A/N: Hello! I won't hold you here for long because I know you're excited about what's coming next. I hope it lives up to your expectations.

Huge thanks to Payton79 for her time and her efforts to keep my characters and me in check.

All mistakes are mine.

AN EXTRA SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT TO NINKITA ! !
(YOU KNOW WHY, YOU SNEAKY SPY!)

CHAPTER 21

EVIDENCES AND EXPLICATIONS

"Nervous?"

Edward's soft voice broke through the silence in the car, jarring me out of my musings. Until he'd spoken, I hadn't even realized we'd reached our destination.

"Just a tad," I replied, returning his tiny smile, though mine was probably closer to a grimace.

"What if this leads us to nothing, Edward?" I whispered a moment later, voicing my greatest fear. "What if we came this far, found out everything about the past only to achieve nothing and have Aro walk away scot-free?"

"Bella, he's never going to walk away scot-free," he pressed. "He's going to be in prison for the rest of his life. Alice, Emmett and you have made sure of that. What we're doing now . . ." he trailed off, his eyes hesitant as they roamed over my face.

"Go on," I prompted quietly.

"This is to give you closure," he whispered, leaning in to rest his palm against my cheek. "I know you've barely had any time to process everything, but you wanted answers . . . you have them now, Bella. Aro won'tsee the light of the day again. That might not be the justice you've always hoped for, but it isn't nothing. Even if we're unable to get him convicted for Renee's murder, he will be punished. The worst case scenario is that you'll have to make your peace with that."

I swallowed once, but eked out a soft, "I'm scared."

"You've come this far, Princess. Don't back down now." My gaze fell to my lap, but he was having none of it. Tipping my chin up, he looked deep into my eyes as he said, "You can do this, Bella. I know you can."

I breathed out raggedly, brining my hand to touch his where it lay on my face.

I let my eyes fall shut when he closed the gap between us, lowering his mouth to capture mine in a soft kiss. Every nerve ending of my body thrummed wildly as we kissed. There was no urgency in our movements, just the unhurried, tender feeling of our lips gliding together. He pulled away after a few seconds, letting his lips graze the corner of my mouth before leaning his forehead against mine. I could feel his breath brush over my skin, could almost taste his scent on my lips, and absorb the warmth of his fingertips ghosting over my jaw.

His mouth quirked up in a small smile, as did mine, before we broke apart.

"You should call her," he suggested. "Let her know it's just us so that she doesn't get alarmed."

I nodded in agreement, fishing my phone out of my pocket.

We'd lucked out with Helping Hands being located a little closer to Forks as compared to Seattle. It'd taken us a solid three hours to get here, the current time being a few minutes short of midnight, but there was no way this could wait until tomorrow morning.

The late hour, however, was bound to surprise the person we were here to see, so I scrolled down my contact list. I swiped my thumb over her name and pressed the phone to my ear.

It was a few seconds until she answered the phone, and my heart leapt into my throat during that interminable time. When I finally heard her voice, I announced our arrival outside her gate, registered and allayed her shock before stressing upon how important it was for us to see her now.

Edward pointed out the moment the lights went on in the window that looked into the living room. On the phone, I heard her invite us in.

We were out of the car and at the doorstep in no time. I knocked twice, peeking in through the window to reassure her that it was really us here.

Mrs. Cope yawned as she opened the door, and a sharp twinge of guilt tugged at my mind. But then she welcomed us in with a loving smile, enveloping me in a quick hug.

"Bella," she said, pulling back to cup my cheeks. "Why didn't you tell me what had happened to you? You spent hours with me, and I never even knew that you'd been kidnapped!" she cried. "I'm so sorry, dear. I barely keep in touch with the news these days. It was only when I mentioned to Mrs. Stanley that you'd come to see me that she told me about that vile man Volturi. I wish you'd told me, Bella."

I expressed my apologies as she pulled me inside. "It was all such a mess, Mrs. Cope. I barely had time to wrap my head around it before the memories of my past started assaulting my mind. I was in too deep, drowning in the unanswered questions that've plagued me for far too long."

She nodded sagely, her joints popping slightly as she took a seat. "I knew something was wrong when you came to me earlier," she said. "There had to have been something that triggered you to seek out what was going on in Charlie's mind in those awful days. Well, what can I do for you tonight, dear? Is everything alright? Goodness, of course it mustn't be alright!" she exclaimed, looking at us worriedly. "You wouldn't be here at this hour if that was so, right? Can I get you kids anything?"

"No, ma'am, thank you for offering," Edward replied evenly while my eyes roved over the room. "All we need is a bit of your time. We're sorry to barge in at this hour, but . . ."

She waved away his apology with a flick of her wrist. "Like I said, dear boy, I realize that it must be something important if it brought you here now. Tell me, what do you need?"

Edward looked at me, and I nodded at him before turning to Mrs. Cope. "We have reason to believe that your friend, Jimmy Dalton knew my mother."

Mrs. Cope frowned. "What?"

I paused for a second or two, deliberating about how to approach this, then deciding that it was better to start with a little explanation rather than upsetting her needlessly. Despite my impatience to test out my theory, I launched into the back-story.

"You know how the police kept my presence at the crime scene as guarded as possible, considering that, mentally, I was in a bad state by the time they found Mom and me that night," I reminded, and she nodded. "But the fact is that I saw a lot that day. Before the accident, before Mom was shot, we were at Port Angeles, and I saw her talking to a man. That man was Jimmy Dalton. I didn't know him at first, but after I saw his picture here, I recognized him. From what we've found out, there might be something in his possession that pertains to Mom's murder."

Mrs. Cope gasped, her eyebrows shooting up to her hairline. "You think . . . you think Jimmy did this?" she whispered, her gritty voice cracking slightly.

"No," I assured her immediately. "He didn't kill her, but he had something that could lead us to who did. I need to find that evidence."

"Well . . ." she trailed off uncertainly. "I don't really have anything of his, Bella. I gave it all away to Goodwill. There was no one else to claim his things, not that there was much, anyway. And if it happened to be something he'd hidden . . ."

I shook my head. "There is one thing you do have. You told us how he was a private person with not any important personal items to speak of, except one thing."

I watched as Mrs. Cope scowled in concentration, trying to make sense of my words. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it without saying anything. I stood and walked around the center table to reach the chest of drawers.

"Oh!" I heard Mrs. Cope's gasp as she figured out what I'd meant.

My arm trembled as I reached out to pick up Jimmy's . . . James Ricci's picture sitting on top. Mrs. Cope made no objections, probably curious enough to let me do as I pleased. My hand curled around the thick frame, feeling the heavy weight as I lifted it. It looked quite sturdy, but the back was a little flimsier than the front. I assessed the entire frame with my fingertips, ghosting them over the embossed design on the boundary before turning it around. I touched the cardboard surface, then rattled the frame and listened for any unusual sound, but there was none.

Refusing to be deterred, I turned to my audience. Edward's eyes were intensely focused, and Mrs. Cope looked puzzled.

"Could I have a pair of scissors?" I asked, my voice steady despite the fact that my insides were in turmoil.

"Of course," Mrs. Cope answered, pointing to the topmost drawer. "There should be one in there."

Rooting around, I quickly pulled out the scissors. Edward walked over to me and took the frame from my shaking hand. I ran my fingers over the cardboard again, feeling a minute depression around the edges.

Meeting Edward's eyes for a second, I gathered my wits before scoring the rectangular boundary with one pointed end of the scissors. I was gentle, probably overly so, but I couldn't risk ruining what could be nestled inside. It took me four tries to pierce the cardboard, a sharp exhale leaving my lungs as I finally managed to do it.

I snuck the pointed end inside the slit and started cutting carefully, making my way along the entire boundary without damaging the center. The piece of cardboard fell away with startling ease once I'd cut it.

I could sense my heartbeat pounding in my ears as my eyes followed the cardboard slowly make its way to the floor. A gasp slipped past my lips when I saw what was inside.

Taped to a plastic square was a gleaming circular object, shining as the light from the bulb overhead fell on it.

.

A CD.

.

I looked up at Edward, desperate to confirm that it wasn't just my exhausted mind finally giving up and playing tricks on me. His wide-eyed gaze was enough to reassure me and calm the pounding rhythm of my heart to some extent.

I held my breath while his long fingers carefully pulled the square out of the frame and started peeling the cello tape off the CD. I clamped my hand over James' photograph as it swerved in the frame, pulling it out and placing it under a paperweight on the shelf.

"Oh my!" I heard Mrs. Cope murmur as she huddled over to us and peered at the CD.

"We need to play this," Edward requested. "Do you have a CD player?"

Mrs. Cope grimaced. "I'm afraid I don't," she replied regretfully. "I have a DVD player but it has been broken for weeks. I haven't gotten a chance to get it repaired."

I winced and sighed, fidgeting as every fiber of my being prickled with impatience.

Edward's gaze shifted to me. "If it's only sound, we can listen to it in the car," he suggested, and my head snapped up, hope flaring in my chest.

"Let's give it a shot," I agreed quickly before turning to Mrs. Cope. "Thank you, Mrs. Cope. Thank you so much, but we'll have to . . ."

She smiled kindly. "I understand, dear. I can see that something big is going on here. I won't stand in your way. Just remember to keep this old lady in the loop, alright?"

On impulse, I reached out and threw my arms around her. "I think we'll need you sooner rather than later," I whispered to her, thinking about how, if this was indeed the proof we were seeking, she might have to testify about how she got her hands on it.

When I pulled back, she cupped my face in her palms. "No child should've had to suffer the way you did, Bella. Your mother had a kind, beautiful soul. I would be more than happy to do whatever I can to bring her justice."

I was surprised that she'd understood what I hadn't said out loud but was very grateful for her perception.

After saying a quick goodbye, Edward and I were rushing out of her home and into his car. He placed the disc into the CD player, pushing it in gently.

For a few moments, there was nothing but the sound of our breathing in the tense silence that surrounded us.

Our eyes met despondently, wondering if it was all for naught after all.

And then, there was a slight crackle from the speakers . . .

. . . followed by words.

My heart leapt into my throat, my gut twisting anxiously as I heard a male voice speak in an unfamiliar language.

"That's Italian," Edward whispered when the sound paused.

I nodded, having figured as much, when suddenly, a female voice blared through the speakers.

I knew that voice.

.

The voice that'd comforted my when I cried.

.

The voice that'd chased away my bad dreams.

.

The voice that'd calmed me down when I was nervous.

.

It was my mother's voice.

My hand flew to my lips, a sob sticking in my throat as I heard her reply to the man in Italian. The way her words wavered as they tumbled from her lips proved beyond doubt that she was afraid.

The man spoke again, but this time, I listened even more carefully, not even breathing while the tenor of his words seeped into my brain.

Then it fell silent for a few seconds.

I turned to Edward. "That wasn't Aro," I whispered.

"I didn't think so either," Edward agreed. "I doubt I've ever heard this voice before in my . . ." He trailed off when the sounds of the recording picked up once again.

"Did you find something, sweetheart?"

My eyes widened at Mom's words, especially because they were followed by my own.

"Who was that, Mom?"

"Oh, he was just someone I knew in the past, Bella. Don't worry about him. Hey, look at this one, sweetheart! Didn't you tell me you wanted to read a supernatural book series next? This one looks promising."

"Hmm. I guess the summary sounds good."

"How about we buy the entire series, then?"

"All of them? What if I don't like it, Mom? Let's just pick the first one for now. We can always come back later and have another girls' day out!"

"That's true, my smart girl. Alright, we'll take one for now."

My fingers ached, my knuckles straining against the tight grip I had on the fabric of the seat. Recollections swirled in my consciousness as the conversation my mother and I'd had on the last day of her life continued to play out. Edward and I sat still and silent and listened to what happened as Mom and I walked through the bookstore, discussing more novels until we finally settled the bill.

Past and present collided in a hideous jumble in my thoughts as I relived how we'd headed to the nearby florist next.

"Mom . . . Girls don't buy flowers for boys! They don't like them, we do."

"Just what do you know about what boys do or don't like, huh? Is there something you're not telling me, Isabella? Your father is not like other men. He happens to love and appreciate the beauty of nature, and daisies are his favorite. We're getting them right now, because I know Mrs. Cope does not keep them in her shop. No one in Forks, except Charlie, appreciates daisies."

What followed were the moments Mom and I spent talking and laughing as she drove us home.

My eyes clenched shut then, preparing myself for what I knew was coming next.

I whimpered as I heard the loud crashes that followed, signaling Aro's arrival and his car pushing ours off the road. Edward wrapped an arm around me as we both heard my mother order me to hide and not make a sound.

And then . . . I heard it.

What I'd been waiting for my entire life was finally within my grasp as Aro's voice reached my ears.

The unmistakable sound of my mother pleading with him and the arrogance in his tone as he replied ruthlessly played on for a few minutes until I had the answer I hadn't even been searching for.

Why had I never recalled that conversation, no matter how hard I tried to bring it to the forefront of my mind?

Because I'd never understood it.

Because my mother and . . . her brother had been talking in Italian.

I jumped, crying out when I heard the final bang that signaled the bullet ripping through my mom's chest. Tears welled up in my eyes and flowed down my face when I heard my eleven year old self beg and plead for my mother to be alright.

Edward turned the volume down when there was nothing but my wails to be heard. I buried my face in his chest. The memories crushed me from the inside out as they were reborn with startling clarity. Edward hugged me tightly, murmuring soft words that I couldn't comprehend, but was comforted by nonetheless. Despite the fact that he was trying to give me strength, I didn't miss the way his own body shuddered against mine, the dampness against my neck where his face was buried, or the tremble of tears in his gruff voice.

We stayed like that for a long moment. The cries of my former self from the speakers eventually died out, as I probably passed out until we could hear the faint sounds of police sirens in the background. After that, the recording got cut off abruptly.

"What does this mean?" I muttered. My voice was husky after all the crying, so I cleared my throat, ignoring the burning it caused. "This recording . . ."

"It starts while Renee spoke to that man, who had to have been none other than James Ricci," he said, rubbing a hand across my back. "That means he must've planted something on Renee to record their conversation."

"But why?" I asked in confusion. I pulled back to look into his eyes. "Why would he record it? And you said he planted something . . . what does that mean? Something like a bug?"

"Exactly. I can't guess his intentions, Bella," he sighed. "Based on what we have, I assume that's what he did. There's no other explanation, is there?"

I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I guess not. So James somehow found Mom, probably spoke to her about how she ran away from him and also recorded their conversation." My gaze snapped up when an alarming thought crossed my mind. "Wait, do you think he was involved with Aro? Was this some sort of a sick joke where Aro wanted to listen to Mom's cries as he killed her?" I spat, a shudder running down the length of my body as fury blazed through my veins.

"From what Didyme told us, I highly doubt they were working together," Edward replied. "But we haven't ignored any train of thought so far, so we won't do it now either. I think the only way to get the answers would be to have this translated."

I nodded slowly. "You're right."

I grabbed my phone, flicking my fingers across the screen until the name I wanted popped up.

My brother's voice was frantic as soon as I started talking. I threaded my fingers into my hair and groaned, feeling a headache coming on as this long day simply refused to end. Emmett had to have been feeling as shattered as I did with every new bit of information coming our way. It took a full minute for me to calm him down and then I was able to relay everything to him.

"Bella . . ." His voice cracked. "Are you sure?" he choked out.

"I'm sure, Em," I whispered, barely holding my tears at bay. "This recording is from that day. The only thing remaining is to find out why the hell James bugged Mom and what exactly it is that Aro said to her before he ended her life."

"It's late," he muttered, and I looked at my watch to see that it was past one in the morning. "But I'll have someone from the department come in as soon as possible in the morning. Are you guys coming home?"

I peeked at Edward, and he gave me a small smile, but I could see the exhaustion lingering around his eyes. I asked Em to give me a minute.

"Should we stay in Forks for the night?" I whispered to Edward. "I'm sure you're tired from all the driving."

He shook his head. "I'll be fine, Bella. Let's head back. I know I'll sound paranoid when I say this, but I don't feel comfortable about keeping this CD with us for long. I don't know if Aro knows about its existence, but . . ."

"I agree," I told him simply, before conveying the same to Emmett. We bid goodbye a minute later.

"I can drive back, Edward," I offered, dashing a hand over my cheeks to wipe the tear tracks. "You can grab a couple of hours of sleep if you want."

He narrowed his eyes playfully, turning the engine on. "Do you really think that, after all this time, I'm going to leave you alone in this?"

I chuckled once. "I was just asking, that's all. There's no way I'll be able to sleep until we get there and find out what's in here," I said, pressing the button to eject the CD from the player. "There's no reason why you shouldn't."

He rolled his eyes before pulling out of the parking spot and heading out in the direction of the main road that'd take us out of Forks.

"I'll be fine, Bella. I've endured worse hours in the army," he informed me with a wink.

I gave up, settling more comfortably in my seat. "Alright then."

We were silent for a while. I closed my eyes, nowhere close to sleeping, but simply absorbing the events of the day. It'd started off with Edward's parents' visit, followed by the blow out between his father and him, leading to . . . the kiss.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. He hadn't pushed me to talk about what'd happened, but he'd held me closer than before and kissed me again in the day.

And I hadn't wanted to stop him.

Maybe that's all there was to say, for now.

I threw my head back against the seat, closing my eyes again and moving on to our talk with Didyme. Everything I needed to implicate Aro had been right there, sitting just a few hours away, but I'd never known of their existence – neither Didyme nor the CD – because my parents had never revealed the entire truth about their life. I couldn't fault them for that, though. Had I been in Mom's position, I would've done anything to thwart the horrifying darkness of my past from casting a shadow onto the brightness of my future.

Maybe they would've told us everything years down the line . . . had they gotten the chance. Maybe they were waiting until Em and I grew up enough to be able to understand things from their perspective.

"How did you know?"

Edward's voice was low, but it still managed to startle me.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, resurfacing to the present, though a part of me was still stuck in my reminiscences.

"I wanted to know how you came to the conclusion that the proof James was hiding was here."

"Oh, um," I said, pausing to gather my thoughts. "Remember what Didyme said about my mother hiding money in her pillow case?" Edward nodded while overtaking the car ahead of us, and I went on. "Well, I remembered her saying that it was Marcus' usual MO . . . to hide things in plain sight. She mentioned how they never realized that Mom could use the same idea to trick them. Didyme also said how James Ricci was practically Marcus' golden boy."

Edward hummed as I watched the comprehension dawn in his eyes. "So you thought James would've had the same trick up his sleeve."

"Exactly. It had to be hidden somewhere where no one would think to look because it was too . . . visible. Then I recalled Mrs. Cope's words. She said that Jimmy, or well, James had very little stuff in his home, the photo frame being the only thing he actually cared about enough to give it to her before he passed away. This was obviously a long shot. I mean, James could've destroyed it before he died or Aro could've found it if he'd been involved in James' death. All I knew was that if the evidence still existed and if it was at some place we could find on our own, there was only one logical option. Otherwise . . ." I sighed, shrugging lightly. "Otherwise, that would've been the final dead end for our investigation."

He said nothing for a moment, so I turned to glance at him. He must've felt my gaze on him and looked my way.

His eyes were soft and his face relaxed with a crooked smile tugging at the corner his lips.

"You did well, Princess," he murmured, taking one hand off the steering wheel to squeeze mine. "You did very well."

"Thank you," I whispered, baffled by the sudden lump in my throat, and cleared it quietly. I felt the heat of my blush spread over my face, but hoped that the dark was enough to hide it from Edward.

The rest of the ride passed in comfortable small talk, but both of us seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement to leave the matter of the CD aside. We'd listened to all of it, but comprehending it was out of the question until someone translated it for us.

No point in pulling our hair out trying to analyze it on our own.

A few hours later, we slowly made our way into Edward's apartment. Despite the tension looming in our minds, we were exhausted beyond measure after the day we'd had. We exchanged quick Good Nights before heading into our respective bedrooms.

At around seven in the morning, I was woken by the chime of my phone. I grabbed it from the bedside table and peered at the screen through bleary eyes. There was a text message from Emmett stating that he'd managed to think of someone who knew Italian well and was trustworthy, but they'd only be able to come over after ten a.m.

I shot him a quick 'Okay' in reply, my weary mind only focusing on the fortunate fact that I had three more hours to sleep. I was lost to slumber less than a minute later.

When I finally emerged from the room at ten, the pungent smell of coffee permeated the air. I used the washroom, freshening up quickly before padding down to the kitchen.

"Good morning," Edward greeted me, sliding a mug in my direction.

I picked it up quickly, mumbling a sincere 'Thank you' as I took a sip. The bitterness was much more than what I usually preferred, but it was much needed if I was to get through this day after only five hours of sleep.

The thought of what was to come rammed into the forefront of my mind, chasing all ideas of sleep and fatigue away as I munched on some toast. Edward was quiet as we had breakfast, seemingly sensing my distraction and leaving me to my musings.

Before long, the ring of the buzzer cut through the silence in the apartment, and Edward walked out to answer it.

I stood and ambled to the living room as Emmett, Rose, Alice, and Jasper walked in, followed by a tall, dark-skinned, black haired woman. Her eyes were sharp, intelligent, and they crinkled as she smiled at me.

Emmett stepped forward to introduce us. "Bella, this is Gianna Moretti. We crossed paths while I was working on my very first case once I joined the force, and we've been friends ever since."

I held out a hand and Gianna shook it warmly.

"Thank you for agreeing to help us," I told her quietly.

"It's no trouble, Bella. I'm happy to help in whatever way I can," she replied and then turned to Emmett. "I take it we need this done as soon as possible?"

Emmett nodded. "Yes, please. Edward, why don't you take Gianna into the study and start playing the CD for her? We'll be right there."

"Of course," Edward answered, smiling at Gianna and leading her inside. Jasper nodded at me in greeting before following them.

I turned to my brother as soon as they were out of sight, unable to resist wrapping his form in a tight hug.

"Bella, Bella, Bella," he murmured, squeezing me lightly. "What the hell is happening? In the span of a day, we have a grandmother, and that bastard is supposed to be our . . ."

I pulled back to meet his troubled eyes. "He's nothing to us," I whispered fiercely. "Is Didyme alright?"

"She's okay," Rose told me. "The police are keeping her safe, but I spent several hours with her yesterday evening. She's doing fine, and she's one hundred percent willing to testify against Aro."

"She loved her," I choked out, looking between them. "She loved our mom so much."

"Nobody who has met her can doubt that," Alice whispered, rubbing my arm in comfort. "She looked so . . . broken when we first saw her, but then as time passed, we got to talking and sharing stories about Renee. Her eyes would light up when we'd describe how cheerful and loving Renee was."

"The only thing giving her comfort right now is the fact that Renee had a good life," Rose spoke with a slight tremble in her voice. "All we can do is keep reminding her of that until she has had some time to deal with what she has learned yesterday."

"You're right," I sighed, shaking off the tears. We had a job to do. "That, and make sure that Aro Volturi pays for every single one of his crimes."

I started to walk away, but stopped when Emmett placed his hand on my arm.

"Wait, Bella. I have something to tell you."

He waited for me to nod before continuing in a low voice. "In light of everything that has happened yesterday, I've had to come clean with Jasper. Not about the fake kidnapping, of course, but I told him about how you remember seeing Aro after he shot Mom, and that what we're recovering now is evidence they should use to charge him for that."

I exhaled in a gush and nodded. "I kind of saw it coming. It had to be done, I understand that, Em. Now that we have something concrete, we'll be lucky to have him on our side. After all, it might be better if Jasper passes this evidence on to the DA. He had legitimate reason to be investigating Aro, so it won't be suspicious. He does believe us, though, right?" I questioned, momentary panic rising in my chest.

Alice quelled it with a small smile. "He does, Bella. He promised Em that he'll do his best, and he sounded even more hopeful after we told him about the CD."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright then."

We walked into the study to find Gianna sitting at the desk, scribbling away in the pad on her lap. I looked closely and found a set of headphones plugged in her ears, the end of it connected to a small CD player on the desk. Her eyes closed intermittently while she listened, and her mouth was set in a grim line as she focused solely on her task.

Jasper and Edward were standing at the side, and we joined them. I learned that Jasper had listened to the recording first, but, of course, he hadn't been able to understand much of it, so Gianna took over.

"She's writing it down so that we can read it all together," Edward informed me in a whisper.

Several minutes passed, each second ticking away far too slowly for my liking. I resisted the urge to pace around the room and expel some of the nervous energy building inside me because I didn't want to exhibit my impatience in front of Gianna. She kept her eyes on her work, fiddling with the CD player several times to replay the recording, obviously being thorough in her task.

Finally, her hand reached out to the button to switch it off. She pulled the headphones out of her ears and somberly handed the paper over to Emmett, who scanned it quickly along with Jasper. Em's jaw clenched as he read, his head falling into his hands once he was done. Wordlessly, he passed the sheet of paper to me.

I felt the others crowd around me as I started following the words scrawled in Gianna's neat script.

"Don't touch me, Ricci! I don't know what it is you're trying to achieve by coming here, but I have nothing to say to you."

"Oh, don't be like that, Renata. Do you think I'm a fool? You think I'll believe your nonsense about not having any contact with your own brother? Aro took a lot from me, and I won't rest until I get it all back from that son of a bitch. My sources have informed me that Aro is up to something big, and I need you to tell me what the hell he is planning now."

"I can't help you because I know nothing! I haven't spoken to anyone from my family since I left home. Please, Ricci, leave me alone."

"I guess I'll have to find other ways to convince you then."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head about that, Renata darling. I'll leave for now, but you'll be seeing more of me pretty soon. Maybe I'll pay Charlie a visit, huh? Maybe I could pick up Emmett and Isabella from school next time?"

"Go to hell! Your threats don't scare me, James. I'll report everything to the police if I have to, but I won't let you come anywhere near my kids."

That was the end of that dialogue. Below that, she'd penned down the conversation between my mother and Aro.

"Aro . . ."

"Long time no see, sister."

"Aro, don't do this. Don't do this, please!"

"You thought I wouldn't find you, huh, Renata? Guess what, dear sister? You're an idiot for ever having thought so."

"Aro, please, please . . ."

"You dare to beg me? After what you did to our father, you dare to beg me? Youran away. You broke the promise we made to Ricci, and yet, it was Dad who had to pay for your mistakes. You thought you could have your happy ending after killing your own father? You're wrong, Renata. I'm here to set everything right again."

"Aro, I didn't . . . I didn't mean for that to happen! I ran into Ricci today. He wanted me to tell him about you, to help him ruin you, but I refused, brother! I refused because I want nothing to do with your world. I wouldn't . . ."

"You want nothing to do with our world for what, Renata? For Charlie Swan? For your sham of a marriage? For your good-for-nothing kids? Yeah . . . I know all about them. I've been looking for Ricci for years, and once I found out that he was living in this little farce of a town under an alias, I've been keeping tabs on his every move. I knew there had to be a reason, but I never imagined it would be you! The fool didn't even know how he led me straight to the person I've been after for years . . . my little sister. My men saw you with him today, Renata. What were you doing, huh? Planning to betray your family again?"

"No! Aro, I refused him! I refused to help him. Please, believe me. Let me go."

"I'm done with you. You were dead to me the moment Dad lost his life because of your mistakes. You have no right to live, Renata. An eye for an eye, sister. You caused me to lose my parent. Now your kids are going to lose theirs."

"No . . ."

"Goodbye, Renata."

My knees buckled and my body trembled as I read the last line, the loud bang of the bullet as clear in my memory as though it'd happened yesterday.

"Bella!" someone shouted, as I fell back onto the couch, no longer able to support my own weight.

Arms wrapped around me and words of comfort fell into my ears, but I barely sensed them, lost in the tight clutches of the ruthless recollections of the past. My heart raced, my anxieties lurching in my chest, my hands rubbing at the tightness to try to ward off the panic bubbling inside every part of me.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I felt soft fingertips brush them away. With great effort, I pulled my head up to meet the deep, glistening green eyes in front of me. Edward's hand wiped at my cheek again as my eyes kept welling up over and over. On either side of me, Rosalie and Alice were hugging my arms, crying with me while silently reminding me that I wasn't alone in this. I felt two hands clamp down on my shoulders and angled my head up to meet my brother's damp eyes, a strange mix of understanding and fury battling in their depths. My eyes closed of their own accord when I felt his lips press against my hair as I felt his large frame shudder with repressed sobs.

For several interminable moments, I allowed myself to break apart, to fall down into the abyss of grief that consumed me as I relived the day I'd lost the most important person in my life . . . the day I essentially lost the man I'd called my father as he became no more than a shell of the person he once was . . . the day I lost my voice and didn't regain it for a very long time . . . the day I faced the brutal realities that this world had to offer and said goodbye to the joyful, hopeful, optimistic little girl I once was.

My world seemed to be closing in on me as I struggled to swim, struggled to breathe and stay afloat despite the tumult of emotions surging through my veins.

It was a voice that became the straw I held onto to pull myself out.

A voice that was rough, yet soft, and beckoned to me in the gentlest manner possible.

Edward's eyes shone as he tipped my head up to meet his gaze. I turned my attention to his lips, focusing on their movement to figure out what he was saying.

When I finally managed to push back the sharp ringing in my ears and let his words fill my mind, a small smile lit up my face, even as the tears streaked down my cheeks.

"You did it, Bella. You did it."

A/N: ^^^ That encompasses everything I'm feeling at the moment.
The idea for this story was born when I realized the co-incidence of existence of both names - Renee and Renata – in the Twilight universe. All the other twists and turns were essentially a play on building a connection between the two. I can hardly believe I've managed to make it to this point where all the answers are out in the open! I'll probably faint when I finish writing the remaining couple of chapters, LOL! We'll see.

As always, thank you for reading, and if you've enjoyed the story, I hope you'll leave me a review.