IF LOOKS COULD TRULY KILL
Disclaimer: The Cullens, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.
This chapter has been beta'd by the remarkable dowlingnana. A huge thanks to her for putting up with and then correcting my errors.
"This young man attacked one of the cleaning staff. As I pulled him off of the man and was getting him a safe distance away the man that had been attacked got up and quickly left."
"LET HIM GO. LET HIM GO NOW! Mark, come on in here." Nadine said.
The officer looked at each individual to see if all were agreeable to the young man entering the room before letting go. He was still unsure considering the commotion and the attack the young man had caused just moments before. But, they all seemed to be satisfied that he would be controlled. So, he complied and let the young person go. After he came into the hospital room and was busy looking around at each person in there as the door closed behind him. "This is Mark, my brother." Nadine offered simply, but, quietly. Then she turned to Mark and asked, "What was that all about, dear?"
"He's here, sis, he's here. The person I grabbed in the hallway was the man that has been threatening us."
CHAPTER 28: THE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
And with those words Nadine goes deathly pale. "How could he know that we would be here; right now, at this very moment?" she mused not really asking the question of anyone in particular. "We have got to get out of here and find somewhere that we can be safe. That manic will hurt you, or, worse, kill us both now that he knows we are talking to these people. At least, we can't be accused of going to the police. Maybe, that could work in our favor?" She was still speaking her thought aloud without realizing it.
"Ms Johnson, can we get back to the main reason as to why you are here? You said you came to come clean about everything because you were needing and wanting help. How can you expect to get the help if you are going to leave without completing your story so we can determine in what manner we can help?" Tanya said pulling the young woman back to her present location and purpose.
"Yes. Yes, of course, we do need the help, desperately as you can see for yourself." You could see the visible signs of her realizing her current surroundings and pulling her mind back to those around her. The altercation concerning her brother and his announcement had shaken her for a bit. Being fully alert once more Nadine motions for her brother to have a seat while she waits to see if anyone has any questions about what she had to say so far. She had given them the whole story.
"You know that I want to hear more than what you have given us." says Bella before anyone else could ask a question. "You have left out too many details for my liking."
"What is it that you feel I haven't said, Mrs. Cullen?"
"How about the whole situation that transpired at the hotel and you ending up having pictures taken sitting on top of my nude husband? I want to know how all of that took place with a man that could overpower you, if he chose to do so. How was he able to be duped and not know what was happening to him?
"Sorry, but, you two brought all of this back to the surface, so, I want answers. It is raising questions that is leading back to reconsider certain decisions that I recently made." She stated in a very calm voice appearing to be very cold in her determination to obtain answers.
Edward was starting to get very worried that she going back to her decision of divorcing him. After all that had taken place in just the last few days it wouldn't surprise him. But, he wasn't prepared to give up. He would fight to keep his beloved wife and their marriage intact. There was no way in hell he was going to allow their relationship to slide back to the limbo that occurred nearly a year ago. But, he had to be honest about the situation; he had a lot of questions as to what had happened himself since he couldn't remember how it had been able to happen.
"Nadine, for us to be able to help you and young Mark, we need to know all of the details. That could lead us to making more sense of things and to be able to devise a plan that will protect you two as well." Edward quietly told her while his eyes held the worry, concern and fear he was feeling all at once while looking at Nadine and then over to Bella. As he looked at her his feelings became even more evident. His biggest fear was that he and Nadine had had sex even though he can't remember any of that time. He didn't think that they had, but, only she knew for sure. The answers to that situation are what are needed to give him the ability to keep Bella.
So, with an inhale then exhale of quickly drawn breath Nadine begins, "I was told during the upcoming business trip planned at that time that I was to get Mr. Cullen into a comprising situation, that someone would be there to take pictures and then I would be notified as to what to do next.
"I didn't usually go on these trips, but, for some reason that I can't recall other than it was suddenly arranged for me to go, Mr. Cullen and I were going together. Before the plane left I was told to excuse myself to the Ladies and that I would be met there with further instructions. That I did. The whole time worried about what might happen to Mark while I was gone and what could happen to him if I didn't go. It had me jumpy the whole time." She paused and seemed to need a moment to collect herself.
It was during this pause that Carlisle asked her, "Did you meet with anyone and what were the instructions that you were given?"
She simply nodded and then replied, "I was given a small bottle and was told that as we attended the party to put it in his drink about an hour after we had gotten there the first night we arrived. The woman that gave me the bottle and the instructions turned and walked out without a look back. She seemed to have disappeared into the crowd as I never saw her again."
"Can you tell us what this woman looked like? Were there any outstanding features about her that you can remember?" Tanya asked.
"She was tall, but, appeared to be muscular like she worked at a gym a lot. Couldn't tell the eye color since she wore dark glasses, hair was light brownish and looked unnatural like she was wearing a wig, but, what facial features I saw they were rather harsh. Her voice was low and raspy as if trying to disguise it."
"Okay, Ms Johnson, what information did this woman give you other than when to administer the contents of the bottle?" Charlie wanted to know. He had a feeling that he knew what had happened and what the drug had been. Being an officer of the law he had encountered its use by some of the individuals he had arrested for using it on unsuspecting victims. But, Nadine Johnson needed to confirm that information.
"She said it was flunitrazepam which didn't mean anything to me. I guess the quizzical look on my face must have alerted her to the fact that I had no idea what she just said, so, she told me it was Rohypnol as it was better known. That it wasn't harmful, but, did make a person more compliant with what I would want him to do and he would have memory lost of that time period which would keep my job safe. Also, the pictures would accomplish two things; causing marriage problems for Mr. Cullen, separating him from his wife, and protecting my job as it would give me leverage to hold over him to keep him from firing me.
"Well, we know how well that second part worked out; I was fired on the spot as soon as Mrs. Cullen stepped into Mr. Cullen's office with the pictures, blew up at him and left after Mr. Cullen saw the pictures. He took off after her and I left his office to go pack up my things and left the building."
"We need to know exactly what happened the night you gave me the drug and the pictures were taken. Please, Nadine, I need to know what happened. I remember the party, but, after that nothing except for pieces here and there, but, I'm not even sure if those are memories that really happened, or, I just think they did." Edward was trying to encourage her to give more detailed information about that event that cost him nearly a year of his marriage away from Bella. A year that he had had struggled, pleaded and fought to regain her trust and to stop her from divorcing him. It had been a hard, uphill battle due to that event to get her to listen to him and to put it passed them to start again.
"What Edward is trying to find out in a very subtly, polite way is do you have sex? Was there intercourse and fucking going on?" Bella harshly demanded to know while not caring how she asked in either tone of voice or words used to find out.
"Mrs. Cullen, you don't need to-"
"I don't need to what? Be so rude? How would you feel if a young woman in a trusted position was photographed naked upon top of your husband while they both seemed to be in a comprising position and naked?" Bella tossed back at her without hesitation. "And, then said young woman shows up months later wanting to ask for help because of same said situation?
"Tell me how you would be conducting yourself under those set of circumstances? You stole from me, Nadine Johnson, something that can't be given back. Something that cost me, caused great hurt and seems is still trying to bite me in the ass and cost me even more. So, again I ask you, how would you feel?
"For nearly a year my husband and I separated and I almost filed for a divorce because of his supposed affair with you. Now, I lay here in a hospital bed not able to move or see due to jealousy from what I thought was a friend which is resulting from your actions all those months ago."
No one said a word, but, the atmosphere in the room was tense and very uncomfortable for all that were present. They understood Bella's feelings, but, never had she been so unfeeling in her attitude towards another person. So uncaring in how she spoke to them or the wording she used to communicate with them.
Nadine Johnson said not a word while tears were quietly beginning to fall from her eyes to flow down her face. She could feel the pain that her actions had caused the woman in the hospital bed and she believed that no help would be given because of those actions and that pain. So, after a moment in time she quietly spoke as she was gathering her things together, "I do apologize for bothering you with my problems when that is what created yours. It was foolish of me to even come to ask for help with all the trouble I have caused you and Mr. Cullen.
"And, to answer your question, No, Mrs. Cullen, there was no sex involved. The pictures were only made to appear that way. Mr. Cullen and I didn't have intercourse." And, with that said she motioned for her brother to follow her out of the room.
Bella heard the movement and asked what was happening to which she was told that Nadine and Mark were leaving. Her reply was, "Why? We never said that we wouldn't help you or your brother." This stunned everyone in the room since they each were sure that Bella had no intentions of helping the woman or would want to allow anyone to help her.
A/N: Well, now we know what transpired between Edward and Nadine. But, who was the person that approached her to give her the drug and instructions? Who was the person Mark had wrestled with in the hallway?
Please review and let me know your thoughts. This story will update once every two to three days weeks for the present time just until I bring another story or two to completion then updating will be closer together again and I hope you will enjoy it the same as you have my other ones.
