"Are you gonna tell me now? Are you gonna tell me later? Cause if you think that I don't know. I'm gonna have to say you're crazy."—Lana

EPOV

It required me three years to be finally out of this hellhole. A long exhausting battle that was giving me more than high blood pressure and headache. I had never been this grateful that it was over. Thank God. Paul picked me up with a new Bentley I had never seen before, making me realize I had missed too many things in life. What the hell did you expect, fucker? The world stopped because yours did? As didn't make sense as it sounded, the thought angered me a bit.

"How are you, Boss?" he greeted, taking my belongings to put them in the trunk.

"Good." I nodded my head, didn't give anything else before sliding into the passenger door. He followed me suit after he's done and we drove away from this shitty place. Silence filled in. I was busy looking out the window watching everything pass by in blur. Just like memories about her existence. One thing I regretted was the fact I was the one who fucking messed up. Still, after all these years, I couldn't seem to get her off my mind completely. If I ever met her again, I didn't know whether I should kill her or hug her tight.

We arrived in my house hours later. I wasn't surprised to see my cousins there, sitting on the same couch with a huge ass grin on their face.

"Welcome back, asshole." Hailey got up and hugged me. I couldn't help but return the hug right away. When she pulled away, I could see how her eyes became a little wet. If the situation was different, I would probably laugh my ass off.

"Good to see you home, cousin." Jamie said, looking relieved as ever. I could notice how weary his face compared to three years ago.

"The business has tired you out, huh?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Very." He rolled his eyes, confirming my guess. With all of the problems in the past years, I had to give him credit for his hard work. He did better than I expected.

"At least you don't get yourself arrested." I uttered sarcastically. We all knew how I was so still bitter about it.

"That bitch! We fucking trusted her!" Hailey was furious. She befriended her after all. Of course, she felt like she had been deceived too. Well, we all did.

"You have an update?" I asked Jamie.

He looked doubtful for a moment.

"Just tell him, J." Hails said impatiently.

"I don't know if you want to hear this." He sighed. What the fuck did it mean? Of course, I fucking wanted to. Before I could yell it out loud, he added. "Isabella. Her real name is Isabella."

Okay?

"Doesn't ring a bell, huh?" Hailey crossed her arms against her chest while smiling wickedly. "How about Volturi?"

My eyes grew wide instantly.

In front of me laid the pictures of her. Bella. My Bella. They were taken on the same angle but were printed on several sizes. I stared at the most zoom out one. The one where she was seen crossing the busiest street in the big city. Dressing up in black from head to toe. Long black coat, black boots, black scarf and gloves. Then my eyes moved to another picture. Where her face was zoomed in and clearer. I didn't know how to describe it. She looked the same yet strikingly different. Her hair was two shades darker, her expression was colder, and her eyes. Her eyes were grim.

"Remember Aro Volturi?" I replayed Jamie's words not even an hour ago.

My blood boiled as I heard the name.

"How could I forget?" I retorted back through clenched teeth. Seriously, how could I? He was the fucker's uncle. The motherfucker that kidnapped my wife and daughter and killed them with no mercy. Aro, like a coward he was, fled out of country with his wife and children when I was doing massacre to his family.

"Isabella is his daughter." Jamie added, earning a confusing look from me. As long as I remembered, he only had twins, Alec and Jane. "Not many people know about her because she's adopted. But she's infamous for doing his daddy's dirty works."

"That coward." I hissed.

Jamie agreed as much. "Now you know where she is. Just give me the order."

My fingers unconsciously grazed her cheek on the picture. Fuck. I rubbed my chest, trying to ease the dull ache that wouldn't go away. Thank God, I was alone in my office right now because I didn't want anyone to see me this vulnerable. How could she even do it without her presence here? The hurt switched into anger. And instantly, the picture was crumpled in my hand.

Winter in New York was the worst. But it wouldn't feel that cold anymore because I was bringing hell to the city. Volturi had run their business in some parts of New York for a long time and Aro was the Don now because he was the remaining family member. He had lost some other area, though and New York Family wasn't as great as before. However, Hailey said it wasn't a wise choice for me to fly here. I rolled my eyes at that. How little faith you had in me, cousin. Our family wasn't weak. I was bringing at least ten men with me for fucks sake and we had paid a lot of money to the media so they could shut up about my release from the prison. Besides, as much as I enjoyed the thought of making Aro suffer, my main focus at the moment wasn't him. Bella was the reason I was here. She fucking owed me explanation.

The opportunity presented itself as she was seen entering some fancy restaurant in the heart of Manhattan. Which was such a coincidence because Jamie said she was rarely seen in public places. My men were spread across the street, ready to follow her anytime she left. But I was an impatient bastard. When one of my men informed me that she left her table and would likely go to the restroom, I didn't want to waste my chance. I entered the restaurant from the back door and swiftly maneuvered inside the restroom that, thank God, was empty. I stood behind the door with my gun at my side. The feel of that hard cold metal in my hand rushed the adrenaline in my blood, making me highly alerted.

The door was pushed open half a minute later. Somehow I knew she regretted her decision to come to the restroom as soon as she heard the click of shutting door. Because in the same fucking moment I appeared from behind her and pressed my gun against her head, making her stiffen. Our eyes met for the first time in years through the mirror in front of us. We were staring at each other like we just saw ghosts from the past. But she covered her surprise by a smile.

My face was stern.

"Give me one good reason to not kill you right now." The tone was pure acid, yet she was unfazed.

"Because you don't want to?" she questioned with a hint of playfulness. I pressed the gun a little harder and she laughed. "You don't change at all."

"Who the fuck are you?" my fingers dug into her arm, but she didn't even flinch. Almost as if she was numb to it. The girl in front of me was my girl back then minus the personality. It was frustrating to see them both melded into one person. Two different characters in the same body.

"You already know."

"Isabella Volturi."

"Names are just names, Edward."

"You fucking betrayed me." I gritted.

She lifted an eyebrow. "Don't give me that bullshit. You didn't even trust me."

"And I'm glad I didn't." I stated. Gloom clouded over her eyes for a second. But it was gone in a blink I wasn't sure I saw it right.

"You have to let me go. Alec is waiting for me." Her face was stoic now.

"Like hell."

"Then, do us a favor and kill me now." She said with bored tone. "You're wasting our time here." She added flatly.

"I don't want you dead yet." I hissed. Honestly, I didn't think I wanted her dead at all. Damn. I sounded so fucking pathetic, didn't I?

"I've warned you." She exhaled deeply before counting backwards. "Five…Four…Three…"

Just before I opened my mouth, there was a voice outside the door. "Isabella? You're there?"

"Just a moment, Alec!" she shouted back.

"What does take you so long?" he grunted impatiently.

I released her immediately and took a step back after weighing the options in hand. Bella turned around to face me and smirked before walking away in triumph. The grip on my gun tightened. I swore this was only the beginning.