"NO!" Edward roared before anyone else could agree. He could read their minds, and I could sense their emotions. He was fighting a losing battle. Everybody else wanted to stay.

I sat back with a smirk, waiting to see how he intended to talk his way out of this one.

Chapter Four - Exposing Weaknesses

He glared angrily at me, noticing my smug thoughts. He then turned his glare on Alice, deciding to start with her. That was a smart move on his part, for if he could get her on his side, he would win for sure. Together they made a formidable team not many could deny, what with him knowing all your weaknesses and internal arguments and her being able to see which arguments would work and which wouldn't.

"Alice," he hissed, communicating something with his eyes. I felt the malevolence in his emotions and leaned forward with a growl. Carlisle reached out and grabbed my shoulder to hold me back, not realizing the reason for my reaction. "You will not interfere, Alice," he continued to hiss. "You will not contact her. You will not oppose me. You will not look for her future any longer, understand Alice? Starting NOW, no more watching her future. If you try to interfere with MY mate, you will have to face the consequences."

Her eyes were wide, her emotions swamped with fear and dread. What was he holding over her? I had no doubt he was blackmailing her somehow, that the words he was speaking held additional meaning to her.

"She is your best friend, right Alice?" he continued, his emotions becoming triumphant as he realized she would no longer fight him. "Don't you want what's best for her?"

Alice nodded reluctantly, her eyes shiny with venom tears. Her shoulders hung in defeat. Rose stared at her in confusion and concern, noticing the despair clinging to Alice's visage. "Yes," Alice replied sadly. "I want what is best for her. Have it your way, Edward. I won't oppose you, and I won't watch her future anymore."

All of us stared back and forth between the two of them, shocked at her easy defeat. It was very out of character for Alice. I was convinced in that moment he held something powerful over her that the rest of us didn't know. What could she have done that was so bad she'd rather abandon her best friend, her sister, than have her family find out about it? I would discover it later, once the two of us were alone. I had ways of making people talk that the Cullens had never seen me use. It was actually quite easy with my gift. Given the right emotional cocktail, a person would rat out their own mother, much less confess to every sin, thought, and misdeed they'd ever committed.

Now that Alice was down for the count and wouldn't be offering any further objections, or exposing Edward's lies and manipulations, he moved on to Rose. Since she cared the least for Bella and was mostly angered by the inconvenience of moving, she was the easiest to win over to his side. I watched the master manipulator at work, playing on Rose's personal weaknesses and insecurities.

"It's about time to move anyway, Rose. What difference does a few months make in one direction or the other? Is it worth robbing Bella of her human potential? Don't you think she would be happier growing up and finding a human husband, who can give her all the things I can't - a stable home, children, gradual maturity, the poignancy of passing time, grandchildren, fading memories, growing old gracefully, a physical legacy to be passed down from generation to generation? Would you really stand by and support her loss of all of that, knowing you could have helped by simply walking away at the right time? Are you going to encourage the loss of all those potential lives that could grow from her body?" he asked, exposing Rose's deepest regrets and darkest desires for herself, the very source of her unhappiness with her existence.

Now it was Rose's eyes which were shiny, and I didn't miss the look of longing on Esme's face as well. Neither did Edward, of course, as it was all part of his plan to win over the family members one by one, until none could stand against him. Rose didn't respond, at least not verbally, but her response really wasn't needed. We could all see the fight was gone from Rose as she tucked her head in Emmett's chest, seeking solace and comfort in his embrace. Emmett gave Edward a dirty look for upsetting his mate, but Edward ignored it, choosing to move on to the next weakest link, Esme. He knew once he had the women on his side, the men would have no choice but to follow. He really was quite intelligent for an idiot hell bent on making the stupidest decision in his existence.

"Esme," Edward began, shaking his head as if he was disappointed with her. "I know you consider Bella your daughter, but truthfully, she already has a mother and a father who love her dearly. Would you rob them both of their only child? You know how you felt when your precious son died . . ." Carlisle hissed at him for reminding Esme of such a painful memory, but Edward continued on as if Carlisle didn't even exist, his entire focus on breaking down Esme's resistance. "Would you bring that pain onto Renee and Charlie? They would have to believe she was dead if we turned her. We would be stealing their only child from them, subjecting them to the same pain and depression you felt all those years ago. It still hurts, doesn't it, Esme? It still haunts you, I know. I hear it in your thoughts. That kind of pain never goes away, never gets better with time, does it? Yet you would deliberately cause that pain to another? Bella isn't dying. It isn't the same as when Carlisle saved the rest of us. She is perfectly healthy, with her whole life ahead of her, a life you want to cut short for your own selfish reasons. Will you steal their daughter away just so you can keep her for yourself? Steal away their only chance for grandchildren and great-grandchildren? She is their only hope for an enduring legacy. If she dies without having children, their names die with her, for she has no siblings to carry on the family name, to receive the family heirlooms, to pass on the family traditions. Will you steal their future happiness for yourself, when you have so little to gain, and they have so much to lose?"

Edward knew them all so well, had seen and stored away their weakness for the time when he could most use it for his own benefit. Esme began to sob into Carlisle chest, and it was clear she had lost that battle of wills. She would not stand in his way. She had no answers for his arguments, not even realizing how preposterous they truly were, for his arguments completely neglected Bella's opinion or choices in the matter of her own future. They were all based on a hypothetical future that Bella would never choose for herself anyway. I knew I wouldn't win as long as Edward was in his element. I was smart enough to hold my tongue now and point out the flaws in his logic later after he wasn't there to weave his magic spell and cloud their reasoning skills anymore. He would leave soon enough and then wiser heads would prevail. I wisely kept these thoughts well hidden from the smarmy mind reader who believed he had this whole family wrapped around his little finger.

Edward then focused his attention on Carlisle. I saw Carlisle tense and felt his dread when Edward's gaze fell upon him. He drew upon his inner strength, determined to stand strong against Edward's manipulation, knowing in his heart it was wrong to leave a member of the family behind when they left and that it would also mean his whole family's death if they broke the Volturi's law. As much as he loved Bella Swan, he couldn't condemn his entire family by allowing her to stay human, especially when she had practically begged him to change her. He had resisted, deferring to Edward, but still fully expecting Edward to come around by graduation.

"Carlisle, dear father," Edward began, playing on Carlisle's emotional attachment to his first born. "I know I haven't always done what I should, haven't always brought joy to your heart or made you proud of me." Carlisle attempted to protest and brush away these sentiments, but Edward simply talked over top of him. I rolled my eyes. His tactics were so blatantly obvious, yet no less effective for being so. "Yet, have I ever once complained when asked to move? Have I ever objected, whined, or fought against the decision, no matter how awkward or inconvenient it might be? When Esme joined our family, then Rosalie, then Emmett, and finally Alice and Jasper, didn't I move at a moment's notice? Didn't I adjust no matter what was thrown at me, even coming home to find all of my things in the garage and no room of my own in my own house? When Esme slipped, and Emmett, and Jasper, didn't I help cover up the evidence, pack up our household, and find a new place for us? Didn't I help settle us into the new town, school, house, and hospital right away, each and every time? Have I ever asked the family to move? Have I ever insisted on a particular place or time? What have I ever asked of you, of the family, Father? Can you not move for my sake, just this one time, in honor of all the times I've moved on behalf of other family members without question or discord? Is it really asking too much for you to listen to me and do what I want, just this once? If you believed this is what your mate needed and deserved, wouldn't you do it for her? Don't I have the right to do what is best for my mate without the rest of you second guessing me? If I am old enough to have a mate, then surely I am old enough to make the decisions regarding her wellbeing."

Carlisle was at a loss to refute his arguments, his sense of fairness being played upon by his golden child. I could feel him doubting himself, questioning his right to make decisions on Edward's behalf. He wouldn't dare tell Emmett he couldn't go off for a few months alone with Rose, nor tell me I couldn't go visit Peter and Charlotte without Alice. In his fear of suffocating his son, of treating him unfairly compared to his other two sons, he fell neatly into Edward's trap. It was amazing how smart that idiot was when he wasn't busy being stupid and ruining his own life, trying to take the rest of us down with him.

I noticed he bypassed me and decided to go straight to Emmett, having worn down Carlisle's defenses in a dismayingly short period of time. I realized Edward didn't think he needed to get my vote on his side. He was confident the family would interfere to prevent me from standing in his way. He didn't consider me a serious threat to his plan. That was fine with me. It would only make it that much easier for me to defeat him as long as he continued to grossly underestimate me.

"Emmett," Edward began, only to be stopped by Emmett's snarl.

"I can tell I'm outvoted, Edward. I want to go down on record as saying this is a huge mistake, and we're all going to regret it dearly. It's one of the stupidest decisions Emoward could ever possibly make, and I am one hundred percent against it. Bella loves Edward, but she also loves the rest of us, and she is going to be devastated by our defection. I, for one, refuse to leave without a word, as I said before, and I don't think you'll last more than a week or two away from her before you'll come running back with your tail tucked between your legs. But maybe that is what you need to get it through your thick skull that leaving her human isn't an option. Maybe a week or two away from your mate will teach you that you can't live without her, that she's the most important thing in your world, that there is no you without her beside you. So, fine. We leave. But I don't think any of us are going to be surprised when you come crawling back to her, begging her to take your sorry ass back. So do yourself a favor, Eddie boy, and don't burn any bridges when it come to her, or it may just become impossible to find your way back."

AN: What do you think of smooth talking Edward, hmmm? Knows just how to play on their insecurities, doesn't he?