I don't like your little games, don't like your tilted stage. The role you made me play, of the fool, no, I don't like you. I don't like your perfect crime, how you laugh when you lie. You said the gun was mine, isn't cool, no, I don't like you. But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time. Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time. ~ Taylor Swift, Look What You Made Me Do

…rep…

"Don't say anything." Edward whispered to me just seconds before Aro and the young woman approached us.

"Aro, I don't recall you being on the guest list this evening."

"Oh, I wasn't dear boy. I just had someone I wanted your lovely wife to meet." Aro gestured to the woman next to him. She looked oddly familiar, but I couldn't place her. "Isabella, this is Elena Rossi."

Shit. She was the woman Edward had me blacklist. I nodded at her politely. "Hello."

Edward's arm around my waist tightened. His whole body was tense. There was definitely more to this than Aro introducing me to an acquaintance, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

Edward spoke up, his voice rough. "Don't do this to her here."

"Ah, how else am I supposed to get to her? You keep her so… well guarded."

That was a thinly veiled threat, and everyone here knew it. I kept my eyes on the woman. She was just so familiar. I knew I had seen her before, but I couldn't figure out where for the life of me.

"Not that you need to protect her from me. I am her father, after all."

My stomach dropped.

My heart stopped.

My ears started ringing.

"I went through a bit of a rebellious phase in my youth and met Elena in Port Angeles in Washington twenty-four years ago."

Twenty-four years ago. I was about to turn twenty-three. This woman was my mother. The one who left me in a goddamn trashcan.

The woman in front of me took a step closer, her arms raised, asking for a hug.

"Don't fucking touch her."

"She's my daughter." The woman scoffed. "She's mine."

I backed away from her, my body shaking with… something. Rage. Sadness. Everything. "I'm not your daughter. You left me in a fucking trashcan."

"I had to, baby. I wasn't ready to settle down. But, look at you now! You followed my dreams, and now you can help me, too. I always dreamed of being an actress. Going to fancy award shows, having people fawn all over me… you can help me be there, right by you!"

I was pretty sure she was high. Her eyes were a little red and she just seemed too over the top. I didn't know her sober, but I doubted this was it. All I could do was shake my head and try to put as much distance between this woman and myself as possible.

"Stay away from her." Edward told the both of them, the threat in his voice clear. He wrapped his arm tighter around my waist, and supported most of my weight as he rushed me out to the car.

The drive home was silent. My heart was pounding and I felt nauseous. I was worried if I opened my mouth the contents of my stomach would come out, and not the million questions I had bouncing around in my head.

I rushed into the house the second Edward parked the car, and ran up to our bedroom ensuite. Edward found me there, hunched over the toilet. He pulled my hair out of my face, and ran a soothing hand along my back. When there was nothing left in my stomach, I began dry heaving, which eventually turned into me hyperventilating.

"You need to calm down, Bella. It's okay. I've got you, you're fine." Edward repeated words of comfort, but they did little to calm down my overactive mind.

Aro Volturi was my biological father. I was, biologically speaking, a member of the family Edward always wanted nothing to do with.

"I – I don't understand." I gasped out. My heart was still racing, but I just couldn't piece all of this together. There were too many missing pieces.

Edward let me brush my teeth before he pulled me into the closet. He helped me unzip my dress and pulled one of his shirts over my head. We sat on the plush chairs in our little sitting area. Edward rested his elbows on his knees, and held my hands in his.

Then he told me the story. My story, really.

Carlisle's father, Ronan, had a long history with the Volturi's. They were always rivals, so Ronan was having all members of the Volturi family followed, Aro included. He found out about the affair twenty-two-year-old Aro had with sixteen-year-old Elena in Port Angeles. Ronan knew about the pregnancy and planned on holding it over the Volturi's. The picture I got out of the safe deposit box was his.

Ronan used the photo's he had to blackmail Aro's father, Dontai. Dontai was in the process of arranging a marriage between Aro and a respectable Italian woman and knew that if word got out he had an illegitimate child, the deal would be off.

Dontai Volturi killed Ronan Cullen. He got all evidence of the child, of me, and was able to keep the arranged marriage between Aro and Sulpicia.

Edward told me he thought Aro had kept tabs on me most of my life. He knew I was out there, and didn't want me causing him any trouble. He didn't like that I ended up with a Cullen, after everything his father did to get out from under the Cullen's influence. So, he killed two birds with one stone so to speak. He put a hit on me, his illegitimate child, but also the woman his rival's son was in love with. It was a win-win situation for him.

He started looking for my biological mother, Elena, when I survived the shooting. I guess he thought it was amusing that she had always dreamed of being an actress, and I ended up being one as well. That was why he was trying to pull strings for her, strings that I cut.

I had a lot to think about. A lot of things to come to terms with, but the most important was the man sitting in front of me. "I'm everything you hate."

Edward still had my hands clasped in his. "No, you're not. You're not a Volturi, Bella. You're a Cullen, through and through. Never think otherwise."

I twirled his wedding band around his finger for a while, just thinking. There was so much to come to terms with, I knew it would be spinning around in my brain for days. There was one question I needed answered now, though. "How do you know all of this?"

Edward flinched slightly at my question, like he was hoping I wouldn't ask it. "It's my job. Aro is our biggest threat, I needed to know what he was up to."

"So… you've known. All of this? For how long?"

"A couple of months. I found out after Carlisle left."

Months. He knew about this for months and never told me. He was only telling me now because Aro had cornered him into it. I pulled my hands out of his and sat up straight. "You've known for months?"

Edward nodded and stared at his empty hands.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's my job to keep you safe. This would have just hurt you, confused you. You were on tour and I didn't want to distract you."

"Bullshit." I was too furious to sit down. I stood and started pacing around the room. "This is my life. I deserved to know the second you knew."

"Bella, you know there are things I can't tell you –"

"I know! I don't ask about your work, Edward. I don't ask about the articles that mention you, and I don't ask questions when you leave the house a two in the morning. But I robbed a fucking bank for you. I blacklisted that… woman because you asked me to. I was part of this and I deserved to fucking know!" I shouted.

The more I thought about it, the more betrayed I felt. I never gave Edward a reason to think he couldn't trust me with this information. He knew how affected I was by the whole adoption thing. He should've told me.

"No! You're my wife, Bella, you're not part of this side of things."

I stared at him, shocked at his words. He could use me to do things when he needed it, but I wasn't actually 'qualified' enough to know the end result when it was my own life. I grabbed one of my blankets off of the bed and a pillow. Edward grabbed my arm as I passed him. "I was just trying to protect you."

I pulled my arm out of his grasp and went to one of the guest rooms.

…rep…

I came upstairs from the basement. Edward had a nice gym down there, and I started back up with my daily workouts now that I had more free time. I had my headphones in and swayed my hips to the music as I walked into the kitchen. When I got there, I noticed Emmett and Jasper sitting at the island, plates of food in front of them.

I plucked my headphones out of my ears and set my phone down on the counter. "Emmett, Jasper," I greeted them with a smile.

Heading over to the corner where the blender was, I pulled it out and set it in the center of the island and went about getting the ingredients for my post-workout smoothie.

"How's, uh, how's it going, Bella?" Emmett asked me. I took a little pride in the nervousness of his voice.

It had been two weeks since the disastrous run in with Aro. I haven't talked to Edward since that night. I always go to sleep in the guest room, but every night Edward carries me to our bed. It pisses me off that he does it, but I also sleep infinitely better with him than I do alone. It was the only thing I let him get away with, though.

He would tell me good morning, but I would never reply. He calls me sometimes, and I answer, but simply wait for him to tell me what he wanted. Usually the call just ends with a grumbled "Fuck," before he hangs up.

Edward started working from home more. He tries to trick me into having to talk to him all of the time. It was annoying and only made me not want to talk to him more.

"I'm okay, you?" I asked Emmett, grabbing a banana out of the bowl behind me. I set it next to the blender and turned to the refrigerator for some milk and strawberries. Edward, of course, was leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm, uh, good."

I reached my hand out for Edward's crotch, but he grabbed my arm before I could get there. "Not this time, sweetheart."

Before he could thwart my other hand, I quickly stuffed it down the front of his slacks and grabbed him through his boxers. I wasn't harsh, quite the opposite. I stroked his shaft a few times and felt him start to harden in my hand. He was much easier to push out of the way when he was distracted.

I pulled my hand out of his pants and grabbed what I needed out of the refrigerator.

"Man, she's literally got him by the balls." Jasper whispered to Emmett.

I set my supplies on the counter and pulled out a knife to start chopping up the fruit.

"Shit, she's got a knife. We're not doing this now, Edward." Emmett said.

My hand froze mid-slice and I looked at the two men across from me. "Doing what?"

"Well, Edward wanted us to tell you that we knew about it too. The whole Volturi situation."

I shrugged. "Yes, I assumed you both did. You're part of the family business. I'm just used whenever people deem me useful." I heard a frustrated sigh behind me as I resumed making my smoothie.

"So why are you talking to us?"

I dumped all of my ingredients into the blender and plugged it in. "Neither of you are my husband. You don't owe me anything."

"Bella," I started the blender before Edward could finish his sentence.

Jasper spoke as soon as the blender stopped. "We don't tell Alice or Rosalie about these things, Bella. It's not safe for them to know, just like it wasn't safe for you to know."

"It wasn't safe of me to steal that photo from be bank, either. You all had no problem letting me do that." I said as I poured my drink.

"It was for your own good, Bella." Edward whispered as he stood next to me.

I hated this. I hated being mad at him and I hated the fact that they were ganging up on me.

"I've been lied to and deceived about this my whole life. No one has ever told me the truth unless they were backed into it. I've been used for other people's personal gain more times than I can count. I just never thought you would be one of the people doing that to me." I locked eyes with Edward as I spoke, one of the first times I've really looked at him in days. He looked tired and sad and lost; exactly how I felt.

"So, excuse me for needing some time to fucking deal with it." I brushed past Edward and left a gaping Emmett and Jasper in the kitchen.

…rep…

Thunder cracked so loud I could feel the house shake. I hated storms, always have. It was irrational but when the wind would pick up and the thunder was so loud it made my ears ring, I was always afraid it was just going to blow the house away. It was stupid, but I had been scared of it since I was little.

Now, I was sequestered in the guest room I had been living in the past two and a half weeks. I had a blanket wrapped around my shoulders and stared out the window at the pouring rain, waiting for the next bolt of lightning to signal more thunder.

I wanted Edward; I wanted to be cuddled up next to him in bed as he read or worked. I wanted him to squeeze my hand every time he saw a flash because he knew the crack of thunder was coming right after, and I just wanted him back.

He didn't keep the information about Aro away from me vindictively, I've known that from the moment he told me. It just hurt. Everything hurt; him not telling me about the situation and then saying I wasn't part of that side of his life.

I had no desire to be one of his little minions or an active member of the family business, but I helped Edward when he needed me. But, I had to let it go. I had too many other more important things to worry about now.

I sucked up my pride. I tightened the blanket around my shoulders and hugged my pillow to my chest. When I got to our room the door was open, and a dim light was peeking out into the hall. I knocked on the doorframe lightly before glancing inside.

Edward was sitting in bed, his computer on his lap. He had on an adorable pair of thick-rimmed glasses and was scowling at the screen. His head popped up when he heard me knock.

"It's your bedroom, Bella, you don't have to knock."

"You were just trying to protect me." I mumbled.

Edward sighed and pushed his glasses up on his head. "I was just trying to protect you. I'm sorry I went about it the wrong way. For what it's worth, I would have told you soon."

I scurried across the room and hopped into bed. I knelt on the comforter, facing Edward. "I'm sorry I ignored you."

The room lit up with a flash of lightning and seconds later a bolt of thunder shook the house. Edward closed his computer and set his glasses on it on the bedside table. "Come here."

I laid my head on Edward's chest and wrapped my arms around as much of him as I could. Our legs intertwined and his arms pulled me as close to him as possible.

"I've missed you," I mumbled into his chest. I was asleep nearly instantly, but I was pretty sure I heard him say the same.

I woke before Edward in the morning, which was a rare accomplishment for me. He was always the first up, so I decided to take advantage of this little fluke.

I could already feel his morning wood against my thigh. After gently rolling Edward onto his back, I pushed the sheets off of us and settled myself between his legs. I pulled his cock out of his boxers and kissed along his length. Edward sighed, but didn't show any signs of waking up yet.

When I sucked lightly on just the head of his cock he let out a deep moan and his eyes snapped down to me. I kept up my ministrations and started a steady rhythm, bobbing my head over him.

"Your lips look so good around my cock, baby. So good." He groaned out. One of his hands came down and cupped my cheek, his thumb trailed along where my lips were stretched over his length.

Just a few minutes later Edward pulled my hair and let his cock pop out of my mouth. "Clothes off." He grunted out, and I quickly obliged.

Edward lost his boxers while I tore my own clothes off. He sat up, his back against the headboard, and motioned for me to straddle him. I did so quickly, and had his cock right at my entrance, but he stopped me before I could sink down onto him.

"Not yet," his warm hand cupped my center, and my head fell onto his shoulder at the sensation. Two of his fingers trailed along my slit and I bucked my hips into them. "Sucking my cock always makes you so wet." His fingers finally pushed their way inside and I groaned at the feeling. "Ride my cock, baby." His fingers were removed and he flicked the head of his cock over my clit a few times.

A deep groan filled my chest as I sank down on him, taking all of him in at once. I took a few moments to revel in the fullness, but it was too long for Edward. He smacked my ass, not too hard, and said, "Ride, Bella."

I immediately started bouncing my hips into his. Edward's hands roamed over my legs and up to my waist, eventually landing on my breasts. He kept one nipple in his mouth at all times. My arms wrapped around his neck and used his shoulders for leverage.

"Oh, God," I moaned out as one of his hands reached between us.

Edward pushed me back toward the foot of the bed and immediately covered my body with his. He pulled out of me, just his tip left, and slowed his pace. His thrusts were torturously slow.

The mood shifted as we went from frantic fucking to passionate love making. Edward's lips covered every inch of skin they could reach and his hands intertwined with mine above my head. No more words or apologies had to be exchanged. We let our bodies reconnect and made up for two weeks of stress and anger.

…rep…

Edward started talking to me more about his job after our fight. It was never anything overly specific, simply general comments about what he had done that day, or what he was having to deal with.

He thinks he has a mole in his ranks somewhere. He had a shipment, of what he didn't tell me, come in and a group of some of Volturi's men were there and tried to sabotage it.

His company is in the process of buying a weapons manufacturing plant on the east coast. It is supposedly the largest one in the country, but Edward is in the final stages of the negotiation process. He gets this mischievous glint in his eyes when he talks about it. It is equally sexy and terrifying.

I had been enjoying my newfound freedom. I didn't have any work to worry about, and I didn't have any deadlines or interviews to clog up my brain. I hadn't been on the internet in a month. It was an instant stress reliever.

Edward was already at work when I woke up. I went to the basement to work out, and turned on the television that was hanging in the corner. I kept it on for some background noise as I got on the treadmill, but the image of a familiar face halted me just a few minutes into my workout.

I quickly shut off the treadmill and grabbed the control to turn the volume up.

"The Chicago Police Department has confirmed a search for missing businessman Aro Volturi. Sources say Volturi's family first reported him missing three days ago, and the police have since started an investigation into his disappearance."

I turned off the television before they said anything else. I knew what would come next – the accusation that Edward was involved in it.

My mood was instantly crushed with anxiety. I felt like I should call or text Edward, but would that look suspicious? It was only ten in the morning and I already wanted to crawl back into bed.

Meet me for lunch at noon?

Well, that was awfully convenient timing to receive a text from Edward.

I'll be there.

Ben and I got to the restaurant, one of Emmett's establishments, and I was immediately escorted to a table in the back. Edward, Emmett, and Jasper each had businesses all over the city, and the moment any family member walked in they were treated with the utmost respect and made their number one priority. I didn't even have to say anything to the hostess before she escorted me into the restaurant.

When it got past twelve fifteen I started to get uneasy. Edward was always on time. We met for lunch or dinner three or four times a week, and never once was he late. Never.

Just before I was about to call Edward to make sure everything was alright, a group of men in suits rushed into the restaurant, and headed straight for me. They were all familiar, I recognized several various bodyguards that had worked for Edward.

One of them, a man named Liam I think, handed something to Ben and whispered to him. All of the new men surrounded my table, cutting me off from the small crowd surrounding us in the restaurant.

"What's going on?" I asked, to no one in particular, just anyone who would answer.

Ben approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder as he leaned into my ear. "There's a situation, ma'am. This is from your husband." He handed me a folded piece of paper.

Bella, I just got word that the police have evidence that tie Emmett, Jasper, and myself to the Aro's disappearance. I'm so sorry to do this to you, baby, but I need to put you in charge of everything. With all of us locked up the next in line would normally be Liam, but I don't know who I can trust right now, except you. I've made all of the arrangements, no one will question your authority.

You just have to keep things running until I get out. Trust Ben and Eric, but no one else. No one, Bella.

I love you.

Edward

I read the note five times over, expecting it to be different each time. Edward wouldn't leave me in charge. In charge of what, exactly? His business? The family business? Everything?

"Where is he?" I asked and four different men started to answer immediately. "Ben?"

"Your husband is currently being transferred to a CPD precinct where he will be questioned. We'll know more in a few hours."

"I – I don't understand." I held up the note like it was the answer to all of my problems.

"You're the head of the Cullen family and the interim CEO of E.C. Inc." Ben replied.

Fuck.

I was ushered into a waiting car and driven to Edward's office. It was just a few blocks away so it only took us a few minutes to get there. The second I got to his floor all eyes turned to me.

Jesus, all of these people expected me to have answers for them. I had no goddamn clue how to run a company. Absolutely no idea.

Jessica, Edward's secretary, approached me with a hand full of paperwork. "Mrs. Cullen, I have a few things that need your signature on them. There are some lease agreements regarding the property Mr. Cullen was purchasing out in Los Angeles, and we have some more documents from the plant in New York."

"Oh, uh, okay," I took the papers out of her hands and started walking toward Edward's office. Ben followed closely behind, and stood to the left of the door as I entered.

As I dropped the stack of papers onto his desk my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but I answered immediately.

"Hello?"

"Hey, baby."

"Fuck, Edward. What the hell are you thinking? I can't do this – "

"Yes, you can. I won't be here long. A few days tops. I just need you to keep things running smoothly. I trust you, Bella."

"How are you even calling me?"

"I get one phone call, you know."

"Shit, shouldn't you call a lawyer or – "

"My lawyer knows. He'll be here soon. Are you okay?"

"No. I have a stack of papers about shit I don't know anything about in front of me. I'm sitting in your office with no fucking clue what I'm doing."

"If you have any questions, ask Ben. He's more than just a bodyguard. He's been with us forever, he'll help you with anything you need."

Hearing how calm Edward sounded should have soothed me, but it just made me want to curl up in a corner and cry. "You'll be okay, right?" I asked, almost too afraid to know the answer.

"I'll be fine. I promise. I've got to go, but I'll be home soon. I love you, Bella."

"Love you," I whispered, but I was pretty sure the line had already gone dead.

…rep…

It had been a week, and Edward was still locked up somewhere. No one would let me see him. I called every day and every day the officers told me I was hindering their investigation and that they could give me no information at that time. Fuckers.

I've slept approximately five hours in the week since Edward got arrested, and spent ninety percent of my time locked in his office downtown. Edward had told me my main job was to just keep things running, but that was when he was only going to be locked up for a few days. It has been a week and, according to his lawyer, it could be a few more before he's out.

They have a lot of questions for him, apparently.

I spent a lot of time thinking about the note Edward sent me. Edward had mentioned that he had a mole somewhere in his ranks, and if I was the only one he trusted, that person had to have been pretty high up. Liam was a possibility, he had to be if Edward didn't leave the business to him when he was arrested.

There were so many other options, though; so many other people knew information about things that had been revealed to other organizations.

I spent a lot of my time talking to people. I talked to Liam and studied every movement he made around me. I talked to Mike, a man who worked mostly with dealers across the world and organized shipments to Chicago. He seemed too perfect. Every word he said seemed very calculated.

There were tens of Mike's in the Cullen organization though. Too many possibilities. I knew it was foolish to think I could figure out who the mole was when Edward, who had been doing this his entire life, hadn't yet. But I wanted to know, I needed to know.

What if they were framing Edward? I was fairly certain that he had nothing to do with Aro's disappearance. He would have told me, he would have let me know that I didn't have to worry about my biological father anymore if he knew he was no longer a threat.

I stood from Edward's desk and straightened my cream pencil skirt and made sure my black top was tucked in just right. I think I had been wearing this outfit for two days, but I didn't have time to go change. I grabbed my file and made my way to the conference room.

"Oh, Mrs. Cullen! I just got off the phone with Alice Cullen. She'd like you to call her when you have time." Jessica said as she followed me.

"I don't have time." I told her distractedly. Alice and Rosalie were both messes, but I didn't have time to console them. I didn't have time to console myself. They seemed to forget my husband had been arrested as well, and I also had to run the entire fucking family.

Charlie called me the day after Edward had been arrested. He shouted at me for an hour about how he knew Edward was a bad man but let it slide because he knew he had no power over me, especially now that I knew he wasn't my biological father. He didn't let his disappointment that I was now running one of the largest crime families in the country go unnoticed. He's tried to call me every day since then, but I never answered.

I entered the conference room where three men were already seated. One of them, Alexander Oliver, was the current owner of the weapons plant Edward had been in the process of buying. The other two were lawyers, one of his and one of mine. Well, Edward's.

"Gentlemen," I greeted them as I entered. They all stood politely and handshakes were exchanged as we all sat down.

"Mrs. Cullen, how are you?" Oliver asked. He seemed like a genuinely good man, as good a man as can be in this type of business. He was polite, but I knew not to trust him too much.

"As well as can be expected. Thank you for agreeing to continue the sale with me as opposed to my husband."

Pleasantries were over with and we got on to business. All that was really left was to sign on the dotted line, but we ran into some issues because the deal was in Edward's name. Thankfully Oliver was amenable to changing to deal to my name so we could be done with this.

I was about to purchase one of the largest weapons manufacturing plants in the country. The thought made me long for the days when my biggest worry was what I was going to wear to the People's Choice Awards.

An hour later the deal was done, and I was exhausted. I was walking past Jessica's desk, and Lauren, the receptionist, was sitting there talking with her.

"I hope she stays here. It's so much more pleasurable working for her than Mr. Cullen." Jessica whispered, unaware that I was within hearing distance.

I stopped in my tracks and look at her incredulously. "Speak about my husband like that again and you're fired. Get me some fucking coffee."

I slammed the office door behind me and hightailed it to the adjoining bathroom. My breathing started to come in pants and my head was spinning. I wet a washcloth and started patting it along my face and chest.

I couldn't handle much more of this.

I had a plan, though. I knew Edward would tell me not to do it, that it was the stupidest thing I could do in my position, but I didn't care.

I needed my husband back.

…rep…

Three days later and not much had changed except that I was in a new, clean, skirt and blouse. I rarely left the office because camped outside was a swarm of photographers. It didn't take long for the public to realize who was in charge now that the boys were behind bars.

I didn't have to look up any articles to know what they would be saying about me. At least there hadn't been any murders lately that I could be blamed for. I didn't think so, at least.

I didn't think I had done anything illegal yet. I met with some shady people, but that wasn't a crime, right? They were actually surprisingly kind, considering they could have completely screwed me over. They explained their situations and told me what Edward would likely do were he here. I guessed they could still be screwing me over, but I talked with Ben and Eric and they told me I was doing fine.

It was five when Ben reminded me of my meeting. I had to talk with a group of suppliers, and I was supposed to meet them at Edward's old penthouse in the city. The irony wasn't lost on me that this was probably a similar meeting he had been holding when I showed up after my disastrous birthday a few years ago.

I hated to admit that I enjoyed the meeting. It was like a giant puzzle that needed to be solved. An illegal puzzle, but still. When the meeting was over, I stood in the elevator surrounded by the suppliers and Ben and Eric.

"You're free to go once you drop me off at home. I'd like to be alone tonight." I whispered to Ben. I was tired of being surrounded, constantly. I was exhausted and needed a night alone to think.

"Mrs. Cullen, I don't think – "

"I want to be alone." I snapped.

He dropped the subject after that.

I felt instantly relaxed as I walked inside. I had hardly been here since my failed lunch with Edward. The relief was quickly tainted with longing. I wanted to walk upstairs and see Edward sitting in his office, or sleeping in our bed.

I had held myself together fairly well, I thought, considering the circumstances. But I needed tonight. I knew I couldn't keep it together much longer, and I needed to be able to breakdown in the comfort of my own home.

I ran the water in the bathtub and quickly got rid of my clothing. As soon as I was submerged I looked at the room around me and saw Edward everywhere. I saw him in the shower, his hands in my hair as he washed it for me. I saw him bent over the counter, carefully shaving before work. And I could almost feel him behind me, his strong arms wrapped around me and his lips at my neck.

My tears started to fall and I did nothing to stop them. I sat in the tub until the water became too cold to stand and got ready for bed. I pulled on a pair of Edward's boxers and the same Northwestern shirt I wore the first night I spent with him so long ago.

Sleep never came. I curled up in the middle of our bed, that was losing Edward's scent more and more every day, and sobbed. I was crying so loud I never even heard the footsteps I knew I should have as they came up the stairs.

I didn't know he was in the room until he said my name.

"Isabella."

My skin broke out in goose bumps and I froze for a few seconds before my head popped up to see Aro Volturi standing in the doorway.

He was on top of me before I could scramble off of the bed, his hands wrapped around my throat.

I grasped at his hands and tried to loosen his hold, but he was surprisingly strong.

"You ruined everything." He grunted out at me. "I could have gotten that old fool to hand over everything he had. I knew I should've gotten rid of you when you were a child."

My vision was starting to blur but I managed to get my own hands to his face and scratched everywhere I could reach. I felt one of my fingers hit is eye socket and it shocked him just enough for me to slip out of his hold.

I ran out of the room and was able to lock myself in Edward's office before he got to me. He may be stronger, but I was faster.

Rushing over to his desk, I tossed everything out of the drawers. I knew he would have something in here. I reached under the center of the desk and my hands found the handle of a glock.

Aro was pounding on the door, and eventually shot through the lock. I ducked behind the desk and looked at the weapon in my hands. All of Edward's lessons over the last year and a half flashed through my head. Safety off. Finger off of the trigger until you're ready to shoot. If you're in danger, shoot to kill.

I went over the lessons in my head for too long and Aro found me crouched behind Edward's desk. He pulled me up by my hair, and tugged my head back so I was forced to look at him.

He roughly pulled the gun out of my hands and tossed it behind me. "I was going to bring some colleagues with me tonight. Let them have their way with you before I got rid of you, I knew your husband would love that. But I decided I wanted you all to myself. I wanted to see the life leave your eyes on my own."

He pushed me down and my head hit the corner of the desk. It made my head fuzzy, but I knew I couldn't let myself pass out. I could see the gun a few feet away from me, but knew I needed to be smart about the timing before I went for it.

"I didn't do anything to you, I never asked for anything. I don't want anything from you now that I know who you are. I won't tell anyone, I promise. Just please leave me alone." I cried out. I started slowly backing up on the ground when he started walking toward me.

"It's too late for that, child. I would make it quick if you would stop fighting me." He sneered as he stalked toward me. He raised his gun the second my right hand felt the metal of the gun behind me.

I gripped my hand around the handle, my finger ready on the trigger. I was shooting before he knew I had the gun in my hand, and it was only second later he had four bullets in his chest.

Aro fell to the ground and I backed up quickly so I wasn't stuck under him. I stared at him for a few seconds, my mind taking too long to process everything that was happening around me.

I kicked his gun away from him, just in case. On shaky legs I stumbled through the office and grabbed Edward's desk phone.

Ben answered on the first ring.

"I need help."

A/N: Oh boy. Stay with me, folks.

There are some legal things in the next few chapters. I'm going to try and be as accurate as possible, but I'm sure I'll get some things flat out wrong. It is fiction, after all. Just bear with me!