Riley and I found Bella and Bree in the kitchen preparing some snacks and I remember watching her in the kitchen back in Chicago. She used to make the best peanut butter brownie cookies and turkey sandwiches. I sighed remembering the times when life was easy.
"I'm going to go make some snacks for you all. Riley bring them back down onto the basement and introduce them to Charlotte, Peter, and Vera" Bree smiled slyly. Riley nodded and winked at her.
"So Anthony, I was thinking for lunch some of those brownies I used to make you?" Bree asked knowingly and I felt my eyes widen and my mouth salivate. It was still weird for me to hear my real name, but it was comforting at the same time. Like I didn't have to hide anymore.
"Aunt Bree that would be amazing" I told her and she laughed and nodded.
"Anything else?" She asked. I glanced at Bella silently asking her if she wanted anything and she gave me a small smile from Riley's side and shrugged.
"Your turkey sandwiches?" I asked remembering how good they were. She gasped and nodded.
"I'm glad you remember. I'll get started on those right now. Oh Riley tell Vera to come up here and help me please" She smiled. Riley nodded and he gestured his head for us to follow. I felt Bella grab my hand as she looked around the house. There was a door under the stairs and it had a padlock on it. Riley entered the code and opened the door.
"This is our basement, with all our computer stuff. This is how we've been keeping tabs on James and his minions. If you guys need to get in here for any reason the code is 072607" Riley said as we climbed down the stairs into the room. I heard Bella let out of a breath and my eyes widened.
"Holy shit" I whispered and it looked like something out of a goddamn movie. There was security camera screens mounted on walls, many computers with different data documents, some large flat screen TV's broken into sectioned boxes to show different places on the nation, and a little table with different maps on it. What shocked me the most was the amount of TV's with security camera footage. I didn't know where the hell they were, but it was pretty damn cool.
"Ant this is my sister for all intents and purposes, Charlotte and her husband Peter. Peter used to be a doctor with Carlisle and I and Charlotte was the nurse on our floor" Riley explained. I went to shake Charlotte's hand but instead she pulled me into a hug.
"We're like family! We don't shake hands" She winked and I saw Riley roll his eyes. Peter smiled and shook his hand with mine and then on his lap was a little girl.
"Cute kid" I told him and he chuckled giving a knowing glance to Riley.
"Anthony, this is my daughter Vera" Riley said slowly and I felt my eyes widen.
"You had a kid?" I asked incredulously. Bella's wide eyes met mine in her hug with Charlotte.
"Yeah she's five. Vera say hi to Edward" Riley told her as he plucked her out of Peter's lap.
"Hi Anthony!" She smiled and I saw some missing teeth. I chuckled and smiled at her. She really was a cutie. She had light blonde hair and Charlotte's blue eyes. Her hair was in pigtails and she wore blue jeans and a long sleeved green shirt with a flower on it. On her feet were pink chucks and the laces were purple.
"Hi Vera" I smiled back.
"Daddy who is Anthony?" Vera asked Riley and Riley looked for a way to explain to her.
"Well you remember those pictures of Uncle Carlisle and Aunt Esme, mommy and I showed you?" He asked her and she nodded. I was surprised to find that he showed her my parents and tried to include them in her life.
"He told her about my parents" I whispered in Bella's ear and she nodded with a small tight lipped smile.
"They were like family to him, of course he told her" She said softly and her hand cupped my cheek for a minute then released it when Riley started to talk.
"Well this is their son Anthony" He said. Vera's lips made a small 'O' shape and she cocked her head at me.
"So you're my Uncle Anthony?" She asked. I shook my head.
"No Vera I'm not" I told her. Her shoulders slumped and she looked to Riley.
"He's not my uncle?" She asked sweetly with a sad undertone. I looked to Riley sadly because this kid was breaking my heart. Bella chuckled from my side and my hand found hers again. She hugged my arm and laid her head on my shoulder.
"He's your cousin, but not for real cousin just like I'm your auntie but not for real auntie" Charlotte clarified in kid terms for her and Vera just looked more confused than before.
"I'm your fake cousin" I told her and she nodded then her little eyebrows made a thoughtful V and she looked to Riley again. Her arms went around his neck and she gave him a small angelic look. I could see Riley wanting to roll his eyes at her little innocent look, but deep down I knew he was falling for it. Vera had him wrapped around her finger and I couldn't wait to hear what she would ask him if she had to use that look on him.
"Can I still call him Uncle Anthony?" She asked. I laughed at her and Bella giggled.
"She's so cute" She said softly in my ear. I smiled down on her and nodded.
"Isn't she?" I asked and Bella snuggled into my more and gave me a small kiss. She pulled away and gave me one more peck before giggling again.
"If that's okay with Anthony, but Vera just know he isn't your real uncle. He's like family though" Riley told her and she nodded. She turned to me and opened her arms.
"I want a hug!" She exclaimed and I took her from Riley. Her little arms hugged my neck tightly and her soft thin hair whipped me in the face.
"Anthony who is this?" She asked when she pulled away and pointed to Bella.
"This is my friend Bella" I told her. She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at me.
"You made a kissy with her" Vera pointed out. Riley snorted and Peter and Charlotte were snickering at me. Bella blushed scarlet and looked to her shoes.
"Vera that's his girlfriend" Riley told her and Bella looked up to me with a small thoughtful face.
"Yeah Vera, this is my girlfriend Bella" I told the little girl in my arms and Bella's eyes widened and for a minute I was scared that I went too far with declaring her my girlfriend in front of my 'family' but then she smiled and I knew it was okay.
"Hi Bella. Anthony, do I call her Aunt Bella?" Vera asked me and I shrugged at her.
"If she's okay with it" I told her and Vera faced Bella and opened her arms. Bella took her in her arms and Vera repeated her question to her. Bella nodded and gave Vera a small smile.
"Okay Vera you can see Bella and Anthony later, Momma needs you in the kitchen. She's making brownies" Riley smirked at his daughter whose eyes went wide and mouth dropped.
"Down, down!" She yelled in Bella's arms and pretty much leaped out of Bella's clutches and ran straight to the basement door, flung it open, and sprinted to the kitchen.
"That kid is going to kill me" Riley muttered and I chuckled.
"She's cute Ry, why didn't you tell us this before?" I asked him. He shrugged and scuffed his shoes.
"I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know if you'd be mad that we moved on without you or your parents, but Bree also wanted it to be a surprise. Vera certainly was" He joked. Bella rolled her eyes and wandered around the basement looking at all the equipment.
"Riley what do you guys do with all this stuff?" She asked as she stared a TV with many security camera footages. They were all houses, apartments, townhouses etc, but there didn't seem to be anything happening.
"This is some of the houses where some of the doctors who refused James in his plot against Carlisle live. They were scared for safety and just wanted a precaution. The others want nothing to do with it, but as soon as I tell them I found you I doubt they'll still have they'll same views. The others are areas that James has been seen and supposedly held hostage other doctors. The map over there is the places I've tracked him down and his minions." The TV next to the computer data programs was a screen and there were two big black sedans. Charlotte and Peter were typing on their computers and Riley was talking to them when I saw two people come out of the small town house with the two black sedans. The first was a woman with bright red curly hair, she and an African American man with dark brown hair in dreadlocks. They were oblivious to the cameras and I saw the man pull out a gun.
"Riley!" I yelled for him not taking my eyes off the screen. The red woman held a taser in her hand and another man with red hair led a man out of the house roughly. The man's face was black and blue and his eyebrow had crusted blood on it.
"Oh shit!" Riley yelled and then all of a sudden the whole room became chaotic. Peter and Charlotte rolled from computer to computer and they froze the image of the foursome with their get away cars.
"I ran the plates and found their registered under Laurent Marseille. He's James cousin by marriage, and he met Carlisle a few times. Victoria Blanc is his step-sister and has a few theft and assault charges. She has two restraining orders one from a man named Steven Moreau and one from a woman Claire Mirette. James used to date Victoria but now I think they're just fuck buddies. She's the redheaded woman in the picture. The redheaded man is Benjamin Jackson. The hostage is Liam Thompson. He was a close friend of mine and Carlisle's." Riley said from the paper Peter and Charlotte printed.
"Well now that we have the plates we can keep track of them right?" Bella asked worriedly as she sat down in a chair next to Charlotte and did as she asked. They nodded at her silently keeping their eyes on what Laurent and Victoria were doing. I watched the screen from next to Riley whose face stayed stoic. They roughly shoved Liam in the car and Laurent got into the drivers seat of the car. Victoria slipped in next to him and Benjamin got in after Liam did. Laurent sped out of the driveway and Peter was quick to locate the plates of the cars.
"This is why we have the fucking cameras. For years we got nothing on them, and now that you show up kid things start happening" Riley told me as he sent Bella to go get Charlotte.
I thought about what Riley had said and I chuckled. It was true, since I had come around Riley things started to go from calm to crazy. Then it hit me. I felt my breathing hitch as I worked it out in my head.
"Oh shit" I said to myself as I figured out the reason to why things were happening.
"Riley!" I yelled and ran up the basement stairs into the kitchen. Bree and Riley were having what looked like a serious conversation and I saw Bella with Vera in the living room. She was coloring with Vera and she smiled at her but I could see the worry behind her smile and the look in her eyes. She was scared.
"Babe you okay?" I asked as I entered the living room.
"Edward" Was all she said and I took her in my arms. She cried quietly, and I buried my face in her neck. My shirt had a small wet spot from her crying
"Aunt Bella what's wrong?" Vera asked getting up from the floor to come comfort her 'aunt'. Her tiny hands brushed Bella's arm and Bella chuckled at her. Vera climbed into her lap and snuggled in.
"Why are you crying?" She asked patting her face.
"Because I heard something sad" Bella told her. She didn't want to scare her.
"I'm sorry. Do you want me to go get you a cookie?" She asked sweetly and Bella smiled.
"How about we both get cookies?" She asked. Vera nodded with a wide grin on her face. Bella stood and made her way to the kitchen with Vera on her hip.
"Come on Uncle Anthony I want a cookie!" Vera said from Bella's arms. I chuckled and stood up from the couch and found Bree on her phone calling around and Riley typed furiously on a big thick black laptop.
"Riley I had an idea as to why Victoria and Laurent left today" I told him and sat down at the table next to him. Riley glanced up at me for a brief second and then continued typing.
"What it is kid?" He asked and Bree sat down at the table too. She hung up her phone and started calling again from a number in her little notebook.
"Wait a minute Bree the kid has an idea here" Riley said and Bree looked up to me.
"Well I was thinking you know those cameras Eleazar installed into our house?" I asked. He and Bree nodded.
"Well do you think James somehow got his team to hack into them? Like somehow he saw that I left and never came back and probably had that man that you killed come to see where I was heading. They know I'm coming for them. They all left to cover their tracks and change locations." I told them. They stayed quiet and thought about it.
"It does make sense. Knowing James, he hired every guy he could find to hack into your system." Riley said quietly. Bree held her phone in her hands and she twirled it around thinking for a moment.
"Riley, if Laurent and Victoria left, think about how many other people who are on James's team left. They're creating like an army of sorts. They're banding together getting ready to fight us off if we come to them. I think it's time we called" Bree said softly to Riley.
"Bella!" Riley called. Bella came toward us with Vera but Bree shook her head and looked to the basement. It seemed Bella understood what Bree was saying and sent Vera down to the basement. I saw Vera venture down into the basement, shoving her little stool under the padlock and putting in the numbers one by one until she heard it unlock and with all her might, opened up the heavy door and ran inside.
"What's going on?" Bella asked sensing the tension and came to sit in my laps. She sat sideways and faced Bree and Riley.
"We're going to call the other doctors who quit because of James and his threats. We have about twenty to start with. I'll tell them to come here as soon as possible." Bree sent and went into the backyard with the phone. Riley started going on his emails and called too.
"Kid, just relax and stay calm. We got this; we won't let anyone hurt you. You and Bella go on upstairs and try to chill. Bree has the guest room ready for you and Bella." Riley said and he started calling.
Bella climbed off my lap and took my hands in hers.
"Let's go relax" She smiled and pulled me to my feet. The dark wood stairs with the white wood railing felt really homey. There were four rooms upstairs and on side of the upstairs was one bedroom I guess as Riley and Bree's room, and there were three other rooms. One door had a pink princess crown with 'Vera' on it and the two others were blank. I opened the first one and it was a playroom for Vera and the other was the guest bedroom. It was simple, with a king sized bed with a dark blue comforter and white pillows with a light blue design on it. The two small white bedside tables held a landline phone, a stack of magazines, and photos. There was a closet, TV, desk, and dresser. It was a nice room and Bella fell onto the bed.
"This is nice" She smiled and looked to me. I chuckled and lay next to her.
"Yeah it is." I agreed and it was quiet for a moment.
"How are you feeling?" She asked and I shrugged.
"I'm nervous and I guess a little scared. I mean who knows what James is capable of. Who knows if we have other of his minions looking after us. We're trapped in a fucking box Bella! A box that they created for us! They surround us watching every one of our goddamned movies. They caused me to lose my parents! My life!" I yelled at her and she just sat there and took it. She knew none of it was directed towards her, but knew that I needed to let this out.
"They took my family and life. My friends, my safety. I don't know what else to do! There isn't anything I can do, but wait for Riley and Bree to figure out a situation wondering if they'll even find one. If I'll ever see my parents again. This isn't how I want to live my life! So fuck them! Fuck them all to hell" I cried and she took me in her arms as I let it all out.
"This is why we came here Edward. To stop those assholes and give you your family back. They stole everything, so we're going to take it back. We'll get them Edward. We'll get them" She said determined and I swallowed.
She was right. We'll get them. We'll get them.
I know it's been a while since I've updated, and I have no excuse for it. The good thing is I'm here to provide y'all with some chapters and hope you all can forgive me.
Bee tee dubs, I've changed the summary so go on and look at that!
REVIEW. REVIEW. REVIEW.
XOXO Lizzy