Breaking News read the ticker that ran across the bottom of the screen. Bella paced the bedroom, her eyes glued to the television. Her anxiety had peaked an hour ago when the story first ran. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand.
6:04 a.m.
"In case you missed it, WJLA broke this story earlier. Judge Edward Masen, former Mayor of Chicago, has been connected to one of the largest crime syndicates in the United States. He is the presumed to be dead son of Carlisle Cullen, leader of the Cullen family. Masen is running for a Supreme Court justice position."
Bella sat at the foot of the bed, feeling like her stomach had fallen through the floor. As the talking head droned on, pictures flashed next to her, images of Edward growing up. Someone had gotten their hands on photos that the Cullens had been keeping under lock and key. Her phone had been ringing so much she had shut it off, choosing not to answer her boss's phone calls.
Edward had left the house at four-thirty without saying goodbye, much less, where he was going. Bella sighed and stood from the bed before shutting off the TV. She walked from the room, finding Addy running up and down the stairs with her dolls, babbling away. Bella smiled at her daughter.
"Addy?"
She looked up at Bella, her wide, brown eyes shining with excitement.
"What did mommy tell you about the stairs?"
"No playing!" Addy yelled.
"And what are you doing?"
"Playing." She giggled, her curls dancing around her head. Bella couldn't help but smile.
"Come on, off the stairs." Bella walked down the steps next to Addy, watching as her small legs maneuvered them. "What are you doing up so early anyway?"
"The man scared me."
Bella froze.
"What man?"
"The big man that watches the house," Addy brushed her doll's hair. "He sits on the seat outside."
Bella walked to the windows, glancing outside and searched the sidewalks. The sun was rising over the buildings, casting everything in a pink hue. However, there was no man sitting on the bench across from their building.
"Addy, how did he wake you?"
"He honked his horn." She raised a hand as if she was pressing on a steering wheel.
Bella felt the edges of her eyes burn and turned to look away, refusing to cry. She didn't want her emotions to take over the logical side of her mind. She pulled out her phone to call Edward, but as soon as she turned it back on it lit up.
Her boss was calling again.
Taking a deep breath, Bella answered the phone.
"Swan."
"You need to be in my office. Now."
"I can't, I have my daughter."
"Find somewhere to send her." The call ended.
"Winston?" Bella called out, walking through the apartment.
"Madame?"
She felt her eye twitch.
"Can you watch Addy? I need to go to work," She paused, feeling her anxiety rise again. "I don't know how long I'll be gone."
"You know there's no need to ask."
She nodded.
"Thanks, Butler."
His wrinkled face pulled into a grimace and Bella smiled.
A few seconds of joy amidst her hell.
O…O
Bella sat outside the double glass doors that led to her boss's office, her foot bouncing uncontrollably. Bella had been here once before – for her interview. She checked her watch, and then her phone, hoping for any sign of Edward, but her recent calls only shown the fourteen she had made to him.
"Swan."
Bella's head snapped up, looking into the cold eyes of her superior. Her name wasn't a request or a question; it was a command. She stood from the chair, trying to keep the nervousness from her face as she walked towards the door. Once inside the office her eyes darted over the three other people.
"Have a seat."
Lowering into a similar chair, she tried to smile politely at the men. Bella was afraid it had come off as more of a grimace as the fear began seeping from her bones and rising to the surface. Bella cleared her throat and straightened her spine, meeting the eyes of each man before settling on her immediate supervisor.
"I'm sure you're aware as to why you're here." He spoke softly, yet firmly.
"I can hazard a guess, yes." She nodded her head.
"We need to know if the accusations are true."
Bella was at an impasse. If she admitted to what she knew, she could take the entire Cullen family down, but she would be implemented as well. Then who would take care of Addy? She felt the edges of her eyes burn at the thought. If she claimed not to know anything, they would fire her and still launch an investigation into her marriage. Bella shifted in her chair, crossing her legs as she focused on her breathing.
"The accusations, Sir?" She struggled to keep her voice even.
"Is your husband the son of Carlisle Cullen?" His eyes never wavered from hers and Bella could feel her heart racing. She shifted again looking at each man across the table. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to calm her nerves.
"The truth is …"
O…O
Edward stood in the small room staring at his cell phone. She had called him back to back throughout the hour. He couldn't answer, not yet. How could he assuage her fears when he had the same ones – the fear that the Feds would come and take him and his wife from their daughter? He had moved to DC to give Bella the life she wanted, one free from the family, but it had followed them. He had made the mistake of leaving his parents' house without the proper surveillance and he had been spotted. The first rumors were easy to bury, but now … now it would be even more difficult to try to dismiss them.
Edward paced the room again, gripping his phone tightly in his hand, looking at her name on the screen. Before he could select her name to call her back, his phone lit up with his father's name.
"Where have you been?" He quickly answered.
"Edward." Carlisle sighed. "I need you to come back to Chicago."
"No, what about Bella and Addy?"
"They'll need to stay there. We need to get you out of the country for now, Edward."
"No." He shook his head, moving to the door. "No, I'm not going anywhere without my family."
"Edward, I need you to think rationally about this."
"I am, and I'm not leaving my family."
"The biggest concern for the family right now is-"
Edward cut his father off.
"My family, Carlisle, not the family; my daughter and my wife are more important than your plan."
Carlisle sighed on the other end of the line.
"Get to Chicago, we'll figure it out."
O…O
Bella paced the bedroom, her heart slamming against her ribs as she watched the clock. She jumped when her phone rang, reaching out to grab it.
"Hello?"
"Isabella?"
"Edward, where are you?" She ran a hand through her hair, trying to keep from fidgeting.
"I'm on my way home. I need you to get a bag together for you, myself, and Addy."
Bella felt her stomach drop.
"Why?"
"We need to get to Chicago."
"Edward, we need to face this head on. You should be distancing yourself, not running back to the place this all started."
"No, Bella, we need to regroup with my family. We'll leave the country tonight."
She glanced around the room, walking towards the closet where their luggage was stored.
"Edward, I need to talk to you about something."
"Can it wait, baby? Please. I don't know if I can handle anything else right now."
She pulled at the edge of her shirt before nodding.
"Yeah … sure, it can wait."
O…O
"Mommy, where are we going?"
"To Nonna and Papi's house, baby." Edward ran his hand through her curls as she bounced in her seat, swinging her legs.
"Chicago!" Addy yelled.
Edward smiled and nodded at her before turning back to his phone.
Bella sat quietly in the back of the town car, staring out the window. She felt as if the walls were slowly suffocating her and longed to open the window. She looked across at her husband and daughter, feeling the pull in her chest before glancing back out the window, tugging at the end of her shirt again, and feeling sweat drip down her back. Bella was unsure of how to approach the subject of what happened earlier with her husband.
"Bella?"
"Hmm?" She looked back towards Edward.
"Are you okay?"
What an insane question, she thought. They were on the run, trying to hide from the press and the police while carting around their toddler daughter. Of course, she wasn't okay.
"Of course." Bella nodded, smiling at him.
"We'll figure this out." He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face.
O…O
Eleven hours later, their car pulled through the gates of the Cullen Estate, slowly maneuvering around the flock of reporters. Vans lined the usually quiet street; flashes were going off milliseconds apart, trying to see inside the tinted windows. Bella leaned forward, unbuckling Addy's seat and pulling her into her lap.
"We're here!" She yelled excitedly, bouncing on her mother's lap.
"We are." Bella smiled at her, kissing her head.
The door opened seconds after they pulled to a stop and Addy bolted from the car, running into the house, as Bella quickly followed. Addy had just cleared the door when she heard it. The unmistakable sound of a gunshot rang out followed by another. Bella's hand slid over her hip on instinct as she turned, her eyes surveying the yard. She glanced from the driveway to the trees to the road and back towards the house. Addy stood in the doorway, her eyes wide with fear. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She could feel her heart barely beating as she watched Esme running up behind her daughter, grabbing Addy and disappearing behind the wall.
Edward.
Bella turned and raced down the steps, jerking open the car door, but the backseat was empty. She rounded the vehicle, her legs trembled, and her breath left her lungs when her eyes fell on her husband, lying on the ground with blood staining the asphalt beneath him. Bella fell to her knees, crawling towards him, her hands jerking his shirt open, buttons landing in the pool of crimson.
"Call the police!" She screamed, as her shaking hands pressed against the two wounds that dotted his torso. Blood seeped from between her fingers, staining her hands.
"Call the police! Someone help!" Her voice cracked, tears blurring her vision, watching as they fell onto her hands. The sudden crack of a bullet slamming into the car near her face made Bella's head snap, as she searched for the source. She grabbed Edward's gun from his holster, drawing it in the direction of the sound, shielding her husband's body with her own.
Another shot rang out and she felt the burn of a bullet pass her bicep before the window shattered behind her. She pulled the trigger, firing round after round in the direction of where she thought they hid.
"Bella! Edward!" Carlisle yelled from behind her, but the blood rushing in her ears kept Bella from hearing anything else he had to say. She dropped the gun, yanking her shirt off and pressing it to his chest, bearing down to try and stop the bleeding. His face was pale, but his eyes were open, unmoving as he stared at the sky.
"Edward," Bella cried, her body shaking. "Edward, don't do this to me. Do you hear me? You are not allowed to die on me." He took a ragged breath, blinking slowly.
"Bel…" His hand lifted to touch her thigh before sliding back to the ground.
"Edward, don't speak." She could hear the sirens in the distance, gunshots rained around her, screaming from the road where the reporters had been, but none of it mattered. She was watching the man she loved bleed out before her.
"Bella get inside!" Carlisle grabbed her arm, pulling her away.
"No!" She screamed, pulling her arm free. "I can't leave him."
"Bella, get inside now! Get in the safe room with Esme and Addy."
"Fuck off, Carlisle." She fell back to her knees, feeling her husband's blood soak into her pants.
It seemed as if hours passed before the paramedics were pushing her aside, pressing bandages and monitors onto his chest, shoving needles into his arms as they worked on him in the back of the ambulance. She couldn't feel anything, staying on the ground, unable to move as the double doors closed and the ambulance flew down the driveway.
"Mommy?"
Bella's head shot up, her eyes wide as she looked towards the voice. Her daughter stood in the doorway once again, her brown eyes wide in fear, filled with tears. Bella felt her heart crumble at the sight, stumbling as she lifted off her knees and ran towards her daughter. Bella's feet carried her up the steps as she reached out, picking up her small frame and crushing Addy to her chest. Her hands moved all over her, checking for any sign of injury, noticing that she was leaving red streaks in her wake. Her husband's blood now stained their daughter's clothing.
Something changed inside Bella. She finally realized that this life wouldn't go away – no matter how hard she may try. As she stared at her daughter and worried that her husband may not live long enough to make it to the hospital, she realized what she needed to do.
The first step would be to change.
The second would be to make sure Addy was somewhere safe.
And the third would be to put a bullet in the head of whoever was responsible for hurting her family.
A/N: I'd say sorry for the long wait, and I am, but I apologize all the time. I hope that this won't become a habit. Thanks to Fran for her quick beta work that made it possible for me to upload this today! Let me know what y'all thought.
