40

Bella tapped her nails nervously on the table, her eyes locked on the door as she waited. And waited. And waited. She'd been waiting for almost an hour. No, that wasn't right. She'd been waiting three days, but officially, she had only been waiting inside the small, windowless room for almost an hour.

"I'm about to take you home if you don't stop tapping your damn nails."

Bella sighed and dropped her hands into her lap as she looked to the man sitting on her left. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Garrett said, waving her off. "I still don't think this is a good idea."

She rolled her eyes. This had been a discussion she'd had with him, Alice, Carlisle, Emmett, Esme, Rose, Edward, and Jasper. All of them said the same thing: she didn't owe Emily Young anything. But she did, because Emily Young killed their father, their grandfather, and she needed to know why. James had been the only one who seemed to support her decision to meet with Emily Young in the county lock-up. If he hadn't had a meeting with the attorney handling Charlie and Alistair's estates, he would have been there with her, but he wasn't, so Garrett came. As her lawyer, as Emily's lawyer, he said.

"What's taking so long?"

But before Garrett could say anything, the door opened and Bella looked over, finding Maggie escorting Emily Young into the room. Maggie smirked as she practically shoved Emily into the chair across from Bella and walked out of the room.

"You okay, Emily?" Garrett asked, placing his hands on the table.

She nodded, her eyes locked on Bella. "Didn't believe them when they said you were here."

"Why not?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders. "Just didn't."

Bella pressed her lips together before she asked, "Did you know about me? Before I . . . Did you know about me?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Emily leaned forward against the table. "I thought as long as you were in Arizona you were safe from him. From them. When I found out she'd sent you here, I . . . I don't know."

"You're my sister."

It wasn't a question, but Emily nodded and said, "Half-sister, technically. My mother was fifteen years old when Charlie Swan held her down and raped her. Nine months later I was born. I didn't know about him, of course, until I was twelve years old. She died from cancer, and I was alone. We'd lived with the Makah Tribe. They took me in when she died, raised me as one of theirs. I didn't even know what he had done to her until I found her diaries." Emily frowned. "She was the best mom, Bella. Never made me feel unloved, but I didn't understand how she could keep something like that from me. I'd spent my whole life asking about him, what he was like, and she would tell me that he was kind and gentle, that he had loved her, that he'd died. But those were lies.

"When I was sixteen, I got the courage to find him. I watched him for days. He was bigger than life. He . . . he seemed so normal. I didn't understand how someone so . . . normal could be the monster she'd portrayed him to be in her diary." Emily shook her head, looking away. "I'd gone to Port Angeles for the afternoon, just . . . just needing to, I don't know, breathe for a second. I'd just driven back into Forks when he pulled me over. He said I was speeding, made me get out of the car, give him my license. He just looked at me, said I reminded him of someone he knew, but he didn't know who. He gave me a warning and I went back to the hotel."

Emily leaned back in her chair. "He broke into my room that night. He put his hand over my mouth, tore my pajamas off, and raped me. I begged for him to stop, begged him to leave me alone, but he didn't." She paused. "Not even when I told him he was my father. In fact, that's why he did this," she said, gesturing to her face. "Said he'd make sure I never forgot who he was. I left town that night and didn't come back until I heard you were coming."

"Why didn't you come to me?" she asked.

"Because you were already struggling, Bella, but I watched. I was . . . I was prepared to do what I had to protect you from going through what I had. That's why I followed you and Alice that night."

"You did?"

Emily nodded. "I knew he would come for you after his father bailed him out of jail. They weren't going to just let that kind of betrayal go. I'm sorry I didn't stop from taking you. I lost you in the crowd and by the time I found Alice again, you were gone and she was freaking out. I knew there were only three places he would take you: his place, Alistair's house in Portland, and the cabin. I arrived just as Carlisle and Emmett did. I stayed in the shadows until they got you out, until you were safe, and then I went inside and killed them. He begged for his life, too. Alistair just sat there, accepted his fate, but Charlie, he begged for mercy." Emily looked back at her. "I told him to go fuck himself, and I pointed my gun at him, and I shot him."

"I'm sorry," Bella whimpered, reaching for her, but pulling her hand back. "I'm sorry you killed him because of me."

"It wasn't because of you, Bella, but because of him. Men like Charlie Swan don't stop. I knew if I didn't put him down, he would come after you again. I couldn't sit back and let my little sister go through what I did, what my mother had." Emily leaned forward. "Do you love her, Bella? Alice, I mean. Do you love her?"

Bella nodded, tears sprinkling down her face.

"Then take her and get out of Forks. Go . . . go anywhere else. Just take her and be happy."

"I can't just leave you here," Bella cried. "You're my family."

"Maybe, but she's the love of your life." Emily stood up and walked over to the door, knocking on it with her cuffed hands. She looked back at Bella. "Be happy, Bella. Just . . . be happy."

"I will."

Bella felt Garrett place his hand on the top of her back at the door opened and Maggie wrapped her fingers around Emily's arm and dragged her out of the room. As the door closed, Bella found herself in Garrett's arms, letting him hold her as she cried.

Cried for Emily's mother.

Cried for Emily herself.

Cried for all the women who found themselves in Charlie's clutches.

And she cried for herself, because she'd always wanted a sister, and it was too late. Emily Young sacrificed everything to keep Bella safe.

Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews! Only a few chapters left.