Hopefully this'll update properly! I'm currently house sitting and unfortunately the house is way back in the woods. The reception is terrible! Hopefully you get to enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Fifty-Seven

After spending two weeks locked in the guestroom, I got a bit antsy. Even though I didn't want to face Edward, I found myself leaving the room to do stuff.

I still hadn't seen Edward. I kept looking at my phone, wondering if he'd text me. I wanted to ask him what was going on, but I didn't want to open that bridge of communication just yet.

I was in the kitchen, baking of course, when Edward walked in. I kept my back to him and just focused on mixing.

"The police need to talk to you," Edward said.

"About what?" I asked.

"About the bakery. They've reviewed the tapes. Now they need to speak with you."

"When?"

"Today, if possible." He said.

"Alright fine." I put the spoon down and turned to him, "I'm not doing anything. Let's just go."

He nodded and walked out to the garage. I followed. Silently we drove to the police station. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. The police only ever brought you in for questioning if they suspected you of a crime.

"You don't have to worry." Edward said, picking up on my nervousness.

"I'm not."

"Because we work very close with the police," He said, "I know all of them. It's just a formality. A show for the fire marshal. But they know you didn't have anything to do with the fire."

"Mmm," I said, "And what did the tapes show?"

"I'm not sure yet. They're going to talk to us first."

He pulled into the station and walked me in. He tried to place a hand on my back, but I pulled away from him. I didn't want him touching me. Not now.

"Mr. Cullen," the officer said, "Good to see you."

He nodded at the officer, "You as well. We're here to see Ted."

"Of course. He's right back there, you can go see him."

We walked back into an office, where a large officer was sitting. He looked up and smiled at Edward.

"It's so good to see you, Edward."

"It's good to see you too, Ted," he said, "This is Bella my… the woman whose bakery burned down."

He almost introduced me as his fiancé. A twinge of pain surged through my chest. I brushed it off as best as I could.

"Ah yes," he stood and shook my hand, "I'm so sorry for the loss of your business. I'm sure it hasn't been easy."

"It hasn't."

Edward and I sat down in front of his desk. I crossed and uncrossed my legs nervously. I'd never been in front of a cop who wasn't my dad before. It felt strange.

"We've reviewed the tapes and we can go ahead to rule out you. You had several alibis that night." Ted said.

I nodded, "So, I'm not a suspect?"

"Not at all," He said, "But we do want to go over what we found on the tapes. We've found the person who started the fire."

"Who is it?"

Ted opened a folder and slid three pictures across the table. I looked down at them. It didn't take me long to identify who this was.

"Son of a bitch," Edward said.

"Do you know this person?"

I slowly nodded, "Yeah… that's Riley."

We quickly left the police station after that. I think I was in shock, Edward had to lead me to the SUV. We were driving back to the house when I finally got over my shock.

"I want to go see Riley," I said.

"Let me take you home."

"No, I said I want to go see Riley," I snapped, "You take me to his apartment now!"

"Bella he could be dangerous! I'll pick him and I'll question him."

"Edward listen to me now," I snarled, "You take me to see him. I need to talk to him myself. I need to know why he did this!"

Edward slammed his fists against the steering wheel, "Fine! We'll go see him. But if I see anything suspicious—,"

"We'll leave." I said, "Take me there."

Riley lived outside of the city in a small apartment near his college. He always took the bus when he came into work, so I couldn't be sure if he was home. I had only been to his apartment once, but I still remembered which one it was.

I beat on the door before Edward could. A few seconds later, Riley opened it.

"Bella what—,"

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. I had punched him in the mouth. He fell backwards slightly. I shoved the door open and walked in.

"You burned my bakery down!" I yelled at him.

"Bella please," He said, looking up at me with wide eyes.

I quickly got on my knees and grabbed him by the shirtfront, "Tell me why you did it! You fucking tell me!"

"Because they were going to kill my dad!" He said, breathing heavily.

"What?"

"A man said that he was going to kill my dad if I didn't do it."

"Get off of him Bella," Edward said as he pulled me away and helped Riley to his feet, "You're going to tell us everything."

Edward walked him over to the armchair and sat him down in it. I sat on the couch while Edward stood beside him.

"Why did you burn my bakery down?"

"I'm so sorry Bella," Riley said as he looked down at his hands, "I swear to god, I would've never done it if I didn't have a choice."

"Tell us what happened," Edward said, "From the beginning."

"Last Saturday, when you went on your trip, a man approached me when I was leaving the bakery. He never said his name. He had blond hair and he was kind of tall. He offered me money to burn the bakery down, when I refused, he showed me pictures of my dad and said he'd kill him before he killed me."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"I was scared Bella," He said, "I was planning on going to the police, but then he kept calling me and he mailed me more pictures of my dad. I didn't have a choice."

"Did you attack Paul?" Edward asked, "Paul had been attacked that night. He just got out of the hospital this morning."

"I didn't attack Paul," Riley said, "I didn't even know he was home. I swear I didn't. Paul told me he was going out."

I nodded and looked out of the window. I understood why Riley did it. I mean, I'm sure if I were in his situation, I'd do the same thing.

"Bella I'm so sorry," Riley said, "I swear to god I-I wouldn't have done it if I didn't have a choice."

"Have you gotten anymore threats from this man?"

Riley closed his eyes and nodded. He took out his phone and showed it to Edward. Edward read the message, staring at the phone with hardened eyes.

"What does it say."

"It's just a threat."

"Don't fucking lie to me," I snapped.

Edward closed his eyes, "He wants Riley to kill you."

My eyes widened, "Oh my god."

"I swear I'm not going to kill you Bella," Riley said quickly, "I'm going to the police today."

"No, don't," Edward said, "They won't be able to do anything."

"But I can't just leave my dad defenseless!" Riley said, "They're going to kill him!"

Edward put his hand on Riley's shoulder, "Don't worry. I'm not going to let that happen."

"What are you going to do?" Riley asked.

"Tonight you're leaving this apartment. Take what you need. You're going to stay with your father until all of this is cleared up," He said.

"What do I tell my father?" Riley asked.

"I'm going to call him and pose as a federal agent. I'm going to tell him that you got in bed with some bad people. I'm going to send him an address and you two are going to stay there until I tell you it's safe. Groceries will be delivered. You two will be given burner phones. No laptops. I'll be sending my brother-in-law to make it look official," Edward said, "It'll be alright. I'm going to make sure you two are safe. Is there anyone else in your family that you're worried about?"

"No, it's just my father."

Edward got some more information from Riley. When he was finished we walked back to the car. I pulled my knees up to my chest as we drove home.

"That was nice of you." I said, "What you did for Riley."

"Of course," Edward said, "He's an innocent kid that got caught up in the crossfire."

I nodded and stared out the window. After a moment, he chuckled.

"What?"

"I was just thinking of how you punched him. You're a fierce little thing."

"Well you better remember it." I said.

"You remind me of my mother." He said.

"How so?"

"My mother is fierce like you." He said, "You mess with her or the things she loves, and she'll destroy you."

"Maybe it's rubbing off on me."

"What's rubbing off on you?"

I sighed, "Nothing Edward. I was talking to myself."

"We have to talk about things," Edward said, "I mean, at some point, we have to figure this stuff out."

"Edward I've already figured things out," I said, "After everything is cleared up, I'm going back to Forks. I don't want to be in New York anymore."

He nodded, his jaw clenched, "So… are you still planning on having the baby?"

"I don't know." I said, "I don't really know what I'm doing anymore."

"But you know you're going back to Forks?"

"Yeah."

"Alright."

I tried to take the ring off, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I wanted to give it back to him, but I just couldn't make myself do it.

Bella is ferocious! Were you guys surprised? Everyone thought Riley was a bad dude, but he is actually just a nice kid caught up in a bad situation. Hopefully you guys like it! Have a great day! Another update will be posted sometime tomorrow!