Of course Esme was dry sobbing as she read the letter. She now knew why Alice and Jasper had left so quickly.

"What is it, dear?" her husband came up behind her. He read the letter from over her shoulder. "Oh, my."

"Rose? Emmett?" Esme asked, her voice pained. "We're going back to Forks as soon as Jasper, Alice and Edward come back."

"Edward's coming back?" Rosalie groaned at the same time Emmett said, "We're going back to Forks?" They zoomed down the stairs. Both froze as they saw Carlisle and Esme's faces.

"Who died?" Emmett asked, trying to lighten the mood. Rose pulled the letter out of Esme's frozen grasp.

"Actually, Emmett," she said in a strangled sounding voice. "I believe the right word in this case is dying."

~O~

Alice's phone rang five times before it was picked up by a pained Esme. It had been ten minutes after they had received the letter, and none had moved until the phone started ringing.

"Yes?" Esme answered.

"Meet us and Edward in Seattle. We have to go to her."

~O~

Bella woke with a start. Something cold was wrapped around her neck.

And it was squeezing. Squeezing tighter and tighter to the point where she couldn't breathe. She opened her eyes. Wild red hair obscured her vision. Victoria.

She clawed at her neck even though she knew it was hopeless. She wondered why Victoria wasn't just snapping her neck. If she wanted Bella to die a slow death, why not just let her succumb to the cancer? It was a far more painful end than suffocation.

She could feel herself almost blacking out when Victoria let up. She still had her hands around her neck, but at least Bella could breathe.

"Hello, darling," Victoria said. "Long time no see."

"Why are you here?" Bella asked, honestly curious. She had long ago abandoned her resentments towards people. Dying had a way of making you do that. "Cancer is doing your work for you. I'll be dead next week. And I'm sure it's far more painful than the things you could dream up."

"You think my goal is killing you, dear?" Victoria asked. She giggled. Somehow, the bubbly sound seemed ominous and a little bit crazy. "Well, it was, at one point. But now death is almost guaranteed for you and your mate won't even come back for you, let alone turn you."

"As for the painful part, I think you'd be surprised at how much I've thought about revenge. Imagine," Victoria continued, dragging a sharpened nail across her cheek, almost drawing blood. "Me cutting every little piece of your body, dripping venom on your wounds." Bella gulped. "And perhaps, as a brief respite, watching every single person in this pitiful little town die by my hand, saving your friends and family for last. And once you're finished with the transformation, I would lock you in a room with them as you killed them." Tears shined in Bella's eyes. "And then, of course, I would kill you." Victoria added, almost as an afterthought.

Bella glared defiantly. "Then why haven't you already done it?"

Victoria grinned darkly. "Because, dearest, like I said before, that is not my goal. My goal was to make your mate suffer." Suddenly, she was on the other side of the room. "I'll be in touch, dearest! Ta ta!" And with that, she was gone.

Bella took a moment to calm herself. What did she mean, she'll be in touch? How much 'in touch' could she be in a week? And how exactly could she get revenge on Edward using Bella if he was who knows how far away?

Suddenly, Jacob burst into the room. "I smell leech," he growled.

Bella waved him off nonchalantly. "Oh, that was just Victoria. You know, the redhead that was going to kill me for revenge?"

"What was she doing here?" he thundered. Then he paused and asked confusedly, "And why are you so calm?"

"I assume she came to threaten me. And it's not like she can do anything that I haven't already accepted. Either I die from cancer as a human next week, or I get torn apart by her as a vampire next month. What's the difference? I'm still dead," Bella replied truthfully. "Honestly, the only thing she could do is hurt Edward, and half of me wants him to suffer, and the other half is at peace with what he did to me. I guess how I feel depends on if he comes or not."

"What do you mean, if he comes or not?" Jacob asked.

"Alice can see the future and he can read her mind, remember?" Bella reminded him. Yesterday, they had caught up with each other after they realized that they could talk about all the supernatural happenings in their lives. She didn't tell him about the letter though. She knew he would be mad, and she didn't want to disrupt this relative peace.

"And how exactly does he coming affect your mindset?" Jacob questioned.

"Well, if he doesn't come, then he's an asshole and deserves whatever Victoria throws at him, and if he does come, then he's just a misguided idiot who thought that taking every reminder of them was a good idea," Bella answered. "It's strange, how in death I find that my entire mindset has changed."

Jake scoffed. "Don't talk like that, Bells."

"And why not, Jake? It's the truth." Bella smiled sadly at him.

Please Read

A/N: Next chapter will have the Cullens in it! Please vote in the poll on my profile. Also, this will probably be a really short story, with a few chapters left and then an epilogue. I think this is kind of self-explanatory, but Renesmee will not be in this story, so Jacob will imprint on someone else. Please review with ideas as to who it is! Also, does anyone have an idea as to what I can make for cover art on this story?