Seventeen:

The Interrogation

Bella's POV:

Dinner with Charlie was supposed to be just that—dinner. But sitting across from him in our usual booth at the diner, I could feel the tension tightening like a noose around my neck. Charlie had his cop face on, the one he used when he was interrogating suspects. I wasn't a suspect, but I might as well have been, considering what I was hiding.

He stirred his coffee slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. "So, how's everything going with you and Edward?"

I tried to keep my voice steady. "It's… okay. Just a lot going on with his business, you know?"

Charlie nodded but didn't let up. "I bet. That merger must be putting a lot of pressure on him."

"Yeah," I muttered, poking at my food. "Something like that."

Charlie leaned back, his gaze sharp. "You seem pretty involved in all this, Bella. Is there anything I should be concerned about?"

The question caught me off guard, and before I could stop myself, the words tumbled out. "No, I mean, it's just… the documents… and the letter—"

I clamped my mouth shut, but it was too late. The damage was done. I could see the shift in Charlie's posture, the way his eyes narrowed as he zeroed in on what I'd said.

"Documents? Letter?" His voice was calm, but I knew that tone—he was about to pounce. "What are you talking about, Bella?"

I swallowed hard, cursing myself for the slip. "It's nothing, really. Just some work stuff. I shouldn't have said anything."

But Charlie wasn't about to let it go. "Bella, if this is something serious, you need to tell me. What kind of documents? And what letter?"

I tried to backpedal, but it was like trying to stop a runaway train. "It's just… there was this document that didn't seem right. Like, it was signed by Edward, but something was off. And then there was a letter he wrote… about transferring funds."

Charlie's eyes darkened, and I knew I'd stepped right into his trap. "Bella, if there's something illegal going on, you could be in serious danger. Do you have any idea what this letter was about? What funds he was transferring?"

Panic surged through me. I hadn't meant to say any of this, especially not to Charlie. "No, Dad, it's not like that. I don't know anything for sure. I just… I need to talk to Edward, okay? I need to figure out what's going on."

Charlie's jaw tightened, his cop instincts fully engaged now. "Bella, you can't just brush this off. If there's a forged document and a suspicious letter, this could be connected to something much bigger than you realise. And if Edward's involved…"

I shook my head, trying to keep it together. "I don't think he's involved, Dad. Not like that. But I need to find out for myself."

Before Charlie could press me further, the TV behind the counter blared to life with a breaking news alert. My heart stopped as the anchor's words filled the diner.

"…reporting live from the site of a catastrophic building collapse in downtown Seattle. Several workers are feared dead, and authorities are investigating potential safety violations. The building is a project of Cullen Architectural Design Group…"

The rest of the words blurred into a cacophony of noise. My blood ran cold as images of the wreckage flashed on the screen, the rubble, the chaos, the horror of it all. Edward's company was at the centre of this disaster, and suddenly, everything clicked into place—the documents, the letter, the pressure he'd been under.

"Oh my God," I whispered, my mind racing.

Charlie leaned forward, his voice urgent. "Even though I'm off the clock, I have to go to that and assist. Bella, do you know anything about this? Is this related to what you just told me?"

"I don't know," I said, my voice trembling. "But I have to get to Edward. I have to warn him."

Without another word, I bolted from the diner, ignoring Charlie's calls after me. I had to reach Edward before it was too late, before whatever was happening swallowed him whole.

And maybe, just maybe, I could help him before everything came crashing down.

In this version, Bella accidentally lets slip about the documents and the letter, revealing more than she intended to Charlie. This adds to the tension and heightens the urgency of the situation as she races to warn Edward.

Edward's POV

Panic gripped me as I stared at the news broadcast. The words "catastrophic building collapse" echoed in my head like a death knell. The screen showed scenes of chaos—rubble, smoke, and emergency responders swarming over the remains of a building that bore my name. Cullen Architectural Design Group was now synonymous with disaster.

The phone on my desk wouldn't stop ringing. Emails flooded in, each one demanding answers I didn't have. My hands shook as I sifted through the blueprints, desperately searching for any mistake, any flaw in the design that could explain this nightmare.

But there was nothing. Everything was as it should be. The design was sound, the materials top-quality, and the construction supervised by some of the best engineers in the business. This collapse made no sense, and that only made the panic worse.

I slammed my fist onto the desk, scattering papers everywhere. How could this have happened? How could something under my watch, something I had designed, be responsible for killing people?

Felix's face flashed in my mind, his cold eyes and the words he'd spoken when he'd forced me to sign off on that damned letter. Could this be connected? Had he somehow sabotaged the project to exert control over me? My mind raced, piecing together fragments of conversations, contracts, and that cursed document, but nothing added up.

A knock at the door snapped me out of my frantic thoughts, and I looked up just as Bella entered the office. Her face was pale, eyes wide with concern. I could see she was just as shaken as I was, but I wasn't in the mood for comfort or sympathy.

"Edward," she began softly, moving toward me as if she could soothe the storm inside me with just her presence. "I saw the news. I'm so sorry. Let me help you. We'll figure this out together."

Her voice, usually so calming, grated against my frayed nerves. I couldn't bear to have her see me like this—weak, out of control. I was supposed to be the one holding everything together, and here she was, walking in after sneaking around behind my back.

"Help me?" I barked, venom lacing every word. "You want to help me? Then tell me why the hell you were stealing documents from my office!"

Bella's eyes widened in shock, and she took a step back, her face draining of colour. "Edward, I didn't steal—"

"Don't lie to me!" I shouted, rising from my chair and closing the distance between us. "Don't you dare lie to me, Bella! I know you were snooping around. You and your smart-mouthed friend. Whats worse you had me fuck you to distract me? What the hell were you doing?"

She opened her mouth to deny it again, but the words died on her lips. I could see the truth in her eyes, the guilt she couldn't hide. It only fuelled my anger, making the beast inside me roar to life.

"I was trying to protect you," she finally whispered, her voice trembling. "Tanya forged your signature on a document. Rose found it, and I was going to tell you—"

"Tanya?" I scoffed, cutting her off. "You broke into my private office to spy on me, and you're telling me it was all because of Tanya? Do you have any idea what you've done? What kind of damage you could have caused?"

Bella's eyes flared with determination, and she took a step closer, holding out a printed piece of paper. "I didn't want to do this, Edward, but look at this. Tanya forged your signature to approve the change in materials. She signed off on dangerous codes using your name."

I grabbed the document from her hand, my eyes scanning the page. My blood ran cold as I saw my signature at the bottom, authorising changes I never agreed to. Changes that could have compromised the safety of the entire building.

"She switched to cheaper materials," Bella continued, her voice gaining strength as she saw the realisation dawn on me. "She's the one who approved the dangerous codes. You didn't know, Edward, because she covered her tracks well. But I found it. I was going to tell you everything."

For a moment, the anger subsided, replaced by a wave of disbelief and horror. Tanya had done this—she had put lives at risk, all while using my name to cover her tracks. But the fury quickly returned, not just at Tanya, but at Bella as well.

"You should have come to me, Bella," I snapped, throwing the document onto the desk. "Instead, you broke into my office, violated my trust, and now you've put everything I've worked for at risk."

"I'm sorry," she pleaded, her eyes welling with tears. "I didn't know what else to do. I was scared for you, Edward. I thought I was helping."

"Helping?" I echoed bitterly. "You think this is helping? You think sneaking around behind my back, stealing documents, and playing detective is helping?"

"I didn't steal anything!" she retorted, her voice rising in frustration. "I was trying to protect you from people like Tanya and Felix. They're the ones putting you in danger, not me!"

"Felix?" I repeated, my anger flaring once more. "What the hell do you know about Felix?"

Bella hesitated, then took a deep breath. "I know he's dangerous, Edward. I know he's involved in things that could ruin you. He made you write that letter, didn't he? The one about transferring funds."

I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. How did she know about that? How much had she found out?

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied, my voice flat.

"Yes, you do," she shot back, her eyes blazing with determination. "I saw the letter, Edward. I saw what he's making you do. But I also saw how much danger you're in because of it. I wanted to protect you, to help you find a way out of this mess."

For a moment, I was struck by her sincerity, by the genuine concern in her eyes. But the betrayal was still too fresh, the wounds too raw.

"We slept together, Bella," I said, my voice cold and cutting. "And the whole time, you were plotting behind my back. How could you? How could you be so—"

"I wasn't plotting against you!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I was trying to help, to protect you from people like Tanya and Felix!"

"Protect me?" I scoffed. "You don't know the first thing about what's going on here. You think you can just waltz in and fix everything with your amateur detective work? This is my life, Bella. My business, my reputation. And you've done nothing but jeopardise it."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Edward. I love you. I—"

"Love me?" I sneered, my heart twisting painfully at her words. "Love isn't about sneaking around, breaking into someone's private space, and lying about it. Love is trust. And you've shattered every bit of trust I had in you."

The look in her eyes broke something inside me, but I was too far gone to stop. "Get out," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "Get out of my office, and stay the hell away from me."

She hesitated, her eyes pleading with me to take it back, to forgive her. But I couldn't. I wouldn't. I was too hurt, too angry to think straight. All I could do was lash out, to push her away before she could hurt me any more than she already had.

When she finally turned and walked out of the office, I felt a pang of regret, but I buried it deep. I couldn't afford to be weak, not now. Not with everything falling apart around me.

As the door slammed shut behind her, my phone buzzed with a new call. Felix's name flashed on the screen, and the dread I'd been trying to ignore clawed its way to the surface.

I answered, trying to keep my voice steady. "What do you want, Felix?"

"We need to talk," Felix's voice came through the line, cold and commanding. "Now. About the letter, and about what comes next. There's another document you need to sign, and this one's non-negotiable."

I clenched my jaw, my heart pounding. The collapse, the deaths, the forged documents—it was all spiralling out of control, and Felix was at the centre of it. But if I didn't do what he wanted, my company, my life—everything—could be destroyed.

"Fine," I bit out, my voice laced with bitterness. "I'll be there."

As I hung up, I stared at the empty office, the silence pressing in on me like a suffocating weight. Bella's words echoed in my mind, but I forced them away. There was no room for regret, no room for weakness.

Not now.

Not ever.