Mafia Princess

Chapter One-Hundred Fifty-Seven

Twilight...not mine (sigh).

Chapter 157

EPOV

I sat outside of the hospital room as my mom met with Bella. I had gone out while Bella had her therapy with Dr. Cope. I also had an appointment with Dr. Molina, my bureau shrink, and another debriefing. I also hovered outside of the interview room where they were questioning Aro.

That man was a sadistic fuck.

Where's my gun? I'll be judge, jury and executioner.

He got off on torturing and terrorizing women. His first victim was his wife, Sulpulcia. He gleefully described how he abused her on a daily basis after they were first married. He also described how he watched as members of his crew did so as well. His second victim was Renee del Cigno. It was in retribution to Charlie. Aro discovered Sulpulcia's supposed affair with Charlie and Aro abducted and raped Renee while Charlie was out of town over twenty-two years ago. She was drugged heavily and she didn't know what had happened to her. As far Renee knew, Bella was Charlie's baby, not Aro's.

There were a few more women taken over the years, but no one related to the del Cignos. Just random women and girls taken off the streets for Aro's perverse pleasure.

The final victim was Bella. His daughter. Aro was Bella's biological father. Thankfully, he didn't do what he normally did to his victims. He was brutal in his sexual assaults. The pictures were disgusting and I could only imagine what the women went through to heal from some appalling attacks. It was something from out of a horror movie.

His reasoning for taking Bella was to enact, again, retribution against Charlie. Aro hated Charlie and his hold on most of the territories in the west coast. Aro wanted to all of it and the way to get it was to watch Charlie crumble with the loss of his daughter. This time, hitting him where it hurt the most. By taking and killing Bella. Though, Aro knew that Bella was his biological child. He had a DNA test done while she was in captivity to verify his beliefs and there was, without a scientific doubt, that Bella was Aro's child. Another twist was that Renata was not Aro's. The DNA matched to an unknown donor.

If it wasn't so fucking twisted, this whole thing looked like what you see on Jerry Springer or Maury Povich.

When Aro began describing, in detail, everything told James and Riley to do to my Bella, I had to walk away. It was bad enough I read the report about her abuse and torture. I didn't need to hear this old sadistic mother fucker get off as he described each action he put Bella through. I left the federal building, by way of the bathroom to puke up my lunch. It was after that experience that I called my mom, who was staying with Carlisle at the Paramount Hotel in downtown Portland. I figured Bella needed a mom.

So, I picked up a new cell phone for her, getting it activated and having her information transferred from the servers of her carrier. I also entered my personal cell phone number, my mom's number and Carlisle's number, as well. Emmett had gone back to the house to check on everything and he had picked up a few things for Bella a few days ago. I asked him to grab my Sylvester, which was in Bella's bedroom. When I dropped my mom at the hospital, I handed her the items before going down to the gift shop to pick some flowers for my girl, along with books and stuff to keep her mind occupied. I finished in the gift shop with a bouquet of two dozen red roses, four books, a handful of magazines and a Sudoku book. Up on the telemetry floor, I stopped outside of Bella's room as I heard my mom's voice.

"In his eyes, a good thing," Esme laughed. "Edward is very strong in some respects. For a little boy to go through what he did...he had to be. In other ways, he needs someone to be strong for him. That's where the spitfire comes in. You don't let him get away with anything, do you?"

"Not really, no," she snorted. "I really laid into him when I found out his true identity."

"He said that you had a mean right hook," Esme said. She sounded like she was smirking. "He's worried about you, though."

"I'm fine," Bella said. Though, her voice wasn't convincing. She sounded broken. She was just saying the words. My heart shattered for her as I listened to my mom as she described how I lost it as a little boy. If possible, my heart shattered even more as I heard Bella sob. She wasn't fine. Bella needed us all.

"You call if you need to talk, Bella. Anytime," Esme whispered. "I'm staying nearby and can be here in less than a half hour."

"Kay," Bella sniffled. "Thank you, Esme."

The door opened and my adoptive mother walked out. She shot me a disapproving glare. I got up, guiding her to the nurse's station so I could plead my case. "I just got here," I hissed.

"You're trying to build trust with her and you eavesdrop? How much did you hear?" she admonished.

"Enough to know that Bella has a long road to recovery," I frowned, caressing the petals of the roses. "She's putting up a brave front."

"Sounds familiar," Esme chuckled, smoothing my collar of my shirt. "Out of all of us, you can be the most helpful, Edward. You've been there. Granted, it was as a child, but you've been there." She gently captured my chin, forcing me to look at her. "And she does still love you, Edward. It wasn't until I handed her the stuffed cat that she crumbled."

"You should have seen me when she gave it to me initially. I cried like a pansy," I snorted, giving my mom a look. She laughed heartily before kissing my cheek. "Mom, even after we go back to Seattle, you'll be there for Bella, right? She really needs a mom right now."

"Of course, Edward," Esme smiled. "I hope to have a great relationship with my future daughter-in-law."

"Don't put the cart before the horse, Ma," I said, arching a brow. "It'll be a long time before Bella's even remotely ready for any sort of relationship with me or anyone otherwise." She pouted and I kissed her forehead, earning a shocked gasp. I was never one to initiate affection with my adoptive family. When I pulled back, Esme was about ready to cry. "She changed me, Mom."

"And I love her for it," she whispered, hugging me tightly.

A/N: Edward is and always will be a Momma's boy. I just needed that scene between the two of them. Back to Bella and time with Charlie...another necessary scene. I also hoped this cleared up some confusion about Aro. You'll hear more about him and from him at his trial. Just sayin...

DxMNCXD