As I arrived to the location, and was told which door to open, I couldn't help the nerves I suddenly began to feel. So, I hesitated for a moment, wondering if it okay to be here or not.
While wondering if its alright to do this or not.
I had just gotten the courage to go inside when I heard my brother's familiar voice speak.
What the hell was he doing in there?
"Did you ever explain to my sorellina the situation with the Valentorins all those years ago?" I heard my brother ask.
'Tell me what?' I wondered, feeling confused and surprised.
"Err...no?" Anthony replied, sounding confused.
What is going on?
"So you let Isa keep thinking you lied to her all this time?" Emmett asked in surprise.
Lie? More lies?
"No, it's not that I didn't want to try. Its...well, she phased me out. She changed her number, ignored me every time we did see each other, and … she thought I was fucking around with Thanya, then with Maria and her cousin...that shit is gross." Anthony replied, disgusted.
His response made me feel guilty, amused, and relieved all at once. Fuck! Maybe I should have listened to Jasper...
"What exactly did happen with Maria and her cousin Netty?" Emmett asked.
Fuck. Maybe I should leave? Something seemed to be stopping me from doing so though.
"I already told you, that I ran in to her on the street. She asked me to look at business proposition for her, and when she and Netty came down to the office they fucking ambushed me. Isa walked in and lost it, I lost my temper too, shit had I known that it was a fucking ambush, I would have fucking refused to see them at all." Anthony replied, annoyed.
"I told you that was a bad idea," Jasper chanted.
Hm...So, that's what happened all those years ago.
No wonder Jasper seemed so cheerful now. The fucker knew how I would react.
Hmmm. It seems someone else was about to get welcoming souvenir as well.
As I thought this, I suddenly heard someone speak from behind me causing me to jump a foot in the air.
"Se hai intenzione di parlare con lui, forse entrare nella stanza sarebbe di aiuto." Nonno Mason said, scaring the crap out of me. (If you are going to talk to him, perhaps walking into the room would help.)
"Oh merda! Mi hai spaventato!" I gasped, turning to face him. (Oh shit! You scared me!)
"Linguaggio!" He snips, the corners of his lips pulling up. (Language!)
"Sorry." I reply, rolling my eyes at his amusement
"Ah, so you're dropping your shenanigans and ready to speak like the adults you are?" He snips.
"I'm pretty sure you would have had the same reaction if you were in my position. The way I see it, he is lucky I aimed right instead of left." I remark.
"Of that dolcezza, I have no doubt." He asserts, as he pushes me towards the door.
He nods in encouragement before he turns to leave.
I take a deep breath before I steel myself, and turn the knob, pushing the door open and quickly stepping in, before closing it and locking it behind me.
As I do, I hear the room go silent.
"Isa?"
'No, it's Saint Lucy.' I think, rolling my eyes at him.
"Sore, what are you doing here?" Emmett asked.
"I'm here for some answers." I respond, walking to the corner and sitting in the chair Jasper vacated.
The room grew silent as all four men stared at me nervously.
"Answers? Answers to what?" Emmett asked, raising a brow.
"I know about the Oath." I say, sitting back.
From the corner of my eyes I can see Anthony twitch on top of the cot. While Jasper coughs into his fist to cover his amusement.
"Either you tell me everything you have been hiding from me since the few months after we made the Oath or I'll shoot you again and this time I won't miss." I promise, watching as all four of them cupped their groins and gulped nervously.
I waited, lifting my skirt up a little and pulling out my knife before I pulled it back down, and then proceeding to pull my gun from my back.
"Any takers?" I asked, clicking the safety off. "Going once...going twice…" I say and quick shoot a round to the corner of the room, to show them I'm not messing around.
"Easy!" Emmett exclaims, eyes wide.
"We'll tell you all you want to know, but put the weapons away before security rushes in here." Jasper says, amused.
"Jazz, if you don't stop smiling, you'll be the next person I shoot." I snip, before I click the safety back on and slip it back in place, but leave my knife out.
"Alright…" he mutters, pouting.
"What exactly do you know?" Carlisle asks after brief silence.
"The meaning of the Oath. How Anthony, no, Edward, because that's your name, isn't it? Edward Anthony? How we have both been practically married for the last five years!" I shout, anger getting the best of me.
"I'll take this." Jasper says suddenly next to me, peeling my fingers from around the hilt of my knife.
"Asshole." I mutter, pouting as he take me knife, patting my hand before walking back to the corner.
"Look, I wasn't going to keep it from you, but my Nonno and my father felt it would be best if I didn't tell you." Edward says.
"What about me? What about what I felt, huh? Do you have any fucking idea how betrayed I feel? Hurt? Angry? You promised me no more lies, so why the fuck does it seem that everything you ever say is a lie to me?" I ask, tears forming in my eyes.
"We only did it to protect you…" he whispers, his head hanging down.
"That's the thing, had you only done it to protect me, I would have understood. You, your father, and your Nonno have taken my choice away from me, and I don't think you fully understand what you have done." I reply, tearfully.
"Isa…" he murmurs, staring at me in the eye. "Perdonami." He mutters. (Forgive me)
"No." I say, shaking my head at him and looking away. Trying to reign on my emotions.
"I need to know what else happened after I moved out…" I whisper, looking down at the tiled floor beneath my shoes.
"Our father found out that Sulpicia's father had compromising dirt on us…" He revealed.
I stared up at him surprised. "Viktor Valentorin had compromising information?" I asked.
Oh no. Then that meant…
"He forced you to entertain that bitch didn't he?" I asked, standing up and heading for the door without waiting for a response.
That made me feel less guilty about killing her. Though… It seems I was right, someone else was getting a welcoming souvenir.
"Woah. Woah. Woah. Where do you think you're going?" Emmett asks wrapping his arms around me, lifting me off the ground.
"Let go of me, you buffoon!" I growl. "Lasciami andare, bugiardo!" I growl again, thrashing and kicking wildly, feeling as my heel connected to something.(Let go of me, liar!)
"Sore, either you are going to calm down, or I will knock you out." My brother threatened.
"Like hell I will!" I growled back, throwing my head back, feeling as his arms loosened enough for me to get out of them.
I swiftly landed on my feet, and quickly pull out my gun and click the safety off, swiftly shooting him on his left thigh.
"You bitch!" He wailed, clutching his leg in agony.
"Next time, I'll shoot you in the balls." I remark, sitting back down.
"Will you two calm the fuck down?" Jasper asks, rolling his eyes at us.
"She shot me!" He complained, in a high pitched voice.
"It serves you both right. I warned you, the both of you, that Isa isnt going to be too happy when she finds out everything that happened these past five years. Come on, how would you react if all this bullshit was sprung on you guys suddenly?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Now, let's continue before someone else gets shot." He said, ignoring my bitch brow.
"What happened after I moved out?" I asked, hesitantly.
"Nothing. My dad's guys took longer than ever to get the information back, and did a little digging on their own." Edward replied tiredly.
"Why didn't any of you think to inform me of this occurrence? I could have helped!"
"Isa, what exactly were you going to do? Shoot Viktor? Kill him?" Jasper questioned
"No, but I fucking happened to know one of his daughters and I am not talking about Silpicia, Didyme or Athendora…" I reveal.
All four of them looked up at me surprised.
"Explain please." Edward said, sighing tiredly.
"Thanya, Katherina, and Irina were Valentorin too." I clarified. "Thanya being the youngest and pigheaded. While Irina and Kathy or Kate were way twins fraternal but twins all the same." I replied.
"How did you know?"
"I met Kathy in the school orientation… after your family took down her parents...she came to me." I reveal, smiling at their surprise.
"You…!"
"Look, your family seems to think fear will get you everything. You think because someone did you wrong that someone else won't retaliate because of the name you bear. Well, your wrong. In my opinion knowledge is power." I say.
They all stared at me confused, waiting for a further explanation.
"Just what exactly do you think happened to Irina and Kathy?" I finally ask.
When none of them answered, I continued.
"Irina got married to some guy named Laurent, she is now dead. Your guys killed them. They were my neighbors...and you killed them." I murmured.
"Kathy as far as I know met a man. His name is Garrett Matthews. I'm not going to reveal where they are, but your Nonno knows." I finally say.
"Isa, you were supposed to stay out of this world…" Edward complains.
"Did you honestly think that I would stay untouched? Just who do think was called when a female was involved and they need information extracted? Who do you think gets their hands dirty?" I asked, standing up.
"I promised you that you could leave!"
"How was I supposed to leave when I felt like I was being torn in two?! How could I when every time I walked out I didn't know if it would be the last time I would see you?!" I cried. "You don't know what it's like to see someone else by your side and wish it was someone else!"
'Isa, calm down. Your losing your grip on everything.' I think, taking a deep breath.
"Nothing happened between Thanya and me." He said, wrinkling his nose in disgust.
"What about Nettie and Maria?" I asked, unable to hide the scowl that formed on my lips.
Even though I already knew what happened.
"They ambushed me! I swear it! I would rather be dead than fuck around with the STD transporters." He mumbles in disgust, shuddering again.
Causing me to giggle at his uncomfortable expression.
"Wait. Hang on, so how is it that you, you know, came back?" Edward asked me as Carlisle looked over Emmett and the bullet wound.
I watched for a moment entranced as Carlisle cut the fabric of his slacks of his leg and injected something into his leg.
"It's just a flesh wound. The same as Edward's." He muttered, clearly amused.
"I never really left. I just moved out of the house." I muttered, looking at the ceiling.
I could feel their shock from where I sat, but kept my eyes on the coved ceiling design. Interested in the point where dark met light in the corners, ceiling, and walls.
"What happened with Thanya and Sasha?" He asked.
"Your mother took care of Sasha...she was brutal…" I comment, unable to stop the shudder that flows through me as I remember what Elizabeth had done to Sasha.
"Thanya seemed very confident she and her mother would survive, kept provoking me...so I played with her like I did with Lauren…" I say, shrugging.
The images of the afternoon suddenly clouding my mind.
"How did she die?" He asked.
I blinked back into the present, shaking my head of the memories.
"She asphyxiated." I answered, emotionlessly.
Jasper looked at me, raising an eyebrow in question.
Truth was no one but the two other people who were there in the room with me knew what happened.
I hated that this had become a second nature to me.
"Isa…"
My head was beginning to spin as I thought about everything I had done without so much as a blink of an eye.
"What?" I replied, loudly.
"Who…?" Edward asked me, his fist clenched as he stared me down, making me feel smaller than I was.
"I had to do it…" I said, tearfully.
"Isa, calm down. Ed you can't pressure her like this. Look at her!" Jasper interrupted, taking my hand into his, in a soothing gesture.
"Louisa Cantúr…" I whisper.
Emmett gasps, looking at me in surprise.
"Why?"
"She befriended me one day at the gym. I thought she was nice enough. Anyways, it was late one night, and my car broke down… so, I decided to walk home." I whispered, thinking back to that night. "I realized I was being followed, I didn't think I just acted." I continued.
"Who was it?" Edward asked.
"Ramiro and Santiago Cantúr…"
"The Spaniards?" Edward asks confused.
"They had seen us together before. Figured I was important to you...so they ordered a hit on me. Louisa was supposed to kidnap me, and hold me hostage, call the famiglia, then kill me."
"That night I felt weird, out of sorts...so, I called Jasper. When Iago and Miro, began following me, Seth and Demitri quickly neutralized them while Jasper met me with Gabriella a block away so he could be there while I neutralized Louisa."
"What we didn't anticipate for her to go down kicking and screaming…" I muttered shaking my head in disbelief.
"What happened? Were you hurt?" Edward asked, anxiously. "Where was I?" He asked confused.
I feared he was about to topple over when he heard what happened.
"She shot Gabriella down," Jasper answered before me. "You were on a business trip. In Orlando." He added.
"That was the first time I almost lost it. I shot her, twice. Luckily I didn't get any vital parts." I whisper.
"Why wasn't I informed?" He asked.
"There was no need. Besides, that was the night Emmett, Aro, Carl and you were targeted. Don't you remember? Emmett had a broken clavicle, you had a shattered arm, Carlisle had a broken leg and Aro almost died!"
"What information did you manage to get from Cantúr?" Carlisle asked.
"They were trying to overthrow the famiglia. They wanted to infiltrate but failed so they started trying to pick us off, one by one." Jasper began.
"Your father sent them a lovely admonition." I finished, smiling at the memory.
Edward's POV:
I couldn't believe my ears.
How is this possible?
I had done everything possible within my power, yet I still felt like an utter failure.
My sweet Isabetta had indeed been infected by the malice and darkness of this world.
I felt the irrational emotion of jealousy as my brother, Jasper and Isa finished explaining to us what happened after the Cantúrs attacked.
It seems I have to kiss ass to more than one person.
"Why did you do it?" I asked her, as Carlisle and Jasper went to grab Emmett and me something to eat, leaving Isa and I alone to talk while Emmett snoozed off the sedative.
"Do what?" She asked, blinking back into the present.
"You had a chance to live normally, and you left it to save us again. Why?"
She sighed, leaning her head against the wall behind the chair. "Because I will do anything to protect my family…even kill." She answered fiercely.
"You shot me," I stated, looking at her.
She wiggled in the chair again, causing the asymmetrical dark red skirt to shift up slightly, revealing the creamy skin of her thighs. While the platform sandals made her smooth slender legs look long. Her painted toenails peeking through the tip, almost glistening as the fluorescent lights shined down on them.
"...and you lied to me. So, we're even." She commented dryly, suddenly moving forward to reveal the thin, white gold chain that hung around her neck.
But that wasn't what caught my eye, it was the two rings that hung on it.
Two familiar rings. Ones that I never thought I'd see again.
I'm almost choked with overwhelming emotions that hit me along with the memories.
She kept them. The rings we got after I took her to the prom, and just before I left back for school.
I had originally gotten her the first ring as a seventeenth birthday present. It was a one-carat blue sapphire and white topaz, white gold thin band ring.
Inside was the inscription 'Will u still luv me in d mrnin'?' Along with '4evr & evr babe'
It reminded me of the movies we would watch every Friday. Specifically the movie 'Click' which is where we got that line from.
The simple silver, baguette-cut ring that contained our birthstones on it.
She refused it when I first offered it to her, stating that I had to promise to call her every day, that we would never stop being friends.
I stated that I'd only be away during the week and that I would call her every chance I got.
Sneaky minx that she is, she ended up getting me a band too. It was a klines black ceramic ring with deep, dark, sapphire blue and deep, dark purple inlay with a sapphire and alexandrite settings. It had the same inscriptions as hers did.
Though I hated it at first, because of the ridicule I received from my brothers, I couldn't part with it. It was like having a piece of my Isabetta with me everywhere I went.
I have never taken it off. Not since the day we finally went after the Ukranians. It sits on my right hand, on the third finger, where it has been for the last five years.
"You kept the rings?" I ask her, surprised, clearing my throat.
I need to figure out how to make this failure up to her. I just had to.
I realized then, that I don't deserve her. How could I deserve her when all I have done is hurt her, and caused her pain?
"Of course, I did. I never stopped believing…in the promise you made me the night of my senior prom." she said, pulling the rings upon her small, delicate fingertips.
I could see a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips.
"You remember that?" I asked, feeling myself begin to smile in response.
"How can I ever forget that night?" She sighed, jiggling the two rings in the palm of her hand.
"What exactly did you two do on your prom night, sorellina?" My brother suddenly asked, drowsily.
Panic shot through me as I stared at her, wide-eyed, as Emmett waited for an answer.
"You don't need to worry your pretty little head about that, fratellino di cuore." She responds, smiling, knowingly at me.
"My ass, I don't! What happened?" He insisted.
"That night ...Edward and I made a promise…he also stole my first kiss." She said, grinning at my panicked expression.
"You— what!" He jolted up into sitting position, jolting his leg in the process.
"Easy!" She said, standing up and heading to his side as he groaned in pain.
She swiftly grabbed the syringe that held the medication in it and injected it into the injection port of the IV, Carlisle was administering antibiotics through.
Hence why we were all still in this room.
I watched as Emmett swiftly went back to sleep.
"Why didn't you tell him?"
As she turned to me, I could see that her skirt had gone up again, once again giving me the sight of the creamy skin on her thigh.
"Do you want him and everyone else to kill you? Because that's what's going to happen if they find out." She stated, as she pulled down her skirt, and sat down, crossing her ankles.
The movement gave me a perfect view of the delicate chain that adorned her left ankle.
"They're going to kill me either way," I muttered.
"I warned you that would happen." She chanted, as Jasper and Carlisle walked in along with my father, and Nonno and Isa's Nonno.
"We wish to speak to the both of you." Isa's Nonno said.