A/N: I do not own Twilight

Adjournment

Chapter 9: I am my own worst enemy

How is a person supposed to react when everything they thought they knew was based upon a lie. Once upon a time, you were born into the perfect family. And then one day, you were taken away by the evil queen...

She suddenly felt like that character in that TV show about Snow White's daughter. You know the one where everyone is a fairy tale character and the little kid tries to convince everyone that the mayor is the evil queen.

Her mother, Tanya Jamison apparently really was an evil person and so was Sebastian. She had always suspected Sebastian's motives were less than legal. That last night at the house proved beyond any doubt that he was not her father and that he was a criminal. She had witnessed him kill Tanya or Victoria if the doctor was to be believed.

Victoria Anderson sounded like a real piece of work. She had been born into a family of privilege and handed everything she desired from an early age. Her mother then passed away from lung cancer when Victoria was in her early teens and her father had no idea how to handle her at that point. He simply bought her way out of the trouble that began shortly after her mother's death. It started with small things like a neighbor's broken window. The neighbor's daughter's missing bicycle. Accusations of cheating in school. They all went away with the magic of a replacement window, a replacement bicycle and a well timed donation to the school.

Finally Victoria's father grew tired of covering his daughter's indiscretions. He threatened to cut her off financially until she enrolled in nursing school and seemed to graduate without incident. Then she was hired at the same hospital where Dr. Cullen worked as a surgeon. Victoria's reputation with the staff had become something of a running joke. She seemed to have a checklist of doctors and nurses, male and female that she had sex with. No relationships. Mostly one night stands. Apparently Dr. Cullen's husband had made Victoria's to do list. He refused her time and time again until her advances finally earned her a suspension. That is when she finally snapped and decided her revenge would be to kidnap one of the Cullen's new born daughters. Twins.

How was this possible. The answer was simply, it wasn't. Of course the doctor had to be lying. The woman was obviously suffering under the delusion that she was this long lost daughter that had been kidnapped. She was about the same age, had the same brown eyes. Lots of people had brown eyes. Yes. The doctor was simply mistaken and unfortunately had brought everyone in the house into her misguided delusion. The poor woman was obviously suffering some sort of mental break.

Tanya had been her mother. The fact that Sebastian had killed her in cold blood proved that he was never her father, but she still had her brother. He would provide her a little bit of sanity in the midst of this crazy fairy tale that the doctor and her husband were intent on selling.

"It's not possible. You are all crazy! Get out!" Angela had ordered all of them from her room. The doctor had looked nothing short of grieved when her husband had pulled her away and closed the door behind them. She had tried to gain control of her temper by taking several deep breaths when her brother popped into the room. She took one look at him and begin to shake with her anger. "You believe them." She accused.

"Calm down, please. The doctor is worried about you. In case you've forgotten, you are recovering from surgery over there." Johnny lowered himself into the chair beside her bed. The one that the doctor had sat in when she told her delusional story. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Things were quickly growing out of control. She hated it when she didn't have control over a situation.

"I want you to listen to me for a minute and then you can kick me out of here too if you want," he continued. "When-when you were injured, you lost a lot of blood. They wanted me to donate so they could give you a transfusion right after we arrived at the hospital. Angel, my blood type is O positive and you are AB negative. Based on that fact alone, they tell me we can't be related by blood."

"They're lying, Johnny. I remember when they brought you home from the hospital. You are my brother."

"You might remember that, but it doesn't prove anything. The agent guy, Carlisle, said that Tanya had only given birth once. It means that unfortunately, she really was my mother. You should be happy that the bitch wasn't your mother." He tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes.

She remained silent, tears suddenly streaming down her face. "I'm sorry."

"Angel, you don't have anything to be sorry for. This situation sucks. It's not fair, but you haven't done anything. You tried to be the best for them. For him. You always did what he asked of you."

"I don't think I can do this. I-I don't know these people." She seemed scared and it was so out of character for her.

Johnny huffed a laugh, "You are without a doubt, the strongest person I know. You can do this. They're really nice people."

She sniffed, "You've known them less then three days."

"Sometimes, you can just tell who the good guys are."

That made her laugh. "I guess living with criminals for the past makes you more sensitive to that fact, huh?"

He smiled sadly and stood up from the chair, "You need to get some rest. I'll come back later."

"Please. Don't leave me alone in this. Just, stick close, John. Promise me."

"I promise, Isabella." He added with a charming smirk.

"Isabella. That will take some getting used to," she sighed and tried to relax.

"I like it. You never were really an Angela. Sometimes an Angel though."

This time when she laughed it was very genuine.

Carlisle

"You need to give her some time to adjust. How would you feel if someone had just told you that your parents weren't really your parents." Carlisle tried to sooth his wife.

"That depends. Was it one of the days that we argued about something, or were we having a good day?" Esme grinned a little.

"You loved them both and you know it."

"Of course you're right. Don't you get tired of that? Being right all the time?"

"Never." He pulled her into an embrace. "I like having all the answers. It makes me feel omniscient."

"What can we do to help her?"

"She just needs some time. It's not like Victoria and Jamison provided the most loving household to grow up in. I know you want your daughter but just remember she has a lot to process."

"Our daughter." She corrected.

"Yes, however, I think you will find that when she is being stubborn, like her sisters before her, during those times she will be your daughter. When she does things like winning a Nobel prize, she will be my daughter."

"You think you're so funny right now."

"No. I am funny. You just need to catch up." Carlisle laughed.

"I think you're both insane, but that's beside the point." Alice walked into the living room followed closely by Rosalie. "So, how soon before we can take our sister home so we can get to know her?" She demanded.

"Alice, she can't come home right now. She is a material witness in a murder investigation. She and Johnathan will need to stay in hiding for a while yet. It will be weeks if not months before this is all finished." Carlisle informed his usually perky daughter.

"So we will just stay here."

"No, you and your sister have school to get back to. The boys and I will stay with Bella." Esme spoke like it was a foregone conclusion.

"You have got to be kidding." Rosalie snarled. "This affects our entire family. You can't just send us back like nothing has changed. She's family! We deserve to be here."

"Girls, the only reason I let you come here in the first place is because Ed was a threat. Now that he's no longer in a position of authority, we need to get you out of here and back into your lives. It has to be this way."

"I'm not leaving." Rosalie vowed before heading outside to find Emmett.

"Dad, please don't make us go back. We need time to bond as a family. I want to get to know my sister." Alice begged.

"Give me until the morning. I can't promise it will change anything, but I will try to think of a way to keep us together and keep them safe." Carlisle vowed. "How is Edward doing?"

"He's angry. Angry that his father was able to get away with so much for so long." Alice answered.

"He's been angry since his mother died. This situation with his father hasn't helped. I think time is something we all need right now. So, why don't we all take a couple of hours to relax."

"Great. And don't worry about dinner. Edward and I will cook." Alice promised and went in search of the brooding federal agent.

Carlisle watched as Alice left them alone. "Are you okay?"

"No, but I will be. I think you were right about needing some down time. The past couple of days have been very intense and I have missed you. How about you Mr. Director? How are you?"

"I am-" He searched for a description but nothing seemed to fit. "I don't know what I am, honey. I feel kind of numb at the moment. What happened to Ed was scary."

"How do we know that whoever did this to Ed won't come after you next?"

"Esme, if the person that did this wanted to kill me as well, they had a clear shot. I was on the street when it happened. Out in the open. This wasn't about me."

"Do you think this has anything to do with Jamison?"

"I think maybe it has to do with whatever pact he made with Sebastian Jamison and whatever he was being blackmailed with. We have a team going through Ed's house looking for something that will help me figure out what's going on. I need this to be over."

"I need you to be safe."

"Always."

"Hey, guys. I can't find Edward anywhere." Alice poked her head back into the room.

Carlisle cursed under his breath.

Edward

Edward had slipped out the back door while the others were distracted. Walking a couple of miles to a small coffee shop, he called a cab to take him to the airport and caught the first flight back to Seattle. He knew that Carlisle would be angry when he discovered Edward's absence from the house, but Edward needed to see his father. Even if the man were brain dead with no possibility of recovery ever. Edward had a few things left to say to Senior. Things that he needed to get off of his chest before he could truly move on.

Three hours later, he was admitted into his father's hospital room after showing his credentials to the guards outside. When he entered the room, something shifted inside of him. For years, anger and betrayal has consumed him. Edward saw his father as some sort of monster, but seeing him laying in the hospital bed, attached to machines that were keeping his body functioning to the best of their ability, he saw – an old man. Someone that had no power. Someone that held no life. He knew in that moment, Senior was truly gone.

Edward didn't know how long he stood there, just looking at his father. Wishing things had been different. Wishing the good memories outweighed the bad. Flashes of baseball games they had attended together popped into his mind. Memories of his mother hit him hard. The thought struck him out of no where that he would be alone now. His parents were gone. Emmett had Rose. Depression was beginning to build when the door behind him opened.

"Agent Masen, you have a message from Director Cullen, sir." The guard that had admitted him walked in. "He said to tell you to that he needs you back ASAP."

"I'm sure he does." Edward smirked, but in spite of everything, his heart clenched as the alarms attached to Senior started going crazy.