I don't own Twilight. What I own is my character's behavior, personality, background, and the plot of the story.
Author's note at the end of the chapter.
Bella is putting the finishing touches on her makeup when the doorbell rings. Surprised, she walks to the stairs hurried muttering to herself, "Is he fucking kidding? He told me he needs thirty minutes before he comes. Good thing I like to get ready early."
Swinging the door open, she exclaims, "You are so lucky I am done," but the words dry in her throat. Standing in front of her is nonother than Victoria.
"Sorry, I thought you were Edward," Bella tells her apologetically and steps aside to let her in.
Victoria steps in smiling at her tentatively and asks her, "You weren't busy, were you?"
Bella shakes her head and throws a smile at Victoria as she answers, "Just finishing getting ready. Edward and Cece are coming to pick me up in thirty minutes."
Victoria nods her head and rubs her hands nervously as she looks around the living room. "Would you like coffee?" Bella asks her.
Victoria nods her head and Bella goes into the kitchen to make it.
"So, what's wrong?" Bella asks once each one of them has a cup of coffee in hand.
Victoria jerks in surprise and shakes her head. "Nothing."
Bella just raises an eyebrow. "Why do you assume something is wrong? Things are quite fine for me," Victoria mutters aggressively.
Bella shakes her head and tells her, "I am letting your tone pass only because you are feeling defensive."
Bella pauses to give her a pointed look then continues, "I know something is wrong because I know you and you are extremely nervous."
Victoria nods her head looking at her hands then tells Bella, "I need your help with something."
Bella sits up straight and asks her, "What is it?"
Victoria doesn't meet Bella's eyes as she tells her, "I need your help. I am moving out. I can't live with James any longer."
Bella moves closer to Victoria, and places her hand on her shoulder as she asks her, "What happened? What's wrong?"
Hands shaking, Victoria tells her, "He threw a bottle of wine at me. It missed but only by a fraction. I can't have that happen again, not in front of Maria."
Bella automatically hugs Victoria tightly and tells her, "I am so sorry that this is happening to you."
"It's okay," Victoria replies, her voice stiff.
Bella pulls back to look her in the eye and tells her, "No it's not. It's not okay. You are entitled to feel hurt, angry, and pissed off. You shouldn't have to go through that."
Victoria nods her head then asks impatiently, "Well you help me move?"
"Now?" Bella asks.
"Yes."
"I am so sorry but I can't and you shouldn't. You need evidence. You are moving with Maria right?" Bella asks pausing her line of instruction with a question.
Victoria nods her head. "Then you need sufficient evidence. You are moving Maria from stability, from a home she knows to an unfamiliar one. You need a sufficient reason to justify that to a judge. Do you have any evidence of abuse?"
At the blank look on Victoria's face, Bella asks her, "Text messages, people willing to testify, damage to the house to use as evidence when calling the police for a domestic disturbance, neighbors to assist to noises coming from your place?"
When Victoria shrugs at her looking confused, Bella tells her to wait for her and gets up for a minute then returns with her mobile phone in hand. "I am going to give you the name of a family court strategist on insta. Give her a call and she will help you decide what to do. We don't want Maria to end up with him."
Victoria looks at Bella in confusion and asks her, "So you won't come with me now?"
"Have you been even listening to me? You can't leave now or you would be shooting yourself in the foot," Bella tells her in frustration.
Victoria nods her head grimacing and gets up after returning her phone to her bag, but she doesn't hold her bag properly as it falls from her hands. Bella bends down to pick it before Victoria does and freezes in surprise.
She slowly looks up at her and asks her, "Why do you have a gun in your bag?"
Victoria quickly snatches it from her hand and tells her, "It's none of your business."
Bella straightens and replies, "The hell it is. You brought a loaded gun to my house, where my daughter lives and you tell me that it's none of my business."
"You're not letting this go, are?" Victoria asks in frustration.
"No," Bella replies firmly.
"Put your hands up," Victoria orders as she cocks the gun at Bella.
Bella's eyes widen but somehow she remains calm as she asks Victoria, "Why are you doing this?"
Victoria shakes her head as she starts pacing in front of Bella. "You couldn't come with me, could you? No, you had to play the hero and tell me all about how I can report my husband when the shit I told you isn't even true. Now, put your hands up where I can see them and walk toward the door."
Bella takes a step back but Victoria waves her gun around and tells her, "Don't you dare and move or I will shoot you. The plan was simple enough, befriend you and then get you for our boss, but you have been so difficult to get."
Bella should have taken Marco's warning seriously, but no, instead she befriended the crazy lady. If there is someone who should be awarded for having a shitty sixth sense, it's Bella.
"Who is your boss?" Bella asks trying to buy the time she needs to figure out how to get out of this.
Victoria laughs telling her, "Wouldn't you love to know."
"Victoria, I can give you money, lots of it. Just let me go," Bella pleads with her.
Victoria shakes her head and replies, "You can't possibly top what I am being paid."
"Try me," Bella urges her.
Victoria huffs and tells her, "Fine, a million dollars."
Bella understands then who her boss is, "Denali."
"Took you long enough to understand. You know when I first read about you, I thought you were a smart person, but you believed every word I said. I even started dropping hints to see if you would catch on, but you were that dense," Victoria is cut off by Bella jumping on her.
A fight breaks between them as Bella tries to get the gun out of her hand and Victoria tries to keep it out of Bella's reach. Bella finally gets her hands on the gun and what follows is a tug of war over the gun.
Bella shoves Victoria's shoulders back as she pulls the gun but Victoria doesn't budge and shoves her instead. After what felt like a lifetime but was seconds Victoria screams loudly and shakes Bella.
Two things happen at once.
A popping sound echoes in the room.
And two horrified pairs of eyes meet.
Hello lovely people,
Quite the turn of events. Did I surprise you? You can call me the gift that keeps on giving cause I will always throw a random twist or turn your way.
There is a real family court strategist on Instagram I follow called Kaitlyn Jorgensen. She provides women with advice when it coms to reporting DV or rape, the kind of evidence to gather, how to conduct yourself in court and during the investigation, and overall helps survivors navigate the legal system. If you wanna learn about the legal system, need help, or know someone who needs it; she is your person.
Please leave a comment in the review section. It could be your favorite part, thoughts, feeling, or even criticism. Any and every comment you leave is read and taken into consideration. Your comments motivate me to update faster and help me grow as a writer.
Until my next update,
Stay Safe