Chapter Three

Author's Note: This chapter has very dark themes at the end. This story is Rated M for a reason.

I was sitting on my couch watching re-runs of Criminal Minds when my phone dinged.

Rosalie: Hey, Bells. Are we still on for tomorrow night?

Bella: Duh.

Rosalie: Good. Edward keeps asking me about you.

I shot up on the couch.

Bella: What do you mean? What has he been asking?

Rosalie: I think he wants to take you on a date because he is asking what things you like to do. I told him that he needs to hear that from you. Do you maybe want to make it a group movie night? I'll put money in for the food.

Bella: I'm totally down to invite them. I was going to go to the store later today. What are we thinking for food?

You are strong, Bella. Don't have Rose text Edward. You do it.

Bella: Do you have Edward's number? I'll text him.

Rosalie: I wouldn't mind tacos or pizza or nachos... Don't mind me I'm hungry.

Bella: Haha. I can tell. I was thinking about birria tacos the other day. I'm fine with those. If I do make those, could we have our movie night at my place? It's just easier to make them here so I don't have to haul a bunch of extra stuff to your house.

Rosalie: Yes! That is fine with me. Your living room is much more spacious than mine. I'm going to meet the parents today. Wish me luck! Are you going to text Edward? I'll have Emmett ask Jasper and Alice when he comes to pick me up.

Bella: Good luck! Yes. I will text him.

She sent me his number. I took a deep breath and opened up a new message.

Bella: Hi.

Edward: Who is this? How did you get my number?

Bella: Sorry! It's Bella.

I ignored the other question because I didn't want to get Rosalie in trouble.

Edward: Hello, Tesoro. What can I do for you?

Bella: I've heard that you have been asking about me. Rosalie and I are having a movie night tomorrow. She was wondering if we could do it as a group. Maybe.

Edward: You wanted to ask me yourself?

My cheeks burned.

Bella: If you really want to get to know me, now you can ask me directly.

Edward: Va Benne. What does your movie night entail?

Bella: A movie, dinner, wine, and sometimes dessert. It alternates between the two of us where it is at. If you all want to come tomorrow, it will be at my house. I make dinner because Rosalie prefers it that way, so she brings whatever alcohol we choose. 9 times out of 10, the wine has us too loopy to remember the dessert. You don't have to come if you think it is lame.

Edward: No! It seems like a good night. What are we having for dinner?

Bella: Rosalie has asked for tacos.

Edward: I'm so down. I'll bring some alcohol too.

I smiled to myself.

Edward: If you write in Italian. Why don't you speak it?

My face fell.

Bella: Growing up in a small town will do that to you. I've just grown accustomed to speaking it at primarily home. No biggie.

Edward: It's a beautiful language. I want to hear it come out of your mouth.

Bella: Era una linea di ritiro?

Edward: No. Lo sapresti se ne avessi usato uno.

Edward: I have to go. My parents are officially meeting Rosalie. Emmett wants me there for emotional support. Ciao, Tesoro.

I put my phone down. I need to get to the store.

EPOV

Oh, Tesoro. You have just signed a deal with the devil getting my phone number.

When I walked into my parent's house, everyone was sitting in the living room. I caught the tail-end of Rosalie talking about her family growing up. "Shall we do this?" I asked.

"I guess," Emmett quietly said. Rosalie looked between us confused. "Rosie, I'm begging you to please wait to ask questions or make any comments until Edward is finished talking. Only speak when Edward asks you a question."

"What's going on?" Ma grabbed her hand.

"Rosalie Lillana Hale, whatever is said in this house can't be repeated outside of this house. Even to Bella. You leave that to me." She just nodded her head confused. "Emmett hasn't been allowed to tell you anything about this because my father and I needed to give him permission. That took a while because he kept you locked away from us in a proverbial tower."

"I didn't want you to think of me as anything less." I almost missed what he said.

"Em, I don't think you have ever spoken that quietly," Dad mused.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Do you know anything about the Masini family in Sicily?"

"Vaguely. Growing up, my Nonno Lorenzo and Bella's Nonno Carlo talked about how they were happy our family wasn't in Palermo." She rubbed her temples. "Why?"

"Stefan Masini is our ancestor that started the Masini Familia. He inherited it from Anthony Cullen who moved from Ireland to Italy to learn the business. It is passed down from generation to generation. Stefan Masini and his long-time friend, Lorenzo Plattioni, got caught up with Anthony. Since Anthony didn't have any relatives when he passed away, it was handed to Stefan. He made Lorenzo his second. They ran it for a good bit before it was passed on. As the head of the family changed, almost everything stayed the same. The Masini's and Plattoni's ran the familia. Fast forward to my great-great-great grandfathers, who moved to the states to create something bigger. They changed the last names and the rules. The Masini's took on the surname Cullini/Cullen while the Plattoni's took on the surname Platt. Throughout the whole time, the two families have worked together. There has been a long line of men being born with a few females in the mix. It wasn't until my Nonni had my parents. They became a legal family." All while I was talking, her face dropped and paled. "Do you get what I am saying?"

She looked at Emmett. "You're in the mob?" She looked at me. "Since you are the one that told me, you run the family?"

"Yes," I said. "We told you because you mean the world to Emmett. If you all were to become something more, you needed to be informed. He wouldn't have asked my permission if he didn't want to move forward."

Tears welled up in her eyes. Emmett refrained from going to her because we don't know what was coming next. "What do you all have your hands in?" She stared at Emmett. "I'm out of here if you involve yourselves with sex trafficking."

Esme shook her head. "I would never allow such a thing."

"You don't need to worry about that kind of stuff. Just know, that no. Our hands are clean of any form of that." I shoved my hands in my pockets. "I'm asking you as someone who wants to pursue something with your best friend to not say anything. As the boss of this family, don't you open your mouth about any of this to anyone. Especially her."

"Bella might have a harder time coming around to something like this. Her father was murdered by a gang initiation because he was a cop. This might hit close to home. I hate that this will probably bring back some blocked memories or feelings of that." She rubbed her eyes. "We have a movie night tomorrow. Did Bella text you?"

I nodded. "Do I need to make an excuse to say that I can't make it?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't have an answer for you." She paused for a second. "Emmett, I am putting this on record. I knew the real you before I knew all of this. I'm not leaving you because you told me." She sighed. "However," Emmett's face dropped. "I don't want to move forward until Bella knows."

"Why?" His voice cracked a little bit.

Rosalie started to cry a little bit. "I already abandoned her for a man once before. It turned out badly. He basically cut me out of her life. She fell into a deep depression because my Papa, my Nonno, and I are all she has left. I just ignored her when she pushed for me to leave him and get help."

"A true friend would want you to be happy," Alice said. "If Emmett makes you happy wouldn't that be what she wants for you?"

She looked at my sister. "One day she was tired of me being elusive, so she showed up at the apartment that I shared with him. He was high off cocaine. He had some of his buddies over." She took a deep breath through her tears. "She busted into the apartment to get me out when she saw me." She wiped her eyes. My body just froze. "You always wanted to know the details, Emmett." He fell into the couch. "He had a special wooden board made to hold metal chains. She saw me bare naked chained up to this wall so his buddies could have their way with me whenever they pleased. They all were high when another woman with a vagina walked in. They held her down while I watched her get gang raped by my mistake. I tried to look away, but Royce held my face. Every time I closed my eyes, he pried them open. My best friend lost her virginity to a gang rape because she was trying to save me. When their hands left her mouth, she screamed so loud that the neighbors called the cops. She saved my life, so I owe her everything."

"Dio," Ma whispered.

Rosalie's face paled. "What did I just do? We promised that we would never talk about that night." She shot up from the couch. "I need to get out of here. I need to tell Bella that you all know. She's going to hate me."

Emmett just stared at the coffee table. "I'll take you to Bellas."

"No," she said. "Deacon can take me." He numbly nodded. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen." She walked out of the house.

"Jasper, you get your guy on this now!" I screamed at him.

My Tesoro, I will get them for you. All of them.

BPOV

I had just grabbed my keys to go to the store when my door busted open. I screamed because of the scare, and Rosalie was so broken. "Bella," she cried out. "I'm so sorry."

I hugged her to me. "Hey. Hey. Hey," I whispered. "What happened?"

"Alice asked me something, and I snapped." She pulled away. "Bella, I'm so sorry. They know about that night."

My heart fell into the pit of my stomach. "What?"

All translations are through google.

Va Benne - Okay

Era una linea di ritiro? - Was that a pickup line?

Lo sapresti se ne avessi usato uno. - You would know if I used one.

Dio - God