Alright, so here's the epilogue for this story. And, thanks to Golden Perception, there will be a sequel! It's entitled Captured and if you want to know what's going to happen, read the sequel! So, READ AND REVIEW!

Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight or the songs used in this chapter!

Epilogue

Bella's Point of View

I was standing in front of the Seattle Courthouse. My father was going to be convicted in front of the judge and hopefully be found guilty. But I had to attend. I was one of the witnesses, so was Carlisle and Charlie. It was going to be a small courthouse. The police already knew that Charlie was going to be found guilty but they just wanted to make it sure and official. Just standing here made me happy. I'd be able to watch my father be brought to justice and stand by my 'real' family. Esme and Carlisle had adopted me and there was no way I could refuse. They were so kind and actually cared about my wellbeing.

I remember the day they had asked—can't believe that was only a few weeks ago—me to be a part of the Cullen family… It had been such a good night.

I had just returned from the orphanage with Edward and pretty much everyone had scolded me for leaving. Alice and Rosalie had yelled at me for a while; Carlisle had given me a lecture about what it is to be a family, which Esme joined in after a few seconds. Edward, on the other hand, hadn't said a word since we entered the house. It scared me that he didn't have something to scold me for.

"Alright, I think Bella's had enough," Carlisle said and that made everyone shut up. We sat on the couch and everyone stared at me.

"Look, I'm sorry that I left. It was stupid and… Ok, there's no excuse. I'm just really sorry," I said, hiding my face in my hands. Edward placed his hands on mine and removed them from my face, looking deep in my eyes. How I loved this man…

"Bella, we forgive you. But you have to promise us that you will never ever do that again, to any of us," Edward retorted, his piercing gaze never leaving my face.

"Alright," I whispered as Edward cupped my face. Leaning against his hand, I closed my eyes and waited for the punishment of my actions. Gulping, my voice was rough with sleep and sadness. "So, what's my punishment?"

It took a few seconds but finally, Esme spoke up and said: "You're not in trouble." Flinging my eyes open, I turned to face her and looked at her dumbfounded. A smile was on her face; as if she wasn't aware that she had told me that I wasn't punished. What was wrong with this picture?

"But… I… I don't get it. I practically ran away from you guys, Edward had to come and drag me out of there—not that I'm complaining or anything—and then you tell me that I'm not punished? What's up with that?" Everyone in the room started to laugh at me but this wasn't a laughing matter. I was really confused. Why in the world wasn't I getting any consequences for my actions? Charlie would have beaten me for sure if I had tried to leave. "I'm not kidding guys."

"We know Bella. It's just the way you interpreted the past night, it was really something to laugh at," Carlisle said with a fatherly smile.

"But we do have one question to ask you," Esme said, looking at her husband who nodded in approval. She looked at me with pure love in her eyes while mine held confusion, pure and utter confusion.

"What's up?" I asked curiously.

"Well, we've been thinking about it and… Bella, would you like to be part of this family?" Esme asked. My mouth flew open. Were they… Did they want to… adopt me? But frankly…

"I thought I already was…" was my simple reply. With the way they treated me the last few months, it felt like I was already a part of this family. Everyone laughed me at when they heard my reply. It seemed like this morning—yes, right now it was practically midnight and they were still up—everyone was laughing at me. But hey, they could have their laughs.

"Well, would you like it to be official?" Carlisle asked as Alice and Rosalie both wore smiles on their faces. "I'm sure it would take a little while to get the paperwork done but still, would you like to be part of our family officially?" Looking at all of them, they all seemed ecstatic at the thought of having me as a part of their family. It felt so good to be accepted by this family that it sounded really stupid to ask my question.

"You really want to adopt me?" Alice and Rosalie rolled their eyes at me as Esme, Carlisle and Edward all nodded in agreement. "Well, then how can I refuse?" I asked with a large smile. Alice gasped and jumped me just as fast. Everyone hugged me and said: "Welcome to the family." Just as Esme hugged me, there was one thing I needed to ask them. "Would it be possible to ask a favour from you?"

"What's the matter dear?" Esme asked sweetly while looking me straight in the eyes.

"Would it possible… I know that it's kind of silly to ask this but… would it be possible that I keep my last name? Just to be able to have some memento of my mom, you know?" I asked shyly, not knowing what their response would be.

"Of course you can honey. When we'll do the paperwork, we'll say that your full name will be Bella Cullen Swan. Is that alright?"

A large smile formed itself on my face. "That's perfect…" I said happily and hugged Esme for dear life, as if this offer would just evaporate any second. But it wouldn't. Not that I know of. In a few weeks, I would be Bella Cullen Swan.

"Are you ready love?" Edward asked me as he placed his arm around my waist. Looking up at him, his eyes were focused on me. Nodding, I took a deep breath and walked into the courthouse filled with people in fancy suits. The judge took his seat and grabbed his gavel.

"Ladies and gentleman of the court; all rise for the honourable Judge Brown." A police man said in front of the judge as Judge Brown sat down in his large leather seat.

"Alright, you may be seated." Everyone sat down and watched the judge. "Will the defendant please rise," The judge asked and Charlie stood up, looking once at the judge before turning his dark eyes on me with a sadistic grin. A chill ran down my body at his face. His lawyer seemed to be in total focus of the case and didn't see a thing. As for mine, she lightly rubbed my arm and smiled sympathetically at me. Looking back at the judge, "We are here today on behalf of the case of Isabella Swan against Charles Swan on obligations of abuse. How do you plea?"

"Not guilty, your honour." How dare he lie to the judge? The mere sight of this man disgusted me to my very core. He was so repulsive and foul.

The judge nodded and called me to the stand. Slowly, I went up to the police officer, placed my hand on the bible and repeated the oath that needed to be recited. Sitting down afterwards, my lawyer came forward and smiled at me sincerely.

"Miss Swan, are you able to point us to the man who abuse you?" My lawyer asked.

"Yes I can," I said. She waved her arm around the room once and I pointed to Charlie, who had removed that sadistic grin from his face and looked appalled to be pointed at. His lawyer tried to object but was overruled by the judge.

"Could you explain to us your side of the story?" My lawyer asked, making me gulp a little. This was the hard part: explaining what Charlie had done to me over the years.

Nodding, I started explaining to everyone in the room my story. "We used to be a happy family. My mother, Charlie and me would always go out somewhere and have a good time."

"What happened to your mother?"

"She died about eight years ago. It was a bad car accident. She was driving home from work when… when a truck spun out of control and pummelled three cars. One of them was my mother. Anyways," I tried to push back the tears—no one would see me shed a tear, especially not in a courtroom—and looked away from them, continuing my story, "the funeral was very small. Everyone in town showed up. But… Charlie was very serene. He barely said a word to anyone and kept his speech short. He might have been really upset at the funeral, but he was furious at home.

"That's when it started. That night. He started drinking and after about an hour, he became drunk and angry. My mistake was going down the stairs and seeing him…" Flashbacks of that night came flooding through my mind.

"You worthless girl! Can't you do anything right?" Charlie screamed when I came down the stairs to get a bottle of juice. It was around nine o'clock and Charlie didn't seem like himself.

"Daddy?" I asked sadly, wondering what was wrong with Charlie at the moment. He looked at me with angry brown eyes, a hint of red showing through them. He was furious. Charlie walked up to me, knelt down and grabbed both of my arms roughly. "Dad, you're hurting me."

"I don't care! Do you know how much I'm hurting, you selfish brat?" Charlie shouted angrily. What was wrong with him? "The one person I cared for the most in my life is dead! Do you hear me? She's gone!"

"Dad, I—" A painful sensation formed on my cheek. My head turned to the side when it occurred but my mind couldn't comprehend what had happened. Charlie had slapped me. And he'd slapped me hard. My eyes started to glisten with tears as I turned my head back to my father. That was the first time that he'd hit me in my life.

"Don't you dare talk to me! You don't even deserve to live! You're too much of a reminder of your mother! Get lost brat!" He screamed at me while throwing me to the ground forcefully and walking out of the house. That night, I ran to my room and cried myself to sleep.

"Even though I was nine, I still comprehended what he meant. I never deserved to live, that was Charlie's theory," I explained, swallowing the lump forming in my throat.

"What happened afterwards?" My lawyer asked me, her voice calm and collected. In her eyes, you could see the sadness embedded in them.

"Charlie would beat me at least once a day. He was usually drunk when this happened. Up until the age of sixteen, he'd beat me once every few days. After I turned sixteen, he would beat me every day. Sometimes, he'd beat me so hard I couldn't even get off of the floor, let alone get up the stairs. It was hard to go to school the next day. The pain would just be so much that I would have to stay in bed and try to forget about it," I finished, trying to look away from them. Charlie seemed stunned at what I said but, in his eyes, it showed contentment and satisfaction. He was pleased with what he did to me. Sick bastard.

"Thank you Bella. That will be all." My lawyer went to sit down and Charlie's lawyer stood up and walked forward… Oh no, this couldn't end well.

"Miss Swan, it has come to my attention that you haven't told anyone before a few weeks ago that my client has been abusing you. Did you like it?"

"Ha! You actually think that I like not going to school because I'm in so much pain that I can't even lift a finger? Ha, good one," I answered sarcastically. He didn't seem amused. "Obviously, the police officers who busted Charlie saw the pleasure in my eyes when I was dying from the overdose of drugs my father inserted in my system." Looking over at Edward, he flinched at the memory. Poor him… It shouldn't be like this. Edward shouldn't have to suffer because of me. But Charlie's lawyer seemed to have shut up.

"How do we know you're not lying about your past?" Charlie's lawyer asked, gulping loudly and recovering himself.

"Oh sure, I'm lying about the fact that I shouldn't even be alive? Well, would I be lying if I told you that Charlie wanted me dead so badly that he stabbed me twice, shot me in the stomach and I still have the scars to prove it?" I asked, standing up and lifting my shirt to prove I wasn't lying. Charlie's lawyer just stood there shocked when I sat down. "Proof enough for you?"

Gulping once more, he said: "No further questions, your honour." Yes! I finally shut him up!

Sitting back down, I looked over to my lawyer and saw her smiling at me. Yes, this was going well. "I call Dr. Carlisle Cullen to the stand," My lawyer mentioned while standing up. Carlisle got up and walked over to the stand, recited the oath on the bible and sat down on the stand. "Dr. Cullen, you took care of my client during her recovery, is that correct?"

"Yes, I helped Bella recover from her numerous attacks," Carlisle said with a straight face.

"And what exactly was the extent of Miss Swan's injuries?"

"Bella had many injuries, half of them fatal. Mostly all of them included broken and bruised ribs, a broken leg that was forced to walk on, many cuts and bruises, punctured lungs and a few infections. There were many other wounds and the list could go on but mostly those were the deadly injuries. We have all of the hospital records on hand if needed to see," Carlisle explained. I felt so relieved that he was on my side. Because he was a doctor, it would be easier to know that I was telling the truth than just to hear my story. "It was difficult to see Bella in such a horrible state. I must say that she is getting better now but isn't quite healed yet."

"No further questions." Wow… is it just me or my lawyer didn't have many questions for Carlisle? Did she get all of the information that she needed? Hopefully…

Charlie's lawyer stepped up to the stand and stood in front of my future father. "So, Dr. Cullen, you said that you took care of Miss Swan. But did you bring her to a hospital every single time?" The lawyer asked.

"The first time, my son and I brought her to the house. Charlie attacked Bella once more a few days after and we brought her to the house as well but when she was kidnapped, we brought her straight to the hospital," Carlisle explained.

"But, as a doctor, it's your job to bring your patient to a hospital when needed," The lawyer said, pacing around. If he gets Carlisle fired, I swear I will scream and fight to save his job.

"I knew the consequences of my actions. Of course it would have been better to send Bella to a hospital but, by the time we started helping her, her heart stopped beating. If we would have brought her to the hospital during the first attack, she wouldn't be standing here today. Frankly, it saved her life to bring her to the house," Carlisle explained. It certainly didn't look good for him at the moment… "I care for Bella as if she were my daughter. I would have regretted bringing her all the way to the hospital, knowing she didn't have much time left. In total, it was a good plan to bring her home and work on her there. Wouldn't you agree?"

"No further questions, your honour," Charlie's lawyer answered stubbornly while returning to his seat. Carlisle got out of his seat while I lowered my head in shame. He could lose his job because of me. Oh god… I felt so bad.

"You may call your next witness to the stand Mr. Bradford," The judge mentioned as he carefully finished listening to my lawyer's witnesses. Unfortunately, it was Charlie's turn to explain his side of the story. Of course he would make me look bad. That's what he was here for.

"I call Charles Swan to the stand." Charlie stood up, walked over to the police officer, recited the oath and sat down on the stand. His lawyer walked over to him and asked: "So Charlie, what's your side of the story? Does it, in any way, sound like your daughter's?"

"It doesn't. Bella, of course, is still a teenager. She would make anything up to get attention. Of what I've heard, no one really likes Bella at school so; this is a great way to get some attention," Charlie answered with a straight face, as if this was all true. What a bunch of lies!

"Objection! That's completely false! My client would never abuse herself to get attention! She's a—"

"This is not your time to speak, Mrs. Johnson," Charlie's lawyer retorted and returned to my father. "Continue please."

"Well, as I was saying, a few years ago, Bella was starting to act weird. As a father, I knew that something was wrong and a part of me was willing to go talk to her but… she seemed really discrete. Unfortunately, I decided to let things go for a little while and that was probably the worst decision ever. One day, I noticed that there were cuts along her arms and it scared me. I persisted Bella to go to a therapist or something to help her deal through her mother's death but then, she started hanging out with this man called Edward Cullen and that scared me even more." Damn him! He was not bringing Edward into this whole mess. Not on my watch. "She arrived home with bruises and scratches along her body and—"

"Don't you dare bring Edward into this! He did nothing wrong you—" I shouted, standing up but was stopped by the judge who was hitting the gavel on the stand.

"Order!" The judge yelled and everyone stopped yelling. It was then that I realized that people were yelling at Charlie as well. They knew his story was false. Edward hadn't touched me in that way whatsoever. How dare he say that Edward was to blame?

"He changed her. Bella's not who she used to be. I've tried to make some sense out of this but…" Charlie looked away from the audience as if he would cry. What an actor! I can't believe he didn't go as an actor for his career choice. "I'm sorry but I can't continue."

"No further questions, your honour," Charlie's lawyer said as his client walked towards the table and avoided looking at the crowd. But unfortunately, when he did sneak a glance in my direction, he smirked at me. What a liar!

"The jury will now make their decision," The judge said as the jury walked out of the courtroom into a small room and made their decision. Glancing behind me, the Cullens were all looking at me with sympathy written all over their faces. Edward's eyes were blazing with anger as he looked from me to my father. These few minutes were agonizing. It was hard to wait here and contemplate if Charlie would be sent to jail or be found not guilty.

But just as the jury came back in the room, sweat formed on my forehead. Now was the moment of truth.

"Has the jury made their decision?" The judge asked.

"We have your honour. We find the defendant…" My heart felt as if it was going a million miles per hour. What if Charlie was found not guilty? I'd have to go back to him. He would kill me for sure, no pity or even a sign of remorse. I'd never see Edward or the Cullens ever again. My life would be meaningless, "guilty of abuse and attempt at murder." A sigh of relief escaped my lips. He was going to jail. It was all over. My life was worth something now.

"Then I hereby sentence Charles Swan to a lifetime sentence in prison with no bail. And we declare that Dr. Carlisle Cullen's licence be removed from the medical business for his actions towards Isabella Swan for a period of a year." My heart sank at that last sentence. Carlisle couldn't practice for a whole year because of me… As everyone in the room cheered, I sat in my chair and stared at the desk, unable to do anymore. Carlisle wasn't able to work in a hospital for a year because of me. How horrible am I?

Edward ran up to me, gathered me in his arms and chanted: "We did it!" But I wasn't able to cheer with him. Although I was thrilled that Charlie was going to jail, I felt so horrible about Carlisle. Edward noticed my change in attitude, set me down and asked me: "What's the matter love? Charlie's going to jail. You should be thrilled."

"I am. It's just…"

"Don't worry Bella. It's only temporary," Carlisle insisted with a smile as he placed his hand on my arm.

"Yeah, but still. Because of me, you won't—" I was interrupted when Edward's lips crashed down onto mine and stopped me from apologizing to his father. "Edward…" I whispered when we separated from the passionate kiss.

"You're free love. Just think about that for now," Edward insisted with a crooked smile.

Giving everyone a hug, Alice exclaimed: "Let's go celebrate!" Everyone agreed and we drove to The Sing Star Restaurant. We had fun, enjoyed our food and relaxed as a family. My worries were far behind me as we ate our food and laughed half-heartedly. My smile wouldn't go away. This was the happiest moment of my life and no one could ruin it. "So, I say that Bella should sing tonight," Alice commented when we were all done. Everyone cheered at the idea and it made me blush. The Cullens were so caring and liked to hear me sing. It was a wonderful feeling, to know that people cared for me.

"Alright, I'll do it." This time, I didn't hesitate. I wanted to perform tonight. It would fill me with positive remarks and it was something I loved doing these days. Ever since Esme proposed that I started writing my own songs, my heart longed to write and perform. Walking towards the stage, the manager let me perform and the band accepted to play with me.

Gathering the guitar, I went up to the microphone and started playing. It felt nice to have the feel of the guitar under my fingers, the pick between my index and thumb. I played the song Ignorance. It had been playing in my mind for a while now.

This was right. I finally belonged somewhere and it was with the Cullens.

So, what did you think? It might have been rushed and frankly, I didn't have any time to write this week (sorry for the delay) but hey, there will be a sequel so it should make you all happy:) Thanks Golden Perception again for the inspiration and I really appreciate it! So now, REVIEW FOR THIS EPILOGUE AND ANTICIPATE THE SEQUEL VERY SOON!

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