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Bella moves to stand behind me. She runs her hands through my hair and rubs my tense shoulders to calm me down, but it's useless. We're talking about my children.
"Reporters swarmed the school and our neighborhood, so I pulled the girls out early. They're both okay, and I dropped them off at Ben's house."
I nod.
"I've already called my mom. She and Dad were already coming in for the party, but they're coming now to do damage control."
"What does this mean, Bella?" I ask, pointing to the tablet with a shaking finger.
"There will be an investigation, and they're going to air out all your dirty laundry. They'll want to know about the divorce, your contract with V.C., and any proof we have against Gianna's claims will be made public," she replies softly. "They will question whether or not I abused my power, but I'm not worried about that. Alec kept everything legal and well documented when he banned her."
I sigh, and Bella's grip on my shoulders tightens.
"I think we should look into hiring a lawyer on Alice and Angela's behalf just in case Gianna tries to fight you for custody."
My heart falls into my stomach.
"It won't happen, Edward," she insists. "We need to cover our bases and do things by the book so she can't point fingers and cry that I'm using my ties with the government for our benefit. If it's even insinuated that she could win, we'll conveniently disappear for a year until the girls are legal adults."
"Why is she doing this? She doesn't really want the girls, and she's known about you for months. Why now?"
Bella shrugs. "My guess is she tried to find an underground vampire and realized just how much it would cost for black market venom."
"If she wants money, she can have everything so long as she stays away from my girls."
I'm panicking. I should have known my ex-wife wouldn't go quietly once they denied her Eternal Life request.
Bella's phone rings.
"It's Mom. Give me a minute."