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 22:

The only obstacle remained in his path was to convince Eleazar. We went to bed that night thinking of ways to safely spring the news to his uncle. He wondered how Eleazar would react when he found out that after all the preparation and sharpening up legal strategies, he had waved the white flag even before the battle could begin.

Chapter 23

Carlisle, age 18

The week flew by in the usual hubbub of classes, term papers and exam preparations. When the weekend rolled in, Carlisle knew that it was time he took the bull by its horn and manned up. He didn't want to disappoint Eleazar, but he couldn't back away from what he felt in his heart to be the right thing. He would fight with his uncle if need be. However, he really hoped he wouldn't have to.

Eleazar's call came in right on time like it always did. Carlisle squared his shoulders and began their video conference with their customary official note. If Eleazar noticed Carlisle's now neatly-trimmed hair, he didn't make any comment to express his endorsement. He reserved his praises and approval for only those occasions when Carlisle excelled at his tasks beyond expectations; what would be the point of patting the boy on his back for doing something he was supposed to do anyway?

Their conversation followed the usual route. Carlisle reported on how his studies were going, and Eleazar listened with minute attention. Grades weren't important, but it was crucial that he was really learning the nuts and bolts of the trade. Also, this was a prime time for him to meet and befriend the right people who might open up new avenues to expand his business into somewhere down the line. Membership to the clubs and fraternities wasn't only for youthful amusement. The children of some of America's richest were sent to Harvard; the golden networking opportunity it presented to Carlisle was not to be squandered.

Once Carlisle was finished, Eleazar began to brief him on the developments on the home front. It was part of his teaching method to familiarize Carlisle with the Board members: their faces, length of their tenure with the company, and their predilections to side with Kyle when divisive issues had confronted them in the past. Nothing was too small to overlook. In fact, these were all valuable lessons that Eleazar felt Carlisle needed to learn by heart before he could assume the helm of his destiny. Whether it would be on his twenty-first birthday, or after he had finished with his education, depended on how well he performed on the little tests Eleazar threw his way during their talks.

The fact that someday Carlisle would ascend to the Cullen throne was never in question. However, he always thought that he would have plenty of time to prepare for it. The thought of dictating policy and asserting authority over employees who were many years his senior was daunting. Thankfully, he had inherited two trusted allies to stand by him through the transition: he had Eleazar to be his comrade in arms in the battlefield of business, and he had Carmen to be his eyes and ears in the office. He knew he would be well fortified when the time came, and he was thankful for their loyalty.

Eleazar religiously faxed every single set of minutes and transcriptions of the company's business meetings to Carlisle throughout the week, and he expected the boy to read and analyze them by the time they conferred on Friday. After verbally bringing him up to date on the most recent matters at hand, he would ask Carlisle about the merits and demerits of the different opinions voiced by the members of the Board and heads of divisions, and invite him to defend the position he felt made the most sense.

Carlisle was increasingly getting better at this game with time. After all, Eleazar had been at it since he was barely out of seventh grade. However, unlike his father, Carlisle had a genuine interest in the inner workings of their business. As a child he was fascinated by the magical acronyms like 'SWOT' and 'CSR' tossed around casually when his uncle spoke. He was an eager pupil and didn't begrudge the inflated and rigid expectations that were placed upon his shoulders.

On this particular day, he felt he had performed above par. It wasn't always easy to decipher Eleazar's train of thought from his facial expressions, but Carlisle had learned to discern the minute unfurling of the otherwise perpetually furrowed brows and the occasional 'humph' as signs of approval.

"Very well then. Have a good weekend. Are you coming home for Thanksgiving, by the way? Or have you made plans elsewhere?" Eleazar asked.

"I'll be home; I don't have anything else to do here," Carlisle replied. It would be his first holiday as a true orphan. The thought depressed him but he didn't let himself dwell on the unavoidable.

"Excellent. I'll have Martha cook something up for us before she leaves. Let me know if you are planning on bringing a lady friend with you so I can give her a heads up. Martha doesn't like surprises." Eleazar cleverly used the ruse of his housekeeper to tease out the information on any budding romance that might be brewing in his nephew's life.

Carlisle didn't bite. "Nah, it will be just me."

"Before I let you go, remember that we are scheduled for a conference call with Jenks on Monday. Make sure you are back in the house by three," Eleazar said as he was about to disconnect their call.

Carlisle instantly went on the alert. This was it. There would be no more grace period to deal with the unpleasant.

I can do this.

"About that, I've been meaning to discuss something with you. I think it's about time we disbanded Jenk's team. You see, Uncle El, I don't think we'll be needing their services after all." Carlisle tried to inject as much confidence in his voice as possible.

"Why would you say that? Has someone contacted you from her side?" Eleazar asked suspiciously.

"No... well, sort of. I met her; I met Elizabeth Masen the other day. And I think that maybe we were wrong to assume the worst. She is not-"

"What do you mean you 'met her'? When did this happen? Did she follow you to the campus? Please tell me you had someone from Jenk's Boston branch with you!" Eleazar interrupted him before he could finish his statement.

"Actually, it was more like a spur of the moment decision. I know I should have discussed this with you and the attorneys, but I was really getting tired of waiting. I mean, it's been over six months already. I just had to know what it was exactly that she wanted... I really just wanted to get it over with. So, I went to her place in Boston," Carlisle explained.

"You went to her place? Have you completely lost all of your senses? Why would you do something so stupid? Do you know how much leverage this gives her? And without your legal team to represent you? What were you thinking?" Eleazar's substantial presence exploded on the screen.

Carlisle kept his cool and continued to talk in what he hoped was a rational manner. "I realize that it was a potentially risky decision, but you should be pleased that the outcome was far better than what we'd been expecting. I think maybe we were too hasty in jumping to the conclusion that she was after my inheritance.

"El, I spoke to her. She told me herself that she doesn't want anything from me. She even-"

"She told you!" Eleazar repeated incredulously. "She told you? And her words are, what? The scripture? You believed her? I thought you were smarter than that!"

"Uncle El, just think. She had six months; six months to come after me, to send me her demands, sue me or whatever. But she didn't. And I saw her place. She doesn't live in the most ostentatious house, and doesn't even seem to have a lot of money. If she was going to do it, she would have already. I think there's enough reason to at least re-think our assumptions.

"I mean, maybe there was a reason why Dad trusted her-"

"Kyle 'trusted' her because she fooled him just like she has fooled you," Eleazar said, interrupting him once again. "She took advantage of his vulnerability, and now she is taking advantage of your naïveté. It's as simple as that. Just look at you- five minutes with her and you are already singing her praises. I can't believe you can be this easily fooled. I am telling you, Carlisle, you can't take her words at face value, no matter what she tells you. If she is pretending to be uninterested in money, then it only means she has her eyes set on a far more lucrative goal than a simple pay out. You can't trust a woman like her."

Carlisle was losing patience, but he knew raising his voice to Eleazar wouldn't accomplish anything. "I know what you are saying, and I understand your fears, but you have to trust me on this one. Give me some credit, I am not an idiot. I can tell when I am being lied to, and I'm fairly certain she is not lying."

Eleazar didn't offer his retort immediately. He did groom Carlisle well, and had to admit that his pupil was becoming greatly skilled at measuring up situations rapidly and strategizing to turn things to his advantage.

"So, you say that you believe that she is not interested in the Cullen fortunes?" Eleazar asked.

"Yes."

"Then she wouldn't mind giving it to us in writing, would she?"

Eleazar's shrewd question pointed to the weakest link of Carlisle's plan. Elizabeth Masen probably wouldn't refuse to provide an affidavit to the effect that she didn't intend to contest Kyle Cullen's will on behalf of her son or herself, but the notion of asking that of her shamed him somehow.

"Uh... I'm sure she would if we asked her to. But... I don't think..." He lowered his head for the first time since their meeting started. He was about to meander into the nebulous land of sentimentalities, something Eleazar held very little respect for. "I highly doubt that it's necessary. We'd only be provoking her and turn this into one of those self-fulfilling prophesies.

"I don't want to alienate her completely, if possible. After all, I have to consider that she is the mother of my... brother. I mean, quite possibly my brother. If that is the case then it would be wrong to start a feud with her over conjectures and speculations. I don't want him to grow up and learn that I disrespected his mother like that, or that I tried to cut him off from what should rightfully be his." Carlisle stated his argument in the most rational way he could articulate.

On the screen, Eleazar's face was a mask of impassivity. However, the slight clenching of his jaw, and the steely gaze of his eyes, told Carlisle that his argument was not well received.

"Your brother? That bastard is not your brother. I get it now. Of course she is being a saint about shirking a settlement. Why settle for a few measly millions when she can get have half of the treasury? I gotta give it to her; she's got a good reach. And she nearly has you in her purse!

"Is that what she is vying for, Carlisle? Selling you your 'brother'? Well there's no way that bastard is a Cullen. Kyle would have told me. He would never have hidden something this big. And you are a fool if you believe her claim that Kyle is her baby's father. That is impossible!" Eleazar fumed as he spewed out the words.

Carlisle hated to hear Edward being characterized as a bastard, but it also made him think about something he had not pondered upon until now. At no point during the time he spent at the Masen household did Elizabeth categorically say that Kyle Cullen was, in fact, Edward's biological father. That was something Carlisle had construed all by himself. The closest she had come to connect Kyle to Edward was to say that she felt Kyle had "the right" to help her financially when she went on unpaid maternity leave.

He realized he had trodden further into the murky waters of emotional bog-land. Logic and reason were not on his side, and convincing Eleazar without either would be a formidable challenge. The truth that he felt an unmistakable kinship with Edward would be too wishy-washy for Eleazar to accept.

"Regardless, I would prefer to side with caution so there is no bad blood between us in the future. After all, it's not like I have a bunch of siblings to spare. I don't want to be on bad terms with him, however things may play out." Carlisle stood his ground with resilience.

"You are making a big mistake here. You are allowing her to get to you and play with your weakness. She knows exactly what she is doing. She can sense your gullibility, and she will take you to the cleaners after dangling her son as the 'brother you always wish you had'. Quite honestly, from the look of it you are only too eager to oblige."

Eleazar's ominous warning did weaken Carlisle's conviction. Elizabeth Masen could very well be everything Eleazar suspected her to be - though his initial misgivings were somewhat assuaged after their two encounters - but the fact remained that she was Edward's mother; the only conduit through which he could be a part of his brother's life. Like it or not, she held a precious ace up her sleeve that he couldn't trump over, and he didn't want open animosity to breakout between them.

"Maybe you are right." Carlisle decided that a semblance of agreement with Eleazar would be met with the least amount of resistance. "But what if you are wrong? What if she is telling the truth? I can't risk having her as an enemy. That's not what Dad would want. He wouldn't want me to throw my brother in the gutter, even if his mother is of... questionable morals."

An agitated Eleazar considered Carlisle's contention. While the premise held water, he didn't think for a second that he could be wrong about Elizabeth. Only one kind of woman would agree to accept money from a man in return of keeping her liaison with him a secret; a kept woman. The fidelity or integrity of such harlots could not be relied upon. There was no telling how many men she had bedded at the same time as Kyle. The fact that she had not yet come forward to claim a part of the Cullen fortunes on her son's behalf only solidified his deductions. It was quite simple really; she would've if she could've.

"Very well then. It should be easy enough to resolve. Jenks tells me they can do miracles in the labs these days. He has one of the best forensic labs in the country on retainer. A DNA test will tell us one way or the other. I'm sure she won't object to providing us with a little blood sample from her son," Eleazar suggested innocently.

"And compare it against what? Are you suggesting we dredge up the ocean floor to exhume Dad's body? That's preposterous!"

"No need for that. There are genetic markers that siblings should have in common. Jenks briefed us on this a while back. I see that you weren't paying attention. The test can be run to compare his DNA to yours, even if you only share one parent," Eleazar refuted him successfully.

Carlisle was truly cornered. He could imagine how well that conversation would go down with Elizabeth.

"Those tests are far from airtight. Also, I don't think she will respond well to this kind of demand," Carlisle hedged.

"Why not? It's not an unreasonable request. Of course we will bear all costs connected to the test. Why should she shirk from giving us a simple blood sample, unless she has something to hide?" Eleazar questioned triumphantly.

"Because... because I will be insulting her. Besides, why should she? She hasn't made any demands from us. Hell, she didn't even make any claims..." Carlisle paused to search for the right words. He needed to sound calm and he needed to appear reasonable.

"I can't put the burden of proof on her shoulders because the only thing I will achieve by doing so is to alienate her. It's negotiation 101, Uncle El. She is in possession of something that might be of great importance to me, but for all appearances, I don't have anything she might be interested in. Ergo, the burden is on me to keep her at the table, not drive her off with bullying and name calling. She holds all the cards, at least for now. I can't go about making random requests that I know will antagonise her." Carlisle stopped to look at his uncle's face, hoping he had made a reasonable case without sounding naive and callow.

Eleazar, however, was far from convinced. He could see the resolve in the sharp angles of Carlisle's defiant shoulders. He knew his nephew well enough to sense when he was prepping up to fight till the death. He wasn't ready to engage in such a battle with Carlisle over something as ambiguous as this.

"I can see you have made up your mind regardless of what I think. I believe you are making a big mistake, but I suppose some lessons in life need to be learned the hard way. I just hope you don't end up paying too high a price for this one.

"Just be careful, ok? Don't sign any papers or make any kind of verbal commitment where your inheritance is concerned; not without consulting me. Can we agree on that at least?" Eleazar grudgingly conceded defeat.

"Of course, El. I won't do anything stupid. You don't have to worry about that. Just let Jenks know we won't be needing a battle-ready team 24/7."

Carlisle sighed a breath of relief as the call came to an end. It was just as difficult as he had thought it would be, but it was good to have it out in the open, and he had managed to get Eleazar to back off. He knew it would be a while before his uncle truly accepted his decision, but he had time to show him that he didn't make a mistake.

With these optimistic thoughts in mind, he called Elizabeth the next day to plan his visit with Edward. However, his optimism was short lived.

He could detect that something was off in Elizabeth's voice as soon as she answered the phone. Brushing aside his trepidation, Carlisle clung on to the hope that nothing was wrong with Edward, or else she would be far more frantic. Whatever else it might be, there was little he wouldn't be able to handle. Or so he thought in his self assured hubris.

AN1: Hmn, how do I say this? I am really curious about the drabble trend fic-world is so captivated with. So, after much feet dragging and nail chewing, I thought I'd try my hand at one. It will be more Edward and Bella centered... though what will life be without conflict, right? I would love for you to check it out when I start posting it, which should be within the next month or so. I humbly ask that you put me on author alert, 'cause your opinion would mean a lot to me.

AN2: Story rec - How to Paint a House by Maggie's Gutter
I'm not much for fluff, but this one is so amazingly sweet that even a hardcore angst-enthusiast like me had to concede defeat and join the bandwagon. Very likely you are already reading it. If not, please do.

AN3: Come find me on twitter: ToTheDreaming.

A huge round of thanks goes to lulabelle98, for making all this readable.

Thanks to Detochkina for pre-reading and pointing out holes the size of Chicago!

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

Thanks to LadyTazz7, Dinx219, lulabelle98 for WCs. You ladies rock! They are all esteemed authors. Please check out their stories.

Lulabelle98 (A Healing Touch), Detochkina (Twilight 25 Prompt), and Dinx219 (Nirvana) are all nominated for the Short N Sweet award. Please go to their site and vote for these amazing ladies.

I am thankful to all those who've read, alerted and fav-d my story. But reviews are like sunshine on a cold winter day. So, kindly review and give me a shot of much needed Vitamin D!

*SWOT- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
*CSR - Corporate Social Responsibility.