Hi Everyone.

Hope all my American readers had an amazing Thanksgiving... Hope everyone's holiday season will bring you much joy and happiness.

I want to thank everyone for reading, "Finding Home". I appreciate the comments, reviews and recs. And I want to thank the many people who place this story on alert or in their favorites that I can't PM. Just know, I thank you for giving my story a chance.

Okay, more …. let me thank am13er for introducing me to Fan Fiction... Thank you, Amber.

Back to being my own Beta. Linda is unable to edit, any longer. So, forgive any mistakes I may have overlooked. But, please, go read her story, Captain Howdy (#8065636).

And as always, Stephenie Meyer owns the characters. I just borrow them for a bit.
XOXOX

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Chapter 38: All the Villains in a Row
From previous chapter:

My phone rings. Since Esme has it in her hand, she extends it out to me. I look at the screen and up at everyone. "It's dad." I talk into my phone, "Dad?"

"I know you are up, my guys told me," Charlie bellows over the speaker. "Look, I'll be home tomorrow. Early... with your mother."

"What? Where are you? What's going on?" I barely get out.

"Don't leave that house!" he orders.

"Dad, why are you with mom?" I shake my head in disbelief.

"I'll explain everything tomorrow, Bella. But I want all of you to stay inside. More men are coming out." Charlie officially states. "Don't argue, Isabella Marie. I mean business."

"But Dad?"

He harshly grunts, "No, buts." He softens his voice, "I got to go. We'll see you tomorrow." The phone clicks dead.

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I pace back and forth. "God, I hate, when he does that!"

"You're going to run the rug down, again." Edward leans back in my chair, crossing his legs at his ankles.

I blush thinking of his remedy. "Edward, why is he with my mother? And where? This doesn't make any sense. Why would he be bringing her here?"

Mags pipes up, "Maybe, Renee` has some information."

I turn to look at Mags. "About what?"

"The investigation." Mags gets up and walks carefully. "I'm heading to bed. I can't watch you torture yourself. You'll know all in good time." She points at me. "And Charlie's on your side, kiddo. Remember that!" She toddles off to her room.

Esme adds, "She's right. Charlie wouldn't expose you to Renee`, unless there's something that would benefit you."

"Such a roller coaster ride, Bella." Alice shakes her head. "One minute you're a princess and the next..."

Jasper interrupts, "Maybe, Renee` found out about the blue blood thing and the Chief is heading her off, so you won't have a problem."

"We can speculate, until the sun comes up..." Edward gets out of the chair and walks over to the window and looks out. "But the Chief has doubled his protection. Something's up." He walks back over to my chair and drags me to sit with him. "I think your mom knows something."

"How could she?" I tiredly sigh.

Esme rises from the sofa. "Well, I'm going to bed, too. Unless you kids want anything."

Everyone says, "good night, good morning", whatever.

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When I worry, I either cook or clean. I know this isn't a "teenage" thing to do, but since Renee didn't do it ... well? I carefully move out of the chair and not disturb Edward with the kitchen as my destination. I leave my sleeping guy, as he breathes quietly in his deep slumber. His legs hang over the arm of the chair. His face so peaceful and serene. I kiss him lightly on the top of his head and cover him with a throw. He stirs a little, but crawls into a ball.
I head into the kitchen and see an officer by the back door. He turns to look at me and I open the it. "Hey, good morning."

"Morning, ma'am. You're up pretty early," he gruffs out.

"Sleeping wasn't an option." I smile. "I'm going to do some baking, but can I offer you a cup of coffee?"

""Well, as long as it's no trouble," he answers.

"How many are there of you?" I question.

"There's nine, including me. I'm from Port Angeles."

The shock goes through me, but I remain calm. "Oh, that many." I pause. "Do you know why you're out here?"

"We were assigned duty, ma'am. That's all I know is to protect the premises," he says cautiously.

I know that's all I'm going to get. "Well, let me get on that coffee and I'll bring it out to all of you."

He steps to one side. "Ah, I'll make sure everyone gets a cup, ma'am. Thank you."

I nod and go into the house and into the pantry to dig out the large coffee machine. As I turn around, I feel a hand on my back and look up at Edward's sleepy face. "Why are you up?" He takes the coffee maker from me.

"You weren't there," he rasps and places the coffee machine on the countertop.

I smile. "Thank you." I hug him around the waist, lean my cheek up against his back, squeeze him tightly and whisper, "I love you."

He turns me around, hands on my shoulders and bends to look eye to eye, "You okay?" His eyes shift from back and forth.

I kiss his nose. "Yeah, I'm good."

"You're not freaked out by all the cops?" He asks, as he pulls away.

I start fiddling with the coffee maker, cleaning it up. "Yeah, somewhat, since the one outside..." I point towards the back door. "... is from Port Angeles. I mean, Charlie had to get more officers to watch over us. Without an explanation, my mind is running all over the place."

"He's being cautious, Bella. Don't over think all of this," he warns.

"But Edward, what am I suppose to think? Charlie's not a reactionary kind of man. He's always so reserved and calm. Just look outside. We have nine very large men overseeing this house. Something is definitely wrong and not on a small scale," I huff out of breath.

My cell rings and I reach into my jeans back pocket. Looking at the screen, I see it's Charlie. "Yeah, Dad."

"Bella, three of the men will be escorting you, Esme and Edward to the station. The rest will remain at the house. See you in a few minutes." The line goes dead.

Edward asks, "What did he say?"

I look up at him. "Esme, you and I are going to the station." I toss my hands over my head. "With back up."

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The officers lead us single file down the long hallway to the conference room. As we walk, I fumble through my brain if I was ever in this area. As we pass each open door, people look up at us as we walk by. The first officer opens a door and I follow Esme and Edward, holding his hand and looking down at the floor.

The door clicks shut and I look up to find my mother sitting on the side of a long rectangular table. Our eyes meet and I examine her from head to toe in utter shock. Her face is plain, but small bruises are on her right side of her face. Still, no makeup. There are dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks are deeply hollow. Her hair is pulled back into a low ponytail with her gray roots showing through her centered part. She wears jeans and a black sweat shirt, too large for her small frame. There is no fancy jewelry, empty fingers and worn sneakers.

I finally notice Charlie standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders. With a frown, I glare at him. "What is shedoing here?" The venom in my voice strikes hard.

Renee` stares at me. She looks like a small child, fearful and uncertain.
She quietly whispers something into Charlie's ear and looks at me, again. "Bella, I'm sorry." Remorse is in her eyes.

I feel Edward wrap his arms around my waist and guide me to sit across from my mother. There are no words. I cannot speak, but only stare at her.

Charlie instructs, "Bella, I need you to listen. No interrupts or questions." I nod. "Okay, Renee`."

Charlie extends a chair out for Esme near Renee` and he sits between them.

My shell of a mother clears her throat and plays with her fingers. "I don't expect you to feel sorry for me. I don't deserve anything from you. I certainly didn't make your life easy, Bella. But I didn't want you to be unhappy. And I am so sorry for all the trouble."

"What do you know about all the trouble? What did you do?" I shout.

"Bella!" Charlie orders, "Not a word. Just listen."

I sigh, lean my head on Edward's shoulder and stare at her. He whispers, "It's okay" in my ear and wraps an arm around me.

She shakily continues. "I never meant for things to happen as they did. I only wanted to know what was going on. You wouldn't talk with me. And I understand that. I really do." She sniffs and tears fall down her cheeks. "I'm selfish. I was greedy. I always wanted more." She looks at Charlie. "I didn't appreciate what I had." Charlie bows his head. "And I messed up."
She wipes the tears with her open hands. "You were always so independent." She laughs. "Ha, you were more the parent and I was the child. Before Phil..." She emotionally cries, but stops herself with a hand over her mouth. "You did everything for me. You were twelve years old, when you balanced my checkbook, while writing out our bills."

I watch her fall apart and fall apart inside, as my tears roll down my face.
Edward squeezes me tighter and I grab his hand for support.

"Bella, I sent those two bumbling idiots into Charlie's house," Renee` confesses. "I just wanted to know what was going on."

"So, you ransack our house?" I question and I stare hard at Charlie. I point at him. "Don't you dare tell me to be quiet!" My father lowers and shakes his head. "Why? And why are you here with your pathetic confession?"

"I watched for days like a stranger on the outside," she mumbles.

"What were you watching?" I shreek.

"You. With your boyfriend." She nastily spits, "And Esme!" She coughs. "I saw everything. I saw what you did to James."

"You know James?" I ask dumbfoundedly.

And Esme turns pale and hisses, "Oh my God."

Edward finally blurts out, "What?"

"You. It was you the whole time. And I wondered why James stopped bothering me. Carlisle thought his warnings were what did it. But it was you, Renee`. Dear God, always a competition with you." Esme groans.
"We were teenagers. And now, you still hold onto these stupid jealousies?"

"I wasn't jealous. But I did finally win. James got tired of you and wanted me. Well, for a little while. Charlie was too busy. Charlie was never home. James and I were lonely. He became a good friend. And when I got the courage to leave, he gave me the money to run. We stayed friends, throughout the years." Renee` shrugs. "But I stopped all contact, when I married Phil."

"You make me sick," I moan.

She straightens herself up in the chair, squaring her shoulders. "I did what I had to do. I hated this town and I wanted more. I just went about it all the wrong way. And, now, I am paying the price."

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"James wanted a favor. He called in his marker with me. And I didn't have a choice," she cries. "I had to pay up."

As Renee` hysterically sobs, I look at Charlie.

He somberly sighs and focuses in on me. "Phil is... missing. When Renee` refused James to use you as leverage, he resorted to strong arm persuasion. Your mother was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"And you're defending her, Dad?" I shake my head.

"No, Bella." He sounds so weary. "She made many mistakes. But she wouldn't sell you out. James wanted money. And he extorted plenty from your mother. She gave him all she could get without Phil getting suspicious of her large withdrawals. But he found out about James' threats and took matters into his own hands."

"I don't understand. Why did James need so much money?"

"He had so many bad investments," Renee` mumbles. "He stole money from Carlisle." Renee` looks at Esme. "Yeah, your good natured husband helped James out, because he felt guilty for taking you away from him... so James lead him to believe. But when James dipped too far into your personal accounts, he panicked. He wanted to scare Carlisle. His intent was not to kill him, despite his jealousy. But when Carlisle died, everything else started to follow. He got caught up with other bad investments. He managed a few seedy dealers and lost their money. James had his back to the wall. He owed too many people and his business was slipping through his hands." She whispers, "He was desperate."

"And that leaves us with his mess," Charlie adds. "That's why I allowed you kids to go to England. I needed you safe and out of the way." He shakes his head. "But I should have known better that you'd find trouble to get into, Bella."

"Hey, I didn't ask for Sybil's mess, either." I defend myself. "So, where do we go from here?"

"I keep you close and the enemies closer," Charlie snorts.

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So where do we go from here? Who put the pressure on James? Who has Phil? And are we sympathetic towards Renee`?

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A/N: We are almost at the end of this story. November 16th placed us at the year mark. Yeah, time really flies. And this Bella and Edward will have their HEA.

But look for the new story, "Under My Nose", a romantic comedy... Coming very soon in December!

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