91

The lawyers Bella hired, a French vampire named Laurent Moreau, and his mortal counterpart, Victoria Rousseau, swoop in and waste no time gathering all the evidence against Gianna. They take everything straight to the same people she sold her sob story to.

Shit hits the fan the night before the girls' birthday.

We decided against canceling the party. Instead, we're standing as a united front to show that my ex-wife and her accusations have no hold over our family. We won't give her the satisfaction.

Now that the proof of her infidelity, the desperate attempts to bribe her way into immortality, and abandoning the girls despite the custody agreement I offered have been released to the public, Gianna and her lawyer have stuck with the weak brainwashing claims.

We're not worried about it because the private investigator Laurent and Victoria employed is just as ruthless, going so far as to dig through my ex-wife's social media accounts. Gianna could lie her way out of most things but not the posts raving about her daughter's immortal boyfriend, dating back years before the divorce.

We've even taken it a step further by having Jasper's coven and friends of the family provide statements and proof that he and Alice have been seeing each other.

Yes, our lawyers are cutthroat, and as far as my ex-wife is concerned, nothing is staying a secret for long.

"If she continues fucking with my family, I will end her," Bella growls after a summoner under the guise of delivering flowers for the banquet hall serves me papers.

Gianna is officially suing me for sole custody of the girls, and she's had the hearing expedited because of their mature age and the abuse accusations.

I waste no time contacting Victoria and Laurent, hiding in the bathroom right before the guests are set to start arriving.

"Everything is going to be fine, Mr. Cullen," Victoria assures me. "She's scrambling, and the slimeball she's hired to represent her doesn't have a leg to stand on. It's just a formality at this point."

I pop a couple of antacids, put on my best fake smile, and join Bella at the entrance of the hall. I find her talking to a small group of unfamiliar men in suits.

"Can you please wait a couple hours?" she pleads. "I don't want to upset my girls on their birthday."

"What's going on?"

She turns to me. "They've summoned me to Washington for the duration of the investigation. These gentlemen are here to bring me in for questioning."