immediately after they got back from their short honeymoon. Renee told Bella how she found Charlie's family stifling, how they made it known that they disapproved of Charlie's marriage to Renee.

"You were a year old when we left Charlie." Renee said, more tears spilling from her eyes. "You need to understand why I left."

"Charlie came from a family that is unlike ours in so many ways. He was very rich, he came from old money, I guess you can call it. At first, his parents thought I married him for his money. But, we did genuinely love each other, very much. They didn't approve of him marrying a small town girl who was going to school to become a teacher."

Bella could see her mother at 20 years old, in love with a man who she never knew existed. Her mother painted a picture for her, Renee living in a house 10 times bigger than the one they were in now with an endless supply of money at her fingertips. Charlie worked long hours at the family company, coming home only to be able to spend a few hours with his family. Renee spent most days with the people who loathed her existence and a one year old Bella.

"It was the night of their family business's anniversary. They were celebrating the 75th anniversary, I believe. There was a huge gala thrown. Charlie had to wear a tux and he bought me the most gorgeous dress…" Renee paused to dab her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt. Bella could see how much this pained her mother to say and in a way, she knew she had already forgiven Renee for keeping the truth from her. If Renee was having a hard time telling Bella this now, at 25 years old, she would have had a hell of a time telling Bella when she was a teenager.

"Charlie's mother was helping me get dressed. She had brought me a family heirloom necklace and told me that I didn't deserve to wear the Swan jewels. She had told me that Charlie made the biggest mistake of his life marrying me and having a child. I saw that necklace as a noose around my neck Bella. I wasn't sure if I could handle the rest of my life with his family, knowing that they despised me. His mother, propositioned me."

"What do you mean…propositioned you?" Bella asked.

"She told me, that if I left Charlie now, she would pay me a very handsome allowance. She basically was going to pay me to stay away from him." Renee shook her head.

"Mom…you didn't take it did you?" Bella asked, angry again. Her mother wasn't the type to be superficial or into monetary gains.

"Of course I didn't take it Bella! I may have lied to you, but I wasn't money hungry." Renee looked offended causing Bella to feel bad she even suggested such a thing.

"So…what happened?"

"I didn't go to the gala that night." Renee nodded, she was lost in her own memory. "I wrote a letter to Charlie, explaining that I couldn't live in his world. That I felt oppressed and that I was so sorry for everything. I told him that he deserved to be with someone who could make him and his family happy. I left the note on our bed with the necklace his mother gave me. I changed out of my gown and went into the next room to get you. You were sound asleep and didn't make a fuss as I left the family mansion and the party behind."

"You just left him?" Bella felt sad, sad for the father she never knew. She couldn't imagine what he felt when he realized his wife and child had left him.

"I contacted him from a payphone when I reached California. I explained to him why I had done what I did and begged him not to look for me. He argued at first, then cried and did the only thing he could do, which was accept that I was never going back to him. He told me he loved me and said that if I ever changed my mind, I could always go back to him. He even suggested that he would leave his family too, that the three of us could leave the country together."

"But, I knew it wasn't possible. His family was powerful and they would find him eventually. They wouldn't try finding me, I knew that, they wouldn't want to find me. So I didn't worry about that."

"You lived with your grandma for two years while I tried to finish school and get a job. That's when I met Phil. He was only 19 when we first met." Renee said.

"Phil knew…everything?" I asked.

"Yes, I didn't want to keep anything about myself a lie. He was very persistent in dating me, so I told him, to test him." Renee explained.

"And I passed." Phil entered the room again and sat down.

"Your mother told me everything. We dated for a year before she let me come see you for the first time. You were three years old at the time. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, just like when I saw your mother for the first time." Phil reached over to hold his wife's hand.

"But…you were only 19 Phil…how were you able to make such a big decision?" Bella asked. She could imagine what it was like. He was in love with a woman who had a lot of baggage which included a daughter and an ex-husband.

"It was easy for me. I wasn't what you would call a normal college student. I always saw myself as more mature." Phil smiled.

"You, mature?" Bella joked. It lightened the mood a little bit. Bella stood up and gave Phil a hug. She felt like she needed this. It was hard for her to imagine a young Phil, giving up the life of collegedom to help take care of a baby girl who wasn't even his.

"I don't regret anything." Phil patted his daughter's back. He could remember back then, wrestling with the idea that he would give up his baseball career to be with the woman he loved and a baby he didn't think he could love. But life had a funny way of turning your world upside down. In all honesty, Phil never regretted leaving baseball behind to have a family.

"So…now that you told me all of this…what now?" Bella asked, once she resumed her seat. Renee and Phil shared another look. "Okay, no more secrets. I'm assuming there's more?"

"Y-yes…" Renee said. "It turns out…Charlie's parents knew where I was all along. Of course, they never told him. That's how they knew to call me here with the news of his passing."

"…how did he die?" Bella asked.

"He had a heart attack. I guess…it was the stress of his job that caused it. His mother called me last week to tell me about the funeral."

"She did! After what she told you the night you left? She had the nerve to invite you to his funeral?" Bella asked angrily, already hating the woman who would be her grandmother.

"Bella, you need to understand, it's been 25 years and she apologized for what she had done to me. She's an old woman who wants to make amends." Renee explained. "I didn't go to his funeral…it was a couple of days ago…and I was debating on whether or not I should have told you as soon as I got the call, but I thought you wouldn't have wanted to go. So I let it go. That is…until I got another call from his mother this morning."

"What did she want?" Bella asked.

"She wanted to tell me about Charlie's will." Renee looked at her daughter who looked so much like Charlie. The dark brown hair and eyes, Bella even had the smooth alabaster skin Charlie's family had.

"Charlie wanted to leave you something in his will…an inheritance." Renee explained. When Kitty, Charlie's mother, told her, Renee almost dropped the phone out of surprise.

"What is it?" Bella asked, thinking she was going to get some sentimental items. Maybe something Charlie had kept after all these years, like a baby blanket, or possibly a photo of him and her. That would have been nice, to see what this Charlie Swan looked like. Bella didn't think she had many baby photographs anyway.

"He left you a quarter of his company's shares." Renee stated.

"What?" Bella was surprised. She didn't even know what kind of company he ran…then again, she didn't know about him till an hour ago.

"That's not all…remember when I told you his mother propositioned me. It turns out she put money away each year anyway to give to you, eventually. She may have not liked me, but you are her granddaughter. And…Charlie left you a very substantial amount of his own money as well." Renee further explained.

"So…what does this mean?" Bella asked, still confused and a bit terrified.

Renee bit her lip and watched her daughter. Bella's doe eyes were wide as if Renee was going to drop another bomb. In a way, she kind of was.

"It means…you're a millionaire sweetie."

Thanks for reading! I am very excited about this fic. Lots of excitement and mystery to come! Stayed tuned for next chapter because where our heroine Bella gains an undisclosed amount of millions, another man (hint hint) loses his fortune. Please review =)