Disclaimer: While SM wrote Twilight I was studying for my college entrance exams! I couldn't possibly have written it! ^~
Hi! \o/ Here comes a new chapter!^~
But before I'd like to answer a question that "is" (an not logged in person) asked… "Eu sou brasileira!^^ Carioca, pra ser mais exata!^~ Meu nome é Danielle e tenho 20 anos!^~ Bom, dá uma olhada no meu profile... Fica mais fácil! ^-^" Well… For all of those that don't speak Portuguese that was just a reply to a dear Brazilian reader! *-* (Another one that reviews and it's from my beloved country! *-*) He (I think) asked me if I was 'brasileiro' which means Brazilian male also, and I replied that I am 'brasileira' Brazilian female!^~
Anyways… This chapter is dedicated to… Aoi-chan! 'Cause she is the an awesome Beta!^-^
Chapter 35
Everyone was already in the living room of our house. We were only waiting when Cain decided to begin to tell us about what was going on and why Bella had to leave.
"I'm sorry to make you wait so long, but I had to wait the time I agreed with Riff on, in order to be sure all the preparations were done and we could travel first thing tomorrow morning." Cain began to explain.
"Why do we need to travel?" Carlisle asked.
"Cain always has a reason, Mr. Cullen." Alastair reasoned.
"That I do, my friend." Cain said, smiling kindly at Alastair.
"What happened to Bella?" Esme asked, almost crying.
"It's not my story to tell you…" Cain said and sighed. "But I'll tell you all you need to know."
"Then please go on, Cain." Irina pleaded.
"The first thing you need to know is that Belladonna's parents were actually killed, well driven to suicide in Charlie's case." He stated and the whole room gasped. "The killer was the same one that killed her grandmother."
"And poisoned Bella…" I whispered.
"Exactly, Edward." He said and continued. "This killer is not acting alone, but I still don't know how many people are working with him."
"Why did Bella leave?" Esme asked, seeming afraid of the answer.
"Because she was blackmailed. She had to choose between your lives and hers." Cain explained.
"And of course she would choose to save ours lives…" Rose said and cried. "Especially since she found out that Emmett and I are going to have little Henry."
"Don't blame yourself, Rose." Emmett said sweetly.
"I think Edward was the main cause." Cain said, looking at me angrily.
"And he still acted like he was being abandoned." Rose said looking pissed at me.
"But how do you know all of this?" Carlisle asked.
"I got a letter from Celestine before she died, telling me all the information she had gathered so far and I knew Belladonna was the killer's target." He told us. "A few weeks later I received a letter from Belladonna. She disguised it as a recipe and used a code only she and I know. A code we used when we were children."
"Why didn't she just come to us?" Jasper asked.
"Jasper, wouldn't you blame Belladonna if you found Alice poisoned by the same spider that poisoned her?" Cain asked. "I wouldn't be here to make her an antidote, so she would suffer for days before her body got rid of the toxins."
Jasper remained silent, he knew he would blame Bella and that just made me angry.
"The killer threatened Alice's life?" Carlisle asked.
"It seems like your little pixie has a unique ability to feel things." Cain said smirking. "Of course that's just between us."
Jasper growled, surprising everyone. He normally was the one that could remain cool under any kind of pressure.
"That's fine, Jasper, we can trust him." Alice stated, caressing Jasper's arm.
"What did the letter say?" Emmett asked. It was strange to see Emmett serious and worried; he was always so funny and carefree.
"Cain, sorry for using something so old but I need your help. After my birthday I'll have to leave to the main house to meet the killer. I can't tell the family, he threatened to kill Alice. I know grandma wanted you to protect me, but please protect them first. Don't tell Edward under any circumstance. I don't think he'll kill me anytime soon, he wants me to suffer. If you can find a way to save me, I know I'm being selfish but I can only count on you… Please… don't come before the third day of my trip, or he'll suspect." He said, looking at us as if he was reading it all over again.
"She told you not to tell me under any circumstances…?" I asked as I felt my heart aching.
"She thought that you would want revenge if I found her dead." Cain said and sighed. "And I'm sure she was right."
"Obviously!" I almost shouted.
"See?" He asked. "That's why! She went away so you could live, stupid! If you found out, went after the killer and died, then all that she did would mean nothing!"
"He's right, Edward." Esme said sweetly. "Bella did all of this for us."
"She didn't have to! We can take care of ourselves!" I stated, trying my hardest in order not to shout at my mother.
"No you can't." Cain said. "Did you know that the killer didn't do his end of the deal? All of your rooms were filled with poisoned needles, just one of those and in two hours you would be dead."
"Impossible!" Carlisle gasped.
"That's why I waited this long." Cain said and smirked. "Riff was finishing collecting them. Show them."
"Sure." Riff replied with a bucket in his hand.
"Don't touch that, it's not water that's in it." Cain warned as I looked at the shallow bucket and saw a lot of needles.
"Why are the colored, Cain?" Alice asked.
"That's a creation from both me and Alastair, but he will explain it better." Cain replied.
"Well…Cain wanted to be able to identify some poisons that would be placed on metal objects…we spent two months trying different formulas and one day we created this…It doesn't tell what poison it is, but you can know how dangerous it is, by paying attention to the colors. These are all deep purple, which means highly dangerous poison." Alastair explained.
"There is only one category worse then deep purple." Cain said and smiled.
"Black." I stated as I looked at the bucket again.
"Exactly, and can you guess in which room it was found?" He asked.
"Mine." Alice said.
"Exactly, dear Alice." Cain said. "You are the person who scares him the most from what I can tell. You can predict things and his strong point is the surprise attack."
Everyone remained silent.
"What's your plan?" I asked. The silence was torturing me.
"I'll go make a visit to the main house." He began. "Alastair and Irina will remain here in London taking care of things. Irina is actually better than Alastair at administration, so she'll do Alastair's job at Carlisle's office. Alastair will represent Edward at parliament."
"What about us?" Esme asked.
"The story that Alastair and Irina will tell is that you went to the Reading house, since Edward is sick." Cain explained. "You'll use an alternate path to get to my house near the Swan's main house and you'll wait for me there. You must arrive at my house in five days using that path, while the normal one would lead you there in three and a half. But this way no one will think that you are actually going to my house."
"You said you're going to the main house…" I tried to say coolly. "So you're going to see her?"
"Probably not Edward." Cain replied.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I want to rescue her alive. This first trip to the house is only to make sure she's there and alive. But Riff will see her and will describe how she is to you." Cain vowed.
"Then what?" Rose asked.
"I'll go to where you'll be waiting for me as soon as I've gathered enough information or Belladonna's life gets threatened." Cain explained. "Alice, Edward and Jasper will have to come with me and Riff. Emmett and Carlisle will have to protect Rose, Esme and Mary."
"I want to go!" Rose shouted.
"You're pregnant! Think about the child that's inside of you and don't even try anything reckless!" Cain said seriously.
Rose began to cry in Emmett's arms as Emmett shot Cain a thankful look. There was no way Emmett would let Rose go to such a dangerous place, but he also didn't want her to hate him for telling her the truth. Cain really was a kind person.
Cain told us exactly how we would proceed and asked us to sleep in the living room that night, taking turns at the vigilance post. I was the first. As everyone else slept, I kept remembering the leads Bella gave me and how I was a fool for not noticing! I was too scared of her breaking our engagement off and didn't notice she was giving her life up for me to live.
Silly Bella, there is no life for me without you. I'd rather die with you than live another day without you by my side. I thought and sighed. I tried to remember when it all began. But I heard a small sound coming from the stairs.
No maid is allowed to go upstairs when it's past midnight. Something is up. I silently stood up and started to walk to the door.
"Wait." Cain whispered in my ear. "We'll catch this small rat, the trap is already placed and waiting for him…"
I heard a second sound from the stairs, much lower.
"Them." He corrected himself. "If you had gone we would have caught just one."
"WHAT IS THIS?" I heard the shouting coming from upstairs.
"Let's hope there were only two minor rats." Cain said. "Riff, bring them here."
"Sure." Riff immediately complied.
"What was all this?" Esme asked scared.
"Two rats getting caught in my trap!" Cain smirked as he answered the question.
The two rats were actually two opium addicted teenagers that wanted easy money. Bree and Riley were their names. Cain agreed to give them opium if they told who the one that paid them was. But Jasper wasn't so merciful; they were caught inside of Alice's room. Those kids wouldn't survive for long. Jasper sent a message to his friend Peter in the morning.
They'll be dead by the end of the day… I thought rather coldly, I would kill if needed to rescue my love, my life, so I couldn't blame Jasper for wanting to kill the one who tried to harm Alice's life, my sister and his fiancée.
Cain obtained from them the information that a woman named Victoria was the one who paid them. I shivered at the name.
The one Bella met the day Rose announced her pregnancy! I thought angrily.
We had been travelling for almost five days. I was in a carriage with Jasper and Alice, while Carlisle and Esme were riding with Rose and Emmett. The whole trip I could only try to place the puzzle pieces together. But I still couldn't understand who the killer was, surely someone who hated her family. I didn't know a thing about Bella's mother's family, so I started to wonder if it was someone related to her or maybe to her lover.
Wait, Edward! Maybe it's her mother's lover! I thought. Well, it was surely a possibility. But I decided that the killer and even his reason didn't matter, what mattered was that we rescued her. Cain is probably already there…How are you my Bella? I asked in my thoughts.
"Edward, she is still alive." Alice assured me, I guess that's why I'm riding with them. From time to time Alice would say that to me.
"I know, Alice." I told her. "She wouldn't leave me alone."
I didn't know if what I was saying was for her or for myself.
"I really mean it, Edward." Alice said, but didn't sound happy.
"What's wrong, Alice?" I asked desperately.
"I feel that she's losing her hope." My sister told me. I could feel my heart stopping for a moment. "The only thing that keeps her alive is thinking of you, Edward. We must do something quick."
"We will!" I decided to act even without Cain.
We got to his house a few hours later and I already wanted to leave again. Jasper was searching on the maps how to get to the Swan's main house.
"Impatient much, aren't you?" I heard Cain say as he walked into the living room.
"Alice said…" I began but he interrupted me.
"Mary saw her." Cain said.
"She was dying! There was blood everywhere!" Little Mary said between sobs.
"They barely feed her or give her water." Cain said and sighed. "They think they'll keep her alive for at least another month…but from what Riff saw, she won't last a week."
"Then we must act NOW!" I stated, nearly shouting.
"We will leave tomorrow morning." Cain stated calmly.
"How do you plan to get us in the house unnoticed?" Jasper asked.
"We'll use Belladonna's secret entrance!" He said and winked at Jasper, who shivered. If this situation wasn't so serious, I would have laughed and Emmett would've cracked a joke. "She used to use it to go get flowers for her mother even when she was grounded, so she never told Suzette about it. It will lead us to the library. I've mapped the library and the rest of the house out. Here is where they are keeping her." He said opening a map in front of us and pointing to a room in the middle of the west wing.
"What's the plan?" Jasper asked like he was talking to a superior officer.
"Edward, Jasper and Alice, the three of you will go directly to Bella's room, unnoticed! If someone notices our presence we'll lose, since Suzette is the head maid and probably will make the servants believe that we are robbers or something." Cain explained. "Once you have Bella, take her to the kitchen and order the maids to make her some light soup, she won't handle real food for a while."
"What will we do if there's someone inside the room with her?" Jasper asked.
"Kill." Cain said simply.
Jasper nodded and Alice asked. "Why?"
"If even one of them survives, they try some sort of revenge. I want my cousin to be free of the nightmares! You lived with her; you know what I'm talking about!" Cain stated and both Alice and I nodded.
"All of you should rest now." Riff told us. "Dinner will be served in a few moments."
"Cain, do you have a shooting practice area around here?" Jasper asked seriously.
"Yes, go out using the kitchen and you will find it easily. You'll find pistols and bullets there." Cain replied.
"Edward and Emmett, come with me." Jasper called, after nodding to Cain in appreciation.
We entered a closed room that had a sign with two pistols on the door. Jasper lit the candle lights and turned to us.
"We must practice shooting." He told us seriously. "Edward especially. Your aim is much better than a few months ago due to your intensive training, but you are still bad at it. Tomorrow it may make the difference between Bella living or dying. Actually any of us could die just because of a small mistake."
"What about me?" Emmett asked.
"You are the defense main line." Jasper said.
"I think if the defense line must be here, I'm also someone that has to be here." Carlisle stated. "I may be older than you, but my aim is better than Edward's and Emmett's."
Jasper blushed a little for not inviting Carlisle.
"Set the targets." Carlisle told Jasper seriously.
We trained hard. Carlisle was by far the best of us, he didn't miss an inch of the main target point all the ten times he shot. Jasper was the second best, Emmett the third and I was the worst.
"I think Bella would be better off if Carlisle went with you, Jasper." Emmett joked and I glared at him.
"Bella won't be fine if she doesn't see Edward." Carlisle replied gently, making me feel more at ease. The thought of seeing my Bella the following day was enough to make me stronger. I trained more than the others and when I stopped I had done 5 perfect shots and missed only one. It wasn't good, but not as bad as when I began. I placed my hand on my chest and felt Bella's necklace there. Our hearts were still beating together, I knew it.
That night I slept more peacefully as my dreams were about carrying Bella in my arms once again. I would never let her go again, even if she would hate me for it. I wasn't complete without her.
I'm coming to you, my love! I thought and wished she would hear me. Wait for me, I'm coming!
The morning came and Rose was still trying to convince Cain to let her go.
"Five people are already a lot, you count as two and Emmett is way too big to go unnoticed anywhere." Cain told her seriously.
"But I need to see her!" Rose cried.
"You'll see her tomorrow!" Cain assured her, his voice and expression showed no doubt. He was confident in our success.
Cain and Jasper spent the rest of the morning planning more strategy details. Esme and Rose were praying for our success. Alice was trying to concentrate on feeling the outcome of things. Emmett and Carlisle were getting to know the whole house.
I went to practice my shooting; I was already able to not miss a shot. But I had to go slow a little bit on my speed and concentrate on my aim. I would prove to Bella that our daughters would be able to learn how to shoot snowballs with me!
"Edward…" Alice called. "It's time, we can't wait another minute."
I jumped up and hurried to the carriage already waiting for us.
"Bring her back or I'll kill you!" Rose told me.
"We will." I told her and looked to the others, who smiled.
"You'd better." Rose stated, crying again.
"We won't disappoint you, Rose." Cain stated.
"Brother!" Mary cried.
"You can't come, Mary." Cain said sweetly.
"I wasn't going to ask you to come!" She said pouting. "I just want you to promise me to come back alive and well!"
Cain was surprised and started to blush a little. "I promise."
We saw our family disappear as the carriage began to go faster. Only half a day and I would be rescuing Bella. I looked at Alice and noticed she had a tense look on her face.
"What's wrong, Alice?" I asked her worriedly.
"I'm having a pretty bad feeling about Bella's condition right now. She is still alive, but barely… She lost her hope!" Alice cried. "She won't last more than a day like that!"
*****-*****
Another finished chapter! \o/
I hope your hopes were renewed!^~
Oh! And Cain didn't tell the Family all that Bella wrote on the letter, but that was all you needed to know!^~ 'Cause the rest of the content Cain's pov had already shared with you!^~
Time line:
Bella leaves ---(3 days later)--- The rest leave ---(1 day later)--- Bella arrives at the main house ---(3 days later)--- Cain gets to the main house ---(1 day later)--- Cain leaves the main house and the Family gets to Cain's house ---(Half a day later)--- Cain gets to his house ---(the following morning)--- Rescue team goes to the main house…
I hope you didn't even need this timeline… But if you needed, I hope you could understand the one I made!^~
OMG!!! 962 reviews!!! *-* 38 reviews to 1000! *¬* OMG!!! 266 alerts and 250 favs!!! *-* I'm almost freaking out here! LOL (In a good way, of course!) Thank you so much dear readers!!! *-*
Oh! Just so you don't worry… Next chapter is the rescue one!^~ It will be filled with twists! LOL
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