CHAPTER 11

I am disruptive, I've been corrupted

And by now I don't need a fuckin' introduction

~ Halsey, Lilith

EPOV

I knew Isabella Cullen better than anybody else in the world, herself included. I knew her better than the fans who had pages dedicated to her every move and the ones who got into fights over her on the internet, better than the team that had helped her manage her career since she was sixteen, better than our son who liked to pretend he was her favorite. I had seen her at her highest of highs and lowest of lows, moments nobody but the two of us knew of.

I thought I had, at least. Until I watched her breakdown in a clip released for all the world to see.

The self loathing I felt at not being there for a woman I had never met at the time was irrational but it lingered all day. The protrusion of her spine as she was hunched over the toilet, throwing up whatever lingering stomach acid was left in her system was ingrained in my mind.

I could only imagine what I was getting into when she was breaking apart. I would have been twenty-four, high off of an excellently curated cocktail of drugs made by yours truly, in the back of a club or bar with my choice of women for the night. It might have been absurd, but I hated myself for it.

I knew my wife, though. And while Lawrence released the clip to try and humiliate or degrade her, he had also shown the world the split second that she decided to stop letting that life control her. Maybe I was the only one in the world who would see it for what it was, but it was there.

The clip cut to Bella and Kate in a car, studio executive and newest name on my hit-list Duncan Zane with them. Don't fuck this up, he had told her when fresh tears started silently sliding down her cheeks on the drive over. After Kate fixed her makeup, Bella eyed the man across from her. A quick glance, but it was one that promised she wouldn't forget the moment.

Then her solemn face was quickly taken over by a bright smile as the door opened and bright flashes blinded the screen.

Everyone called her a monster. Said she was cocky or bratty or dramatic. But she became who she needed to in order to survive the industry she had been tossed in. And when she did more than survive, when she thrived in a way no one else had, they hated her for it.

I got home late, late-late as Bella would categorize it considering it was nearing three in the morning. I expected her to be asleep, but she was wide awake in bed, tablet and stylus in her hand as she talked to someone over the phone.

I stood in the doorway for a moment and watched her. Long gone was the scared eighteen-year-old who did what she was told. In her place was a woman prepared to destroy the foundation of the industry that had left her broken and bruised.

Maybe most men preferred a docile little stay at home wife, but that never would have satisfied me. Her cockiness matched my own and her ability to extract revenge in the most painful way possible for the people who screwed her over was goddamn inspiring.

Her eyes met mine as she listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone, a gentle smile pulling at her lips. I shot her a wink as I heard the man keep talking to her over the phone.

"I'm in," he said, his voice muffled from my vantage point. "And I'll take my payment in the form of an original Isabella Cullen song written for my next project."

Bella beamed, checking something off of her tablet. "Deal."

I tossed my suit jacket to the side, unbuttoning my shirt and discarding it as well before falling into bed beside her. I laid on my stomach, listening to Bella give the man a few more details on the project he had signed on for. I barely repressed a loud moan when her fingers started to gently brush through my hair, nails scratching at my scalp the way she knew I loved.

I must have fallen asleep for a minute or two because the next thing I knew I had the steady weight of my wife straddling my waist as her fingers dug into my back, working muscles that had been tensed all day.

"Goddamn," I groaned as her tongue slid over my shoulder. I rolled over, pulling Bella back over as she tried to get up.

A few moments too long passed between us, Bella's eyes softening for a breath. "You saw it."

I nodded. My hands squeezed her waist. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."

That was the most important of the many jobs I had. And even though I had never even heard the name Isabella Swan at that point in my life, I'd always be frustrated I wasn't there to protect her. Stand up for her. Put a bullet between the eyes of the men who sent her out on a red carpet when she was clearly having a breakdown.

Bella smiled softly down at me, leaning over to press a soft kiss to my lips. "You're here now."

My fingers brushed through her hair, keeping us nose to nose. "Make them pay for it."

That vengeance that I loved flared behind her eyes, a smirk tugging at her lips before they crashed down on mine. My fingers dug into her hips, grinding her harder into my cock with each roll she gave them. Eventually she pulled away, gasping for breath as she kissed her way down my chest. Teeth nipped at my abdomen, at the skin inches above where her fingers fumbled with my belt. Once the offending clothing was tossed across the room warm lips were wrapped around my cock.

"Goddamn," I repeated, my head falling back against the bed as I worked on filling my lungs with air. Every flick of her tongue, each scrape of her teeth and slide of her hand had me pulling her away with a curse far too soon.

The flimsy little silk shorts she was wearing were easy enough to tear off of her, her t-shirt tossed away with a huff as she shook her head at me.

"Patience isn't my forte," I told her, pulling her to me and lining her up so she could sink down on my cock. I sat up, my back against the headboard and watched her move; the roll of her hips and the bounce of her breasts and the look of ecstasy on her face as she did it.

This woman was my most coveted possession; her loyalty and her love, her friendship and companionship over the years were not things I took lightly or for granted. While I had my hands full dealing with O'Malley for now, and I had promised to let her fight her own battles when it came to her career, it didn't mean I couldn't be patient when needed.

I would be waiting in the shadows when she was done with them, ready to take the final shot.

Sliding my hand between us, I let my thumb brush against her clit with every jerk of her hips. A satisfying whimper escaping her throat with each movement.

"Come for me, baby," I breathed out against the skin of her shoulder, teeth nipping at whatever skin I could reach.

Bella buried her head against my shoulder, nails digging into my biceps as she rode out her orgasm a minute before I pumped my own into her.

Bella pressed a lazy kiss to my lips, pulling away with a smile.

–Love|Power–

"Did you know Ma was laundering money through her production company?" Aiden asked, frowning at me from his spot beside me.

We stood off the side of the road, a backstreet through the underbelly of Chicago that was obsolete most of the time. He had eagerly agreed to the ride, in the vintage Aston Martin Bella had gifted me after her reputation tour ended. I rarely drove it, it seemed a crime against humanity to actually let it out of the safety of the garage, but it was a special occasion.

I leaned against the hood, next to my son, and watched for the headlights I knew were not too far off in the distance.

"Yes," I scoffed. "It was–is–my money."

"Is that the only reason she gave it to me? So that–"

"No," I interrupted. "She didn't give you that company so we could keep using it for that, she gave it to you because she trusts you with her legacy."

Aiden let out a nervous breath. "Inheriting your company would have been less pressure. Everybody already hates you."

I scoffed out a laugh.

"I never really see it. Mom being… that woman who has won six…seven Academy Awards. I always knew it, saw glimpses of it, but there are people at that production company that talk about her like she's a god."

A surge of pride shot through my veins. "She is."

"I don't want to fuck it up."

"You won't. She's going to be busy the next year or so, but she'll always be there to help you with it."

"It would help if the biggest film to come out in five years was made under the studio," Aiden grumbled under his breath.

Bella's current projects weren't under any studio. There were no streaming deals as of yet and no production company fronting the costs. There was Bella and her vision, and that was it. That was all she needed to have the industry wrapped around her finger, anxiously waiting to hear who the next award winning actor was that had signed onto her project.

She didn't usually stuff her films with well known actors. She liked finding new talent, giving people their shot if she saw potential in them.

This one was different. This one was breaking every rule there was.

Finally, in the distance a few small headlights shined.

"Are you finally going to tell me what we're doing out here?"

"Dealing with O'Malley is akin to dealing with a toddler throwing a tantrum," I told him, smiling the closer the headlights got. "Fucker gets pissed and decides to blow up a parking garage."

Aiden nodded, frowning at the caravan of cars that raced past us on the empty road. "And?"

"And," I sighed, twirling the detonator between my fingers. It was a shame, really. The luxury race cars that O'Malley was having shipped into the city were full of drugs, but they didn't deserve the end they were about to get. "I'm tired of it."

Once the cars were a safe distance away, I pressed the button in my hand and enjoyed the blast in the distance.

–Love|Power–

THIS IS WAR: ISABELLA CULLEN V. NATHAN LAWRENCE

For decades, Isabella Cullen and Nathan Lawrence have never said a bad word about the other. Cullen has thanked Lawrence repeatedly for the start of her career after Lawrence famously asked her to audition for Tainted on a whim after running into Cullen–then Swan–when she was on vacation in Los Angeles with her family at sixteen. Lawrence has constantly praised Cullen's work, even after she very obviously outgrew the director and moved on to win her first Academy Award at nineteen.

Which is why it came as such a shock earlier this year when Lawrence started a smear campaign against Cullen, claiming he was bribed by her biological father, Aro Volturi, to give her that first role. He's since announced an in-depth documentary into Cullen and her personal and professional life. The documentary promises to show the world the real Isabella Cullen, something Lawrence seems to believe will finally turn everyone against the starlet.

While the public at large has, as usual, turned their backs on the famed actress again, Hollywood is another story. Cullen is a staple in the industry and has four decades worth of connections, but said connections never failed to distance themselves from the actress whenever her popularity began to falter. In a somewhat surprising turn of events a majority of the professional world has stood up for Cullen.

Two-time Academy Award nominee Bradley Anderson has expressed his disappointment in Lawrence. When asked at a recent press junket about the new feud he shook his head and said, "Bella has been a community punching bag her whole career. It's disgusting that someone like Lawrence, her friend, is joining in now just to try and finally put himself on her level."

Six-time Grammy winner and long time collaborator Peter Clark has been one of the only people in the industry constantly on Bella's side. Paparazzi caught him on his way to LAX, supposedly on his way to Chicago to work with Bella, where he said, "Lawrence should have known better than anyone not to f— with Bella."

Not to mention the influx of the younger generation of talent surprisingly standing by the icon. Various songs have been released in the last month, and not the usual influx of raps name dropping the actress.

Jax Skyler was the first to release a song openly supporting Cullen, releasing his latest single Unholy along with a caption that said the feud between Lawrence and Cullen was akin to a husband cheating on an unsuspecting wife. Hailey Sterling and Chloe Ryan praise Cullen and her constant willingness to fight for what she wants with Good For Her. Ashley Graves draws inspiration from Cullen with her single Breakfast, adding Lawrence to a list of men Cullen will undoubtedly dethrone.

Lawrence's claims of Cullen's bribe-started-career have still had several consequences for Cullen. She was boo'd off of the stage at the Grammys, forced to withdrawal her membership from The Academy, and sold her ownership of Millenium Records and Cullen Productions, though the latter reportedly went to her son, Aiden Cullen. Lawrence, along with fellow investors Duncan Zane and Colton Shay, bought the streaming company where Cullen has been exclusively streaming her visual albums and promptly removed her work from the platform.

It begs the question that, if something as inconsequential as an unverified rumor can so effectively implode a career as impressive as Cullen's, who is safe?

Men. Men are safe.

Because Cullen reportedly only withdrew from The Academy because they were investigating her and not Lawrence. Colton Shay was outcast from the business decades ago when Cullen accused him of sexually harassing her when she was seventeen. Duncan Zane is the man who forced Cullen to walk a red carpet in the midst of a mental health crisis.

While Cullen does have her faults; her marriage to notorious crime boss Edward Cullen being a red flag that is often hard to ignore, she is still arguably the most powerful woman in Hollywood. Which is no doubt why three men who are far past their prime are attempting to make one last ditch effort at success by tearing her apart.

The problem for them is that Cullen doesn't seem to want to go easily.

After a quiet month following the news of Lawrence's documentary, Cullen has spent the last two weeks seeming to prepare for her return. Her departure from her record label and film studio made her an independent artist for the first time in her career, and she seems to thrive with the creative freedom.

An as of yet unnamed project is in the works, with names such as Bradley Anderson, Elle Wilson, and Clara Blake already attached.

With those three names attached, along with Cullen, the film already contains talent with ten Academy Awards between the bunch.

Seven of which belong to Cullen herself.

I closed the tab on my computer when Emmett and Jasper walked in my office. Turning toward my brothers I handed them each a copy of the thick file on my desk.

"This is everyone Bella is hiring to work with her for the next year. Actors, cameramen, assistants, everyone who will be anywhere near her. I need a thorough background check on everyone in here. If there's the possibility that they were in the same county as O'Malley, I want to know."

Jasper nodded, the background check much more of his forte than Emmett's.

"A tentative schedule for her is also in there. She starts filming in two weeks. One of us will be on set, eyes on her, the entire time."

Both nodded.

O'Malley was pissed, more so after I blew up a quarter of a million dollars worth of product, and I wasn't taking any chances. I wasn't holding anything back anymore, either. If he thought he could play with us, I could play.

And I would slowly destroy everything he had.

Jasper and Emmett followed me out of the office, leaning against the back of the elevator on either side of me. Even though I knew Bella was fine with stepping back from the label and studio, it made having to actually come into the office more of a hassle than before. Because she was no longer in her own office a few floors below me whenever she was working.

"Bella know any of this?" Emmett asked, eying the schedule in his hands as the elevator made it to the parking garage.

"Not the specifics," I admitted. She didn't know one of the three of us would constantly be on set, and didn't know the extent to which I would be looking into every person working with her. Or the sheer number of men of mine who would be scattered about her set on any given day. She knew I was taking care of the security for her set.

Jasper shook his head with a laugh, both he and Emmett tucking the files under their arms as we all got into our respective cars. It was a quick meeting, but nothing more was necessary for the time being.

Instead of heading home, I ended up at the penthouse. It had gone through more than a few renovations over the years, but it was still a sentimental place for me. The first place I brought a pretty little brunette back to. Said brunette was coming down the stairs as I walked in, sin incarnate as she fastened an earring in on the way down.

The leather leggings hugged every inch of her perfectly while the cream silk camisole helped the tattoos pop against her skin. Especially the newly healed snake slithering up her right arm.

"Hi," she smiled, pressing a quick kiss to my lips as she walked past me to grab her purse. "What is this for again?"

"It's a date, Bella."

"Is it a date because you did something bad and are trying to proactively make up for it?"

"No," I sighed, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the waiting elevator. "It's because we're in the calm before the storm and I'd like to have an evening with my wife before you're too busy for me."

"I'm never too busy for you," she said seriously, intertwining our fingers.

We ended up at a bar Alec owned downtown. It was on the classier side, had decent food, and a regular patronage that knew not to interrupt us. Because it was Friday night there would also be a band, hopefully distracting the rest of the customers from the grammy winning artist at the table beside them.

Both of us frowned when we walked past a table full of the younger generation of Cullen's. Aiden sat beside Adeline, arm around the back of her chair. Alec sat with Jared while Delilah and Maggie gossiped together.

"What are you guys doing?" Bella asked.

"Not having a weekly dinner where we all talk about shit we can't say at our family dinner on Sunday," Aiden said quickly.

Bella eyed our son, a slight frown on her face. "God, I hope you never get arrested because you're a horrible fucking liar." Aiden grumbled underneath his breath, but couldn't deny the fact that he had never been able to lie to his mother. "So you guys have dinner once a week to talk shit about us?"

"Not, you know, you specifically," Jared added.

Bella motioned between the both of us. "But, we're the fun ones." She waved them off playfully, grabbing my hand. "Never mind. We're going to go to our own table and talk shit about all of you."

"For what it's worth," I told her as we sat down at our own table. "I think you're fun."

"You're just trying to get lucky at the end of the night."

I scoffed. "I haven't had to try to get lucky with you since I was twenty-seven, Bella."

She frowned. "Are you calling me easy?"

Leaning back in my chair, I eyed the woman who had been mine longer than we had been apart. "For me? Yes."

Bella smirked over at me. "Maybe I'll start playing hard to get."

Leaning foward, eyes on her, I asked, "Do you want to go fuck in the back office? Show them we're not boring?" I nodded toward the table of shit-talkers.

It was a joke–unless she agreed–because I knew she wouldn't agree. Her moment of hesitation had me smirking over at her.

"Damnit, I am easy," she grumbled, taking a too-large gulp of water to cool herself off.

A/N: I hope you're all still enjoying this one! Let me know what you think? :)

Songs mentioned in the chapter are Unholy by Sam Smith, Good For Her by Mothica, and Breakfast by Dove Cameron