The story deals with adult subject matter and occasional description of explicit sexual abuse. Not meant for underage readers. Read at your own peril. And oh, Twilight belongs to SM. This is just a fanfiction.

Beautiful Sorrow

End of Chapter 20:

A certain calm settled over him as he finally made that decision. Taking a deep, cleansing breath he looked up to meet his uncle's gaze.

"Something happened, El. I don't think you'll like it, but you need to know about it. I... I need your help."

Chapter 21

Carlisle, November 2009

Eleazar patiently listened as Carlisle told him about the explosive outcome of his 'therapy' session with Dr. Angela Weber. His brow became increasingly furrowed as the tale neared its end.

"She threatened to go to the police?" Eleazar asked.

"Yes... no, she said she could, or she might. Riley is keeping an eye on her; she hasn't contacted anyone yet," Carlisle replied.

"And it's been what... a week? A week and a half?"

"Near about," Carlisle confirmed.

"Hmn." Eleazar rested his elbows on the desk and tapped his fingers together as he contemplated the implications of what Carlisle had just recounted.

"She hasn't gone to the police yet. That's a good sign. If she was really serious about it she would have done it by now.

"You said you already warned her about a possible law suit?"

"Yes, I did. She knows she will not get out of it unscathed. Of course, I can't be sure how seriously she took my warning," Carlisle stated.

"I think she took it seriously enough, otherwise she would have done it already. But I don't know if I like having a loose cannon like her running around unchecked. You already have Riley on her case. What are you thinking?"

Carlisle briefed him quickly on his plans to get an iron hold on Benjamin Cheney's fate and thereby gain an upper hand over Angela Weber's decisions. Eleazar took it in thoughtfully.

"It could work but you need to move quickly. Have you made an offer yet to the bank? Or the other lender?" Eleazar asked.

"No, I just got the report from Riley today. I've done the preliminary work; I can make a move as soon as he has more on them."

"Hmn. What about making a pre-emptive strike? Who is heading the State Medical Board these days? Wasn't it Dr. Salvatore? He was at our annual ball this year. We could lodge a complaint against her for unprofessional conduct. Nip it in the bud so to speak. Get a gag order while we are at it too. What do you think?"

"I... I don't know if I want to go that far, unless I have to of course. I mean, that could ruin her career; it's her livelihood we are dealing with here." Carlisle was momentarily taken aback by his own words. He didn't think he was capable of caring about anyone else's plight but his own any more. Especially if he took into account what he was actually planning on doing to ensure the doctor's cooperation. At least no harm would come to her if she listened, he reasoned.

Eleazar observed Carlisle silently without making any comment, but it left Carlisle with a distinct feeling that he was holding something back.

"Ok, I see that you have thought it through and have a plan in place. What did you need my help with? Looks like you have a good handle on things all on your own," Eleazar said with a measured voice.

Carlisle was grateful for Eleazar's unquestioning support. He was quite concerned at first that his uncle would react badly or refuse to have any part of it altogether. He considered how Eleazar might take this as just another incident to add to the growing body of evidence that proved that Carlisle was losing his grip over reality. How it all came down to his wife, and how the only way to reset the broken clock of his life was to let her go.

He was ready for a fight, and expected a protracted nagging session before he could even tell Eleazar about his intentions, but the old man surprised him with his calm acceptance. While he appreciated the unwavering loyalty, it also made him slightly uncomfortable though he couldn't be sure why.

Indeed, why did he need Eleazar's help? He was more than capable of carrying out his plans on his own. He had this strategy perfected a long time ago and employed it on many occasions throughout his career. However, he did ask for Eleazar's help and he needed to explain his reasons.

It wasn't something he cared to admit, even to himself, but the resolve Carlisle once had about how justified and correct his actions were with regards to his wife had wavered in the past six months. The events of the last few weeks had only compounded his confusion. He had come to see how his chosen path had led him to be completely stranded in a dark and lonely place without any friends or allies. Perhaps it was this pressing fear of seclusion that prompted him to confide in Eleazar. It was this same fear that made him seek Eleazar's as an accomplice.

Carlisle realized now that pushing away his mentor was a bad mistake. After all, Eleazar was the faithful general who had gone to battle and won him victories, who had guided his hand when his feet were still shaky in his youth, and stood by him despite altercations and disagreements. He wanted to mend the bridges he had burned, and above all he needed a validation that his current actions weren't as terrible as what he had done already.

"I thought you could... it's just El, Angela Weber is..." he trailed off.

The thoughts plaguing him were particularly irksome. Dr. Weber was not like the numerous opponents and enemies he'd eliminated who'd stood in his way. She was indeed causing him a significant degree of worry however, and his self preservation dictated that he fortify himself against the danger she posed. But she was in the picture because he had put her there. It was he who had recruited her to help his wife. She was merely doing her job; protecting her charge from all the danger she perceived. The fact that she identified him as the causal proponent of his wife's problems only demonstrated her acute skills as a therapist. Threatening her into silence would mean he would be punishing her for excelling at her task.

He was not squeamish about crushing those he considered a threat to his existence, and Angela Weber definitely was a threat to his continued well-being, but he was struggling to lump her with all the casualties of war that lay to waste after one of his conquests.

Could it be that he was secretly hoping Eleazar would point that out and wag his finger at him for wanting to attack someone who didn't warrant such wrath? Did he expect Eleazar to oppose him? Try to talk him out of it perhaps? He seemed completely on board with his strategy, however. He wasn't sure why that left him with such a strange sense of disappointment.

"I don't know, El. I thought maybe we could brainstorm for ideas. Maybe you'd know a better way to approach it," Carlisle tried again.

Eleazar kept his gaze trained on the younger man, not letting even a shred of emotion pass through his eyes.

"No, I think your plan is solid. Have you spoken with Jenks? You should have a legal team ready just in case. But I don't think it will come to that; the doctor won't do anything stupid. She has far too much to lose." He paused. "Is that all you wanted to tell me, Carlisle?"

Carlisle didn't know what Eleazar was really asking him. Is that all? No, it wasn't but he didn't know how to voice what more he was hoping to hear from Eleazar. It hadn't failed his attention that Eleazar had not mentioned Isabella once, which was quite a feat in itself. It seemed every single conversation they had since their talk on board their Berlin bound flight always centred on her. Yet now that he had presented Eleazar with a prime example of reasons why he needed to cut his losses and allow his wife to leave him, Eleazar was strangely quiet.

Silence stretched between them for minutes that felt like hours to Carlisle. It was Eleazar who finally broke the stalemate.

"Carlisle, you know this already but maybe you need to hear it just the same, you are my biggest and only concern here. I have always done what I felt was best for you, and I will continue to do so as long as I have the strength. I'll protect you regardless of the circumstances; never doubt that.

"But tell me this, why are you hesitating to crush this woman? What's holding you back? What difference does it make that her career gets ruined?"

"Because..." Carlisle tried to explained but fell short of words. Why indeed.

"I just... I see no reason to use excessive force when the same result can be achieved with less effort." He settled for the best logic he could think of.

"Less effort? Buying out her husband's business as opposed to simply reporting her to the Board can hardly be termed as the 'less effort' in this context. But are you sure that's the only reason? Are you positive that it has nothing to do with you knowing in your heart that she doesn't deserve it? That, in all fairness, she was merely doing what you hired her to do?" Eleazar refuted sharply, pinning Carlisle under a knowing gaze.

Carlisle considered resorting to denial; to vehemently assert that he was not bound by such a naive worldview. But he saw the futility of it right away. He had nothing to prove to Eleazar; he was already privy to his deepest, darkest secrets. Eleazar knew him inside out, and chose to stand by his side in spite of it all. He truly had nothing to hide from him.

So he looked away and let the silence answer for him. He still couldn't bring himself to actually voice his conundrum. He had perpetrated atrocious acts of far graver magnitude. Next to that mountainous burden, splitting hairs over the wrongness of someone losing their job seemed trivial and ludicrous even to him.

Eleazar picked up the thread of their conversation once again and said, "The fact that it's giving you a pause tells me that it's not too late; you can still turn around. There's still something inside of you that's worth fighting for. I will help you, even if it means committing a felony." He held up his hand to stop Carlisle from interrupting. "Don't argue with me. Buying her silence by holding her family's future over her head is extortion, let's at least be honest with ourselves here. It is what it is, but it needs to be done, and I will help you.

"But I don't want you to be the one to approach her with this. I will talk to her. That way there will be nothing connecting you to this, in case she chooses to disregard our... request. I could be acting on my own volition, to protect my own business interests. It will be perfectly plausible if it comes down to that."

Eleazar's offer to carry out his dirty errand shocked Carlisle to the core.

"No, I can't ask you to do that. It's my problem; this whole mess is my doing. I won't let you put yourself on the line like this. I can't allow that," Carlisle spoke with conviction. When he sought Eleazar's counsel he hoped for tacit support, maybe even a stern reminder of his failings, but he didn't expect him to take the lead of this questionable campaign.

"Tsk. Yes, you will. It is my decision. I'm old, Carlisle. What's the worst that can happen to me? You, on the other hand, still have a life to live; mistakes to atone for. And what about this business? Thousands depend on you for their bread and butter. I'm replaceable; you're not."

Carlisle was overcome with a sense of awe and gratitude. He knew he wasn't worthy of it. His heart clenched at the thought of the ways in which he had failed to appreciate the nearly invisible yet impenetrable shield that Eleazar's love and devotion provided him with throughout the years.

"I don't deserve it, El. You have done enough for me, and I thank you for everything. But I can't- I won't- let you do this." Carlisle still had his pride, and he wasn't a coward who would hide behind the safety of a plausible alibi while his only ally took the fall for him.

"It's my decision, Carlisle. However much I detest the idea, it's the only avenue we have that has the maximum chance of working. You can't afford to be implicated; the stakes are too high, too many lives are riding on your fate. I am the logical choice," Eleazar insisted in a determined voice that left little room for argument.

"I will do this for you, but I want something from you in return. Consider this a business proposition; I am taking a calculated risk for you, and I expect you to compensate me for my services," Eleazar added with the surefooted confidence that he usually reserved for brokering mergers or acquisitions.

Carlisle was ready to argue till the end of time, but Eleazar's last statement gave him an appropriate pause.

"Once this is taken care of, I want your word that you will file for divorce. You will get that girl out of your house. What you do after that is something we'll have to figure out once you get there. But for now that's all I am asking of you.

"Do we have a deal?"

Carlisle knew that sooner or later Eleazar would bring up his wife and his ever-ready argument to get him away from the toxic life he had been living. However, the way he worded his bid was unexpected just the same. It reminded him of his younger days when Eleazar would sit him down and deconstruct the entire known universe in terms of contracts and negotiations.

Eleazar; his mentor, guide and quite possibly his only friend, had made him an offer worded in a way they both understood; an offer that he couldn't - shouldn't -refuse. But was he ready to surrender? Could he afford not to?

Almost as if he could hear the conflicting thoughts blazing in Carlisle's head, Eleazar pushed his case further, "You know it's time, son. It's enough already. Please. This is the wake-up call that you can't afford to ignore. The next one may not ring till it's too late."

Carlisle dropped his head and considered his uncle's warning one final time.

"Fine. We have a deal..."

Eleazar exhaled an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"Just so we understand each other clearly; I will handle all the negotiations with Angela Weber, and do everything within my power to make her see reason so she doesn't file a report with the police. In return, you will call a divorce attorney and start the proceedings as soon as this mess is dealt with. Are we in agreement with that?" Eleazar asked in plain terms. He didn't like ambiguity in business, not unless it left behind some kind of a desired loophole that he intended to utilize at a later date.

"Yes, I agree," Carlisle conceded.

"Great. It's a deal then. Let's get down to business. Show me what you have on the file."

And just like that his disposition changed to business as usual, as if it was an everyday occurrence for him to determine the most efficient way to bring down a medical practitioner by holding her family's future hostage.

By the end of the day they had a skeleton plan in place. It was decided when and how Eleazar would make contact with Dr. Weber and where Carlisle would be at the time. Despite the macabre nature of their project, it made Carlisle nostalgic of the times when he was still in business school and needed Eleazar's active supervision in putting together projects or strategizing for his next appearance before the Board.

In a way, it seemed to him like no time had passed at all since his Harvard days; days that were indelibly marked by memories that were directly responsible for bringing him to this point in life.

AN1: Story rec - Glimmer Darkly by Rochelle Allison

Summary: She loses him almost as soon as she finds him... but things aren't always what they seem. Will Bella follow her heart down the rabbit hole? AU-ish.

Rochelle Allison is doing her magic with this unusual AU. Check it out.

AN2: Come find me on twitter: ToTheDreaming.

A huge round of thanks goes to lulabelle98, for making all this readable. I couldn't do it without her. Please read her story The Long Walk Home and The Healing Touch.

Thanks to Detochkina for pre-reading and pointing out holes the size of Chicago! Don't miss out on her story Sinnerman. It's amazingly unique.

Thanks to WutheringBites for validating my story at Twilighted. I am most grateful.

Thanks to opheliasmuse, Dinx219, ordinary_vamp, LadyTazz7, DoobaWrites,
DariaChenowith, AishaRotterdam, shelikethesound, and edwardsisobel
for WCs. You ladies rock! They are all esteemed authors. Please check out their stories.

I am thankful to all those who've read, alerted and fav-d my story. But reviews are like Treats on Halloween. So, kindly review and make my day. Happy Halloween!