Chapter 15 Security Breach
Hi friends thank you so much for all the reviews on the last chapter! It definitely motivates me to keep going. Just wanted to say thank you for reading this. Though this story is far fetched I am really enjoying writing it for you.
It felt like agony waiting for updates regarding the shooting. It was more than the police and royal security could handle. Cordova had never had an attack at this level. We were still waiting for more information. So far there seemed to be quite a few people injured. Whoever had attacked at the event had blindly shot in Edward's direction. They did not care about the well-being of the citizens attending the charity event. We were grateful this was not an event involving children, it would have been much more tragic. I shuttered at the thought.
The castle was on complete lockdown. No one was to leave and no one was to come in. It was clear someone wanted to harm Edward and the family.
My phone began to ring, breaking me from my thoughts. It was Charlie. He had figured out how to FaceTime me, I wondered if Sue had helped him. He was not great with technology.
"Daddy, did you hear the news?" I wailed. My eyes were battling tears from falling. It had been such an emotional time. I knew it was partly due to my new situation that I had cried so much this week.
"Bells, yes is he okay? Is everyone safe?" Charlie sighed. I knew he wished he was here, we never had been so far apart from one another.
"We don't know. There are a lot of people being rushed to the hospital. It seemed whoever attacked did not care who was in the way of Edward." My heart hurt, I felt so worried for him and Jake. I also felt immense guilt for the citizens who were harmed. I prayed there were no casualties.
"Bells could you grab Emmett?" Charlie grunted. He looked uncomfortable. He had a habit of fidgeting with his shirt when he was nervous. The Swans were open books when it came to our emotions.
I shook my head and found my way to Emmett. I was grateful he was only a few doors down. I was still pretty sick, so I was mostly confined to our bedroom.
Rose was comforting Emmett when I found him. He was extremely distraught about the shooting. He was supposed to attend the charity event but decided at the last minute to skip the event. We all were happy he had stayed home today. Jasper and Alice were also in the same room. Though I hadn't seen Jasper much he was very much aware of what was going on. He had a very calm presence but always was fairly quiet.
"Emmett, my dad is on the phone he wanted to speak to you. I think he may have found something." I whispered. Still trying to be careful who heard any information regarding James. We all agreed we couldn't risk this information getting in the wrong hands.
We all went off into a study where no one could hear us. Everyone joined because they were all aware of the James situation. Only Alice and Esme were aware of my pregnancy though. They promised to keep that secret between the three of us.
Charlie cleared his throat surprised by the crowd that now had circled my phone, "I possibly found a lead regarding James. Have any of you heard of Joseph Martin?" The name was familiar. I couldn't remember where I had heard it from.
"The name is familiar daddy." I quietly spoke. I couldn't remember why the name was so familiar.
"Charlie I have never heard of that name. We don't go to America too often." Emmett chuckled. He quickly wrote down the name, he had been keeping pretty detailed notes regarding James.
To my surprise Jasper cleared his throat, "Charlie I know who he is. He was in many news articles a few years back. I can't remember many details though." I looked back at the phone awaiting what my dad would say next.
"Joseph Martin was on the FBI's most wanted list about 10 years ago. He was being tried for the disappearance of many people. As well as drug and weapon smuggling. He was a local businessman in Nevada, and a lot of his employees and associates seemed to have disappeared around him. Before his arrest, he disappeared. No one has seen him since." He explained. I was confused about what this had to do with James. I remembered now that Joseph Martin was all over the newspapers about 10 years ago.
"What does this have to do with James?" I finally asked biting my lip in anticipation.
"I think he is the son of Joseph Martin, Bells. If I am correct he is a mafia man. Joseph had a son who was known to cause a lot of trouble. His son was arrested for the sexual assault of a classmate of his." I winced my eyes. Alice and Rose immediately held onto my hand. I smiled lightly at them both.
This confirmed I was not the only one he had harmed. I silently wondered if there were any others.
"He never was arrested for that. I could only assume it was a payoff. The victim also recanted her statement Bells. If I am right, his name is Victor Martin. His whole family is extremely dangerous. More than we ever would have known." Charlie grunted. My eyes widened as I realized the gravity of the situation. James was even more unhinged than we all had thought.
"Dad, do you think there are other victims of Victor or James?" I mumbled. I couldn't believe I had worked alongside two know criminals. I felt dirty and lucky nothing worse had happened to me.
"I sadly think there are others. You mentioned a coworker of yours that you never heard from again. What was his name?" I gulped the air I was holding onto.
"Laurent Delacroix. We worked together at Hunter's Bar and Grill daddy." I had not even considered that something bad had happened to him.
"He's been missing since last year Bells. There are no leads or any new information. His family seems to believe he ran off, but I don't think that is the case. If they are the Martins, they know how to make people disappear easily." My heart broke for Laurent. I couldn't help but feel guilty, was I the cause of his disappearance?
"Emmett, Victor Martin has an arrest warrant currently. As does his father. I think his whole family may have stolen the identities of another family. If I'm right, this could be the smoking gun to not only take down James but we could get his father as well." Charlie was smiling now. Proud of himself. I couldn't believe it. James or Victor would be arrested. This was great news. It almost distracted us all from the lack of news regarding Edward.
"What is his arrest for dad?" I bit my lip.
"Gun smuggling. You all are safe at the Castle correct?" Charlie was worried. His voice was shaky and he was fidgeting with his shirt again.
"Yes sir, everything is locked down." Jasper quickly responded as he rubbed my shoulder easing my nerves. He had a similar energy to Esme, he knew how to calm anyone down.
"How has he been able to travel and not been caught if he's Victor?" Rose questioned. I looked at her and realized he shouldn't have been able to travel with his record so colorful. This all seemed so unlikely.
"I think they have paid off a lot of people. There is something not adding up here." Charlie sighed. It still wasn't completely figured out.
"I'll have my guy look into this, thank you, Charlie. This is extremely helpful. If we can catch him, we can detain him. Are there any photos of Joseph or Victor? That could help us confirm they are not the Hunters." Emmett was smiling now. We had a possible way to arrest James. We just needed to act quickly.
Charlie nodded his head "Yes, they look pretty similar but they have both changed their appearances. Sue will help me email all the information I have over." He chucked. Charlie was an amazing cop, but completely useless with computers and phones.
"Bells, I can fly out there if you want. I swear if he harms you in any way he will pay." Charlie muttered as he rubbed his face.
As much as I wanted him here I could not risk his safety again. I knew he was safer out of harm's way.
"Daddy it's safer with you at home. I'm safe here. They will take care of me" I smiled slightly looking around the room at my new "family." I realized at this moment we were family due to the growing baby inside me. Maybe they did care? Maybe I did belong? Charlie sighed and nodded his head in response. He would respect my wishes.
We said our goodbyes and I retreated to my room. It was time for me to eat another smaller nutrient dense meal. The medication was helping somewhat but my stomach was still a bit nauseated. Alice joined my side as we both waited for an update regarding Edward. It had only been an hour and a half since the attack. It felt like we never would receive an update.
We heard a light knock on the door, it was Jasper. He found his way to us. I shifted uncomfortably in the bed. I was starting to slightly show. It was not ready to share with anyone before Edward knew. Not even Charlie.
"We just got an update from the royal security team." My heart felt like it was about to explode from the nerves.
"They are okay. There have been no casualties as well, just a lot of injuries. A few more serious cases are in the hospital as well." He smiled at us both. I found myself hugging Alice and crying tears of joy.
"Was he harmed? Was Jake harmed?" I glanced at Jasper. He quickly winced and looked away from Alice and me.
"Jake was shot. Twice. He's lucky he's such a large guy, he will be okay. He may need some physical therapy. He was shot in both arms." Alice and I both were tearing up. Jake and I had grown close through this all. I couldn't help but feel we were meant to be friends. Something drew us together.
"What about Edward, Jazz?" Alice whispered. We were still holding one another.
"He was shot as well." Things were starting to get blurry. Edward had been shot. My heart felt like it was shattering.
"Where?" I breathed out quickly. My grip on Alice had tightened.
"His leg. He's going to be okay, they got him to the hospital just in time. He's in surgery removing the bullet. They were able to stop the bleeding. He may have a long recovery ahead of him. They aren't sure if he will have a full recovery with his leg. He may need to use a cane going forward. Other than that he is in perfect health." Alice was crying hard now as well. We both were. This was all my fault. How could anyone ever forgive me?
"Can we go see him?" I finally asked. My hand lightly floated to my stomach. I needed to tell him about the baby. I needed to see him.
We heard another soft knock at the door. The King locked eyes with me and noticed my hand along my stomach. I quickly widened my eyes and removed my hand. His eyes lingered upon me. Curiously watching me and wondering why I had held my stomach like that.
"Daddy!" Alice ran to Carlisle and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back as she cried.
"He's going to be okay Alice, it's okay shush." He soothed her. His eyes found mine again. My tears were falling harder now.
The King made his way over to me and hugged me tightly. I was shocked by his kindness. He rubbed my back as my tears fell faster.
I quietly said I was sorry. I felt so guilty for the destruction I had brought his family.
"Bella, you didn't cause this. Please know that. This was not James. He may have aided the weapons but this was a political attack. Someone leaked our security plans to whoever attacked the event. There's been a breach in our security as far as we know it." He sighed as he soothed both Alice and me.
"Are we safe here?" Jasper questioned. My eyes widened as I realized my baby was not safe. I needed to protect them. I started to sense the baby could be a boy. I couldn't help but think he would have Edward's hair and my eyes. A perfect blend of the two of us.
"We have had all our staff leave other than a trusted few and a couple of guards outside. We should be safe here but we cannot leave the building. We will have to wait for Edward and Jake to return." I couldn't believe that I wouldn't be by Edward's side. I only cried harder now as the King rubbed my back and soothed me. This was the most we had interacted with one another. Maybe I had misunderstood him. He was protective of his family. He was protective of me, I couldn't help but feel he had finally accepted me.
Jasper filled in Carlisle with the new information regarding Victor Martin. We were close to James' arrest. If he had aided in the guns that were behind this attack, he would not only be arrested on a federal offense he would be tried on his previous arrest record. He would presumably spend the rest of his days behind bars.
I looked down at my phone I had a few missed calls from an unknown number. I wondered if it was Edward. They had called a few times, I must have missed it from the commotion of all that had occurred.
I called back the number and heard a voice clear "Isabella?" It was Kate. She sounded weak.
"Kate? Are you okay?" I quietly asked. I wondered why she had called me. I had hoped it was Edward on the phone. My worry for her never went away. I bit my lip as I awaited her reply.
"I'm so sorry." She silently wailed. Concern laced my face as I put her call on speaker. I knew something bad had happened.
"Kate, I have you on speaker. What's wrong?" I questioned. Alice had an odd look on her face.
"Did he hurt you?" Alice finally asked.
Kate was crying now. My heart dropped as the memories of James flooded in.
"Did he force himself on you, Kate?" I whispered. I felt terrible I didn't warn her more.
"He tried to. My staff was able to intervene before he was able to do more harm. I'm so sorry I brought him here. He lied to me he told me you had ruined his life. He was so charming. I let myself believe Edward and I were meant to rule together. He manipulated me. I lost sight of myself. Can you all ever forgive me?" She was clearly shaken up. I realized if James wasn't with her he was on the loose and dangerous.
"Kate where is he now?" I was shaking now. I was worried for everyone's safety. He was unhinged. It almost felt as if he wanted to be caught.
"I don't know. I didn't realize he would harm anyone. We were working on an article. I thought some bad press would rattle you, Bella. I realize now I should have never had him come here. I feel he was tied to the attack. I cannot confirm exactly that he aided in it but he was on the phone all morning, pacing back and forth. He was yelling a lot. I finally questioned him about what was occurring and he got in my face. He called me a few choice names and then tried to force himself on me." She was breathing hard now. We all were scared of where he was. What were his next moves?
"Kate, please be safe. All is forgiven really. I'm glad you're okay and he didn't harm you." I swallowed back the tears that had formed. I wasn't ready to share with her my experience. Not yet. Maybe we would be friends after all.
"Bella is Edward okay? I'll never forgive myself if he's hurt." I could tell she cared for him. The idea of royalty had made her lose sight of everything. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.
"He's okay." I briefly sighed. "He was shot but he's going to be okay." I was shaking again and crying. Unable to control my emotions.
Alice took the phone and ended the conversation with Kate. She was going to let us know if James was to return to her home. She also was going to send us all of the info he provided for the article. She seemed extremely apologetic. Her heartbreak had made her bitter. I had more sympathy for her.
Though we were afraid, there was no way James would be leaving the country without getting arrested. I knew it was coming soon. I could only hope they caught him before he caused more destruction.
My phone rang again and my eyes lit up. It was Edward.
I picked up the phone tears falling from my eyes. "Bella? Are you okay?" I only sobbed harder now.
"Yes Edward, I'm okay. I'm so sorry." My pregnancy emotions had taken over. I felt so immensely guilty. I had caused James to come into their lives. Maybe it would have been better if I never had met anyone. Maybe it was better if James had dealt with me.
"I'm so sorry for all the chaos that I've brought to your family. I never should have come here. We should have annulled our marriage in Vegas when we had the chance. This fake marriage has only brought you all so much destruction. You all deserve a real princess. Not me" I could barely breathe between my wails. Alice and Jasper's eyes widened as the King's eyes locked in on my own.
My emotions had caused me not to realize he was still in the room. My hand floated to my mouth. I was unable to take back the words I just said. He knew now that our marriage was a sham.
Uh oh Carlisle knows. James.. I mean Victor is on the road to being caught! What will the aftermath of this all be? Stay tuned
As always please review if you want me to continue! Xxx