Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

"So, this is all of it?"

Kate Denali rolled her eyes.

"Well, what the fuck did you expect? It's a new millennium, genius. The stack of papers you were expecting is all in that USB," Kate huffed, leaning back in her chair. Prison had been kind to her: she was still as pristine as ever, looking like a porcelain doll in a jumpsuit. In all probability she'd made everyone around her her bitch instead of letting someone do it to her. Rose sighed, looking down at the USB in her hands.

"What I meant was, this is all the evidence there is? There's no hidden information elsewhere or something like that?"

Kate sighed, and her face read that she couldn't believe someone so stupid existed.

"Look. That's all I have. If I had more, I'd give it to you -not because I like you, but because I hate that little shit. My enemy's enemy is my friend and all that bullshit. Now, are we done? I left right in the middle of a game of poker."

Rose quirked an eyebrow at that, but otherwise didn't reply to that.

"Yeah, we're done, Kate. Thanks for your help."

Kate's lips lifted in what seemed to be a smile, but it was much too cold to think it one. Rose hid a shudder.

"Niet, durak. I am not helping you. I am profiting off of you, just as you do with me. Make no mistake about it."

Then the guards took Kate Denali away, and that was the last interaction the two women would ever have.

"Chai tea for Roise!" The barista called out, and a fuming Royce walked up to the counter to retrieve his beverage. He wasn't even gonna try anymore to correct the dumb-as-rocks woman that usually handed him his drink in the mornings; he'd tried for well over a month to emphasize that his name was Royce, but that had only seemed to make the woman more set on calling him by the wrong name.

"Thanks," Royce bit out, repeating in his head that it was frowned upon to hit people in public. To hit people at all, right.

The barista gave him a bright smile, but Royce knew better. She was full of shit and she enjoyed making him suffer. He'd met enough people in his life with the same hobby to recognize the sardonic smile anywhere.

"Have a nice day!" The barista called out, and he resisted the temptation of giving her the finger. He still had another two days to go before he was out of this country for good, and he didn't want her spitting in his coffee tomorrow.

"I'll fucking have a nice day if I want to," Royce muttered to himself, walking out of the Starbucks with a briefcase in one hand and his tea in the other. Sighing, he turned right; he needed to go home to hash out the last details of his virus.

"Good morning, Mr. King," a heavily accented voice said behind him, almost making him drop his tea. Fuck, he should've known better; always look around when you exit a store. But when he'd left his house, nobody had bothered him. When he'd arrived at the nearby internet café (their coffee was shit so he didn't buy anything there) to print some... less than legal... stuff, nobody had bothered him either. So he'd been too confident just now, which had earned him a meeting with the unpleasantness that was Sasha Denali.

The cunning snake that had given up her own daughters.

"Sasha," Royce greeted with his own fake smile, turning to face her. He wasn't as good with pleasantries as she was, nor as good at pretending to be a human being. "What are the odds that I'd find you here?"

50/50, he thought. He thought each day she made the conscious decision about whether or not to bug the shit out of him.

"Slim, I am sure," Sasha smiled, and he had to admit hers looked quite real. He'd almost think they were friends if it wasn't for the two heavily muscled, probably heavily armed men behind her. "How do you do, Mr. King?"

Royce cleared his throat and straightened his back.

"Better now than a year ago. Let's cut the crap, Sasha. What are you doing here? In plain sight, no less?"

Her smile widened.

"Just making sure everything is ready for tomorrow. Are you done with your programming yet?"

He sighed in annoyance.

"I told you, yesterday night, that I only have a couple of codes left to run. It'll just be today, and then I'm done. Is that good enough for you?"

Sasha gave one step closer, and that was when Royce noticed how cold her eyes were. While his couldn't hide his disdain, hers couldn't hide her lack of soul.

"I have given you almost a year, Mr. King, to do this. I am a patient woman, as you have seen, but even I have my limits. The only reason I haven't lost faith in you is because I am confident this will be an excellent, thorough job. Or am I wrong?"

Royce clenched his briefcase's handle tightly, reminding himself once more not to snap.

"No, you're not wrong. It'll be ready tomorrow by four o'clock."

"Good," Sasha said, snapping her fingers. "Now if you'll excuse me, Mikhail and Sergei have somewhere to accompany me. Good luck, Mr. King."

Then the Russian woman was gone, leaving in her wake a man shaking in rage and determination.

"So? When will the papers be done?" Bella asked Alice excitedly; the two were having breakfast in a bakery shop near Alice's. It was a Saturday morning, and Edward had taken Flynn for a haircut and their own father-son breakfast. It was too cute.

"Next month," Alice said, and she was shaking so much on her seat that Bella started wondering if the sheer movement could be enough energy for a powerhouse. 'Excitement' was putting it mildly. "Oh Bella, Jazz and I are so happy about Ian and Zach. They're adorable, the two of them, and such good brothers already. You're gonna love them, too."

Bella smiled happily, incredibly happy for her old best friend's addition to her family. The twins was all Alice seemed to be able to talk about, but Bella didn't mind. She understood where her friend was coming from.

"You're gonna be such a good mother, Al. Truly," Bella said, and though Alice knew that she meant it, she also saw that Bella's smile was troubled.

"What is it, Bells? Something bothering you?"

Bella sighed, nodding. Alice had always been a perceptive little thing.

"Edward says he wants to go back to work. I'm glad for him, I am, but... it feels like he couldn't wait to get back to work. To escape from Flynn and I, in a way. And I know, I know; that's not what he means by it. But it's not the same for my head and my heart to know these things. Not to mention he said if he doesn't go back, he'll feel inadequate," Bella stirred the tea in front of her, pursing her lips in deep thought.

"Bella, my brother had a tree trunk stuck so far up his ass for almost all of his life that it's honestly quite impressive he's managed to last as long as he has without going to work. But just put yourself in your shoes, yeah? He was in jail for three years. He had everything taken away from him, including his girlfriend, son and company. Everything he worked hard to get was gone in a matter of minutes. Right now, he's probably just trying to regain everything. Trying to reassure himself that he's still worth as much as he used to before shit hit the fan." Alice said, sipping from her coffee.

"I know what you're saying Alice, I do. But it's not easy hearing that you're not-"

"Isabella," Alice snapped, growing annoyed. "This isn't about you. It's about Edward. Just about my brother and him getting his bearings back. He's still crazy in love with you and I know like I know Jasper's ass crack that you don't for a second believe he somehow wants to get away from you. Stop looking for trouble where there isn't and just be happy he's not getting holed up again."

Bella grumbled out a few 'fuck you's.

"Fuck you for being rational," Bella mumbled, biting into her croissant petulantly. "Hope you're better at consoling the twins than your friends."

Instead of taking it in a bad way, Alice took the comment the way Bella had intended -an invitation to start talking again about her adoptive children. And so she returned to the subject, Bella's inner struggles forgotten.

"I'm telling you this is a bad idea," Jake groaned, dragging his feet as his boss pushed him out of the office.

"No, it's not. It's a wonderful idea but you can only implement it by actually getting your ass out there and not procrastinating here," Bella snapped, two seconds away from sticking her heel up her secretary's ass.

"But it's rainy and Ness hates the rain. What if-"

"Jacob Black," Bella snapped in her boss tone, bringing him to a stop in front of the company's elevator. "If you don't ask Vanessa to marry you today, as you'd planned, I'm gonna give you so much work for three months you'll forget who Ness even is. Crystal?"

Jake pouted, the doors to the elevator opening in that moment. Bella shoved him in.

"Clear," he whined, giving her sad eyes as the doors closed in front of him.

"Ya ninny," Bella huffed, smacking her hands together and then laying them on her hips, satisfied with a job well done. Going back to her office, she left the door behind her half-open. She was expecting Edward to come pick her up any moment now, as he usually did on Mondays.

Flash! Ah-ah! Savior of the universe!

What? Bella liked Queen and she thought the song was funny to have as ringtone for her boyfriend. Her humor could sometimes be a little odd.

"Hey handsome."

"Hey cutie pie. You done already?"

"Five minutes, but you can start heading up. I kicked Jake out, so you can be my stand-in secretary," Bella teased. There was a knock on the half-open door. "Hold on a moment, someone's knocking."

Bella put her phone down without hanging up, and she called for the person to come in. She heard Edward mumble something on the phone, but she couldn't make out what it was.

"Hello, Ms. Swan. How do you do?" Royce King asked, grinning a wide, sick smile as he stepped into Bella's office. "I assume well, since you've got your boyfriend back. How you managed to convince you to want you after that betrayal is beyond me, but hey, fool him twice and he's just a dumb fuck, right?" Royce asked rhetorically, giving another step inside. Bella gave a step back.

"Y-You... H-h-"

Smiling coldly, Royce suddenly brought out a handgun he had tucked underneath his suit jacket. With a surprisingly steady hand, he pointed at a petrified Bella. She wasn't sure about guns, but she thought that perhaps that particular one had a muffler. So, nobody would hear her go.

"I'm sure you'll understand this was nothing against you, Ms. Swan, but against Mr. Cullen. Taking away his company didn't end him, but killing you?" He chuckled, making a chill go through Bella. "That most certainly will."

Hey people! So, as you can probably feel, this story is coming to an end soon. I'm talking one or two more chapters and an epilogue, and then we're done. About time, don't ya think? I mean, the word count might not be off the charts, but for me 39 chapters is a record and exhausting. And for the billionth time, sorry for the late update. I will do my very best to try and put out the next one in maximum three weeks, but I make no promises. Maybe I'll manage it faster, maybe not. Real life and other stories (hehe) get in the way. But I am quite embarrassed that I didn't update in so long, that was never the plan. In any case, thanks for your continued support!

Leah.