Chapter 41

Carlisle’s POV (One month later)

No one was in the house when I arrived; Esme wasn’t expecting me. I left my briefcase in my study and had to come back for it. I was all the way to the hos
pital before I realized, which really pissed me off. I was distracted by Bella again this morning. I was glad the weather was nice again; she wasn’t hidden from me in jeans and sweaters any longer. I never wanted to see her in jeans again. She should always be in dresses; the shorter the better as far as I was concerned. As soon as I made my plans known to her, I would rectify her clothing. I couldn’t believe the crap Edward was allowing her to wear lately. I wanted her back in the clothes she wore before. She was beautiful then; hints of her assets flirting with my imagination.


I took a moment to stand at the window in my study to look for Esme. Since she didn’t know I was here, it was an opportunity to verify she was where she was supposed to be; not that I worried about her any longer. She knew what would happen if she wasn’t. She was working in her garden, like always. I had to admit its size has grown over the years and yet she still managed to keep up with it. I never understood her dedication. They were just flowers; nothing special. I let her have the garden as a reward for her good behavior once I had her under complete control. I almost bulldozed it down as punishment when she helped Renee escape. Destroying her relationship with the boys, especially Edward, was much more effective. It also helped him finally grow up and start acting like a man instead of the momma’s boy he had become.


The entrance to my home is remotely monitored by my private security team. They don’t operate on the grounds because I refuse to risk someone befriending our women and deciding to help them escape. My father learned that the hard way years ago. He was madly in love with my mother, but she was nothing but a whore. She cheated on him with one of his guards when I was about six years old and they ran away together. My father went insane looking for her. It took my father almost a year to hunt them down and drag them back. My brother and I watched him pull the trigger, executing her lover in front of us all. After that he built a wall around our home and moved the security team outside. My mother never set foot outside that wall until the day she died. My father taught us how to hold a family together; you never gave her a way to leave.


I caught Esme several times in the beginning trying to run away after I started letting her out on her own. She never knew when she was being followed and certainly didn’t like the punishment she received if she was caught trying to escape. I smiled wickedly. It was so much fun keeping her off balance; I felt like a cat playing with my very own little mouse.


Then, of course, they needed to watch over Rosalie and Alice for the boys. Since they were both so well trained, they never tried to run. They were content to stay where they belonged and were treated well because they didn’t run.


Now they watched over Bella. Someone always watched the school during the day. It was the one place she could escape from and I wouldn’t allow that. She was worth too much for Edward to lose her. Edward was quick to agree with me after Bella’s one attempt at leaving the school. Now she knows she’s watched, so she keeps her ass inside the building until Edward arrives. I was pissed that Edward still refused to use the basement to punish her. Everything he needed was in there to do whatever he wanted with her; he knew this. It would also give me access to her that I’ve been denied thus far. I know he punished her that day because her eyes were still red and puffy when they came down to dinner, but I wanted more.


I was livid with Sam the day of the ice storm. He had a new guy watching her who left when it started sleeting. He was the reason for her illness. The idiot cared more about his precious car than his job. Needless to say, he no longer had that car; I had it destroyed. If he wanted to keep his job then my commands were priority over anything else.


I began to turn away from the window when I saw Esme look up and laugh at someone on the path. I followed where she was looking and saw them. I couldn’t hear their words, but he was listening intently while she gestured with her hands. My eyes narrowed as I saw him laugh at whatever she said. He picked her up and spun her around causing her to shriek. When he put her down she punched his arm.


I held my breath in anticipation for him to drag her back to the house to administer discipline. I would finally get to hear her screams again. I was angered that instead he reached to pluck a flower from the rosebush beside them and bowed before her extending the rose to her like an offering. She took the rose, smelling it as he straightened and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. I watched in disgust as he smiled, tucking a stray hair behind her ear before they continued down the path hand in hand.


I turned away and sat at my desk to brood. I knew Edward would want her. He was always drawn to her even as a child. It was the reason I gave Edward less than perfect candidates for his bride. I needed to drag out his selection process until I had Bella. I knew my son wouldn’t pick anything less than perfection, which was Bella. I just didn’t take into account how much he would want her. He was as obsessed with her as I was.


I closed my eyes and remembered back to when she first arrived. She was quiet and timid, as she should be. She didn’t cry or beg when I told her of my plans for her. Charlie was very good at stripping girls of the will to fight. They always did exactly what was expected, no complaint, no argument. They were perfect.


Well, I didn’t tell her everything. Edward wasn’t even aware of my plans yet. I shifted in my seat, my fists tightening as I remembered her bent over my desk and the feel of my fingers pumping her tight ass. I slammed my fist on my desk in frustration. Fuck, I needed to get in her. I can’t believe she’s been here all this time and I still haven’t been able to get her alone. Edward never left her alone; if he had things to do he took her with him. I told him repeatedly to leave her to no avail. Now she spends her afternoons at Emmett’s picking up the slack from Rosalie still needing to take it easy. At least Rosalie was finally earning her keep, giving me a grandson after the fiasco of her last two pregnancies.


That was another problem I needed to address; Emmett’s attitude. He had become even more outspoken and belligerent in his behavior. He always was a wild card and impossible to control completely. I’d need to give some consideration soon how to get him back under control.


But back to Bella; I knew that trip to Phoenix was a mistake. She was perfect before they left. Now she was starting to develop an air of confidence that Edward was encouraging. She was changing him. All of my sons were beginning to change. I had complete control over my family before. If I’d known she was going to cause so many problems, I would have found another way.


Don’t get me wrong, I care about Esme. She’s still a beautiful woman and once I had her under control she became exactly what I wanted her to be. She was quiet and didn’t give me any trouble, but she wasn’t Renee. I wanted to kill her when Charlie showed up at the house with her in handcuffs. Charlie caught her trying to sneak out of his house after Renee drove away. It was obvious she encouraged Renee to run away. Renee would have never run without encouragement. I kept Esme strung up in the basement for a week releasing my anger and frustrations on her body. She received one small bottle of water and a protein drink each day, nothing else. At night she was chained to the wall. A week in the basement was a bit excessive, but she deserved every minute of it. She didn’t know just how much she had taken away from me.


I was in love with Renee in high school. She was the most beautiful girl in town. She had moved here during the summer before our freshman year. Charlie and I saw her at the same time. If I’d gotten to the gym 10 minutes earlier that first day I could have claimed her as mine. Instead I waited for Charlie like the great friend I was and we walked in at the same time. She was already dressed for her gym class in her little red shorts that hugged her ass and a tight white t-shirt that did nothing to hide her glorious breasts. Charlie and I both wanted her so we did the only thing we could to decide who would get their chance at her. We flipped a coin and I lost.


It was torture watching her with Charlie and then to see her walk down the aisle to him; forever out of my reach. My hatred of Charlie grew through the years watching him with Renee. He was so careless with her. He had the best girl in town but still slept around. He spent so much time down in La Push cheating on Renee that he didn’t keep a firm hand on her as she needed. Renee needed structure and guidance. She was too outspoken and rebellious. If only she had been mine. She would have wanted for nothing, I would have laid the world at her feet and she would have had no reason to fight me. She would have loved me and done anything to please me. When you love someone, you want to do anything for them. Of course, Charlie lost too in the end. He was such a fool to let her go and an even bigger fool to let her take Bella.


I felt no guilt giving Sam and Jacob the go ahead to eliminate Charlie. He was good at what he did but he was sloppy when it came to James. He never kept that damn boy under control. I already paid for one mistake with Alice, but if they had been successful in breaking through Bella’s hymen I would have killed Charlie myself. Edward was going to be the one to have that privilege, and then I planned to share her. She was made for Edward and me alone.


I planned everything from the moment Charlie told me Renee was pregnant again, this time with a girl. He hated that she had so much trouble getting pregnant and didn’t see any use for a girl. He had Renee longer than I had Esme yet I already had three sons. He would always only have the one. She wasn’t even supposed to get pregnant again after James. She had complications with James and was warned not to have more children. Charlie didn’t care; he wanted another son even if it killed her. He never cherished Renee the way I would have. I would have paid for the best specialists so that she could continue to give me my sons. Charlie was cheap and risked her life.


I was overjoyed at the news. If I couldn’t have Renee, then I would at least have her daughter, I knew she would understand. She would become my crown jewel. I knew she would grow into a beauty like her mother. She was supposed to have the added benefit of being trained from childhood. I had planned to have Charlie sell Bella to me when she turned 13 for one of my sons and complete her training myself. I would have paid any price he asked for her. I fought hard not to laugh when he told me how much he wanted for her. He really had no idea her real value. I set aside $1 million the day she was born just for her purchase. There was still over $300,000 in the account.


I unlocked my desk drawer and pulled out the file I kept. I knew where Renee went within a couple of weeks of her leaving; it wasn’t hard to guess she’d go back where she was from; she still had friends in the area. I never told Charlie; he didn’t deserve them and Bella was mine. It contained all the reports I received over the last ten years and the background check I ran on Renee’s new husband. I had to be certain he wouldn’t be a threat to Renee and Bella. Even though I couldn’t have Renee for my own I still loved her enough to watch over her. I had their wills naming his brother as guardian and trustee for Bella. Their wills were never filed, they were sent to me instead. It’s amazing how easy it was to convince a young attorney just starting out and in need of a wife to do you little favors. His wife was a freebie since I knew I would need to keep him in my pocket until I got Bella back. I even had the evidence Renee kept against Charlie. That had earned him a very nice honeymoon with his new bride.


I pulled out the stack of photos and started looking them over again for the thousandth time. I really enjoyed getting these over the years, seeing my precious jewel as she grew from a shy, awkward little girl with freckles into the beautiful woman she is now. I paid Sam’s cousin, Embry to relocate to Phoenix and keep tabs on Bella over the years. I knew who all of her friends were.Along with photos I had a copy of every one of her report cards. He monitored their internet activities and had installed several hidden cameras within the security system of their home. It was easy to see that Bella was everything I knew she would be.


I made several trips to Phoenix over the years to see her. I’d even been to a few of her softball games. I didn’t approve of her playing sports; too many risks for injury. I knew Bella’s appendix ruptured when she was 15. I told her surgeon I was Bella’s father and Renee wouldn’t let me see her if she knew I was there. After all, if things had worked out differently in high school, she would have been my daughter. She should have been mine. He convinced Renee to go home and rest so that I could spend the night with Bella. Renee never knew I was there.


I spent the last two years planning what to do with Bella. The original plan was to take Bella after she moved to college. Embry would take her from the campus of whatever school she attended on the first day. Out of my love for Renee, I wanted her to see Bella graduate high school and enroll in college as this would be the last memory she would ever have of Bella. I wouldn’t take this time away from my love.


Embry’s report over the summer indicated a boy had taken an interest in her and from all indications Renee was going to finally allow Bella to date. I moved up my plans for Embry to take her from school the day after her birthday. I wouldn’t take her on her birthday; that would be unfair to Renee, but I wouldn’t allow some boy to get to her before Edward either. It was going to be a risky move but I had to take her before it was too late.


I almost lost it when the call came that there had been a car accident with fatalities until I knew Bella was safe. I was saddened to learn of Renee’s death but it stopped me from doing something desperate. Their attorney came in handy, blocking her stepfather’s family from fighting for custody. He handled everything according to my wishes. As her biological father, and with a new will in place, she was sent to Charlie and ultimately me.


All my plans changed with Renee’s death. I wouldn’t need to take Bella now. I just needed to manipulate Charlie to bring her to me. I knew Charlie couldn’t resist the chance to have Bella back in his home. He hadn’t had any new girls to work with since Alice and was excited about the idea of keeping Bella permanently for himself and James. He really was a sick mother fucker. However, I knew Charlie loved money above all else and would be too greedy not to sell her to me once I planted the idea in his head that Edward wasn’t thrilled with his selections.


When Charlie brought Bella to the hospital that day, it was like looking at Renee at seventeen again. I enjoyed giving her the exam I knew was unnecessary. I had all of her medical records and knew she was a virgin. She was constantly watched and it had been verified at every annual exam since she started her cycles and reported to me. It helped that her doctor was an old fraternity brother who was extremely happy with his very young wife. Charlie never knew two of the girls he trained would be living in the same city as Renee and Bella.


He never was very bright. I had to lead him anywhere I wanted him to go. Every idea, every decision came from me. Charlie was nothing but a puppet and I was his puppet master. Before he died, I took great relish in explaining just how long I’d been planning this and the fact that I’ve known all these years where his wife was. I still managed to exact my revenge on Charlie for taking Renee from me even if it wasn’t how I’d planned. I had wanted Charlie to see me with Bella; how I would make her mine. The blank stare that widened with shock as everything became clear to him was a decent consolation.


His comments about Bella’s abilities and submissiveness proved that even though she got away for those ten years, her subconscious remembered Charlie. It remembered the few lessons he was able to teach her in her first seven years.


I have to fix the problem she is creating now. Edward is giving her too much freedom. She will only expect more. As she is now, she will fight me and I can’t have that. I need her complete submission for my plans. I want to openly share her, not hide my desire for her any longer. I would even love to have a son by her after she gave Edward a couple of sons. My life would finally be on track where it should have been since high school.


I saw my computer screen blink that I had a message from my brother. I put everything back in the file and locked it away again. I opened his email and skimmed through. My nephew, Demetri was ready for a wife but without Charlie, Marcus needed some guidance on procuring and training. I smiled. I knew exactly what to do to solve all our problems.


I picked up the phone and called Marcus as I turned back to the window. I watched her as my plan formed in my mind.


“Hello?”

**

“Hello Marcus. How would you and Demetri like to come for a visit? We can discuss his problem. It’s been a while since you’ve been down.”

**

“Sure, we have some time. Demetri and I can be there in a few days. He’s been working out of the office in Hong Kong the last couple of years and just got back last week,” he said. “We’ve depended so heavily on Charlie’s skills over the years that it didn’t occur to me until we were talking that I would need to make other arrangements.”

***

“That’s what I want to discuss with you. Is Demetri planning on working in Hong Kong or Alaska after he marries?” Worst case Alaska wasn’t too far to see her. I knew Demetri wouldn’t have a problem with my plans with the right incentive. I wouldn’t allow him to take her all the way to Hong Kong though. I wanted her accessible when I needed her.

**

“His plans are to work here for the first couple of years or so,” he laughed. “You know, make sure the bugs are worked out. He hasn’t decided past that yet. Why do you ask?

**

I laughed with him. The first couple of years were always the hardest until they were completely broken in. “How do you think he would feel about settling in Alaska permanently if I let him take over all future training needs? I can teach both of you Charlie’s methods and we can find Demetri a girl from the center here. I financially support the center to keep the trustees complacent. They’re just overjoyed that all the girls Charlie took under his wing landed on their feet in good marriages. You may want to consider becoming a supporter after this if you continue to use them. They usually have a wide range of choices since it’s the only center for female runaways within 100 miles. I give all the girls their physicals when they arrive so I already have a file of prospects to choose from. Plus you won’t have the added headache of her knowing the area when you get back.”


I thought internally; if I ended up letting Demetri have Bella, she would never leave the walls of Marcus’ compound ever. That would be part of the agreement. I wanted her kept under constant guard so that she was always protected and kept safe for me. I’d even send Jacob or Embry to be her bodyguard so she’d never escape or be hurt. I knew they were dependable.

**

“That actually sounds like a great idea. I’ll have Demetri email you his preferences when he gets in tonight. I think I can speak for my son and say he would be honored to take over training for the family. Thank you for thinking of him.”

**

“Yes, well I had thought Edward would take the role, but he’s proving to be a disappointment in that area. I know Demetri won’t let the family down.” I had planned that if Edward got to handle all the training then he wouldn’t mind so much letting me have Bella on occasion. He’d be plenty happy.

**

“What’s up with Edward? He has always worked so hard to earn your respect. I’m surprised that would change. I always thought of your boys he was the most like you.”

**

“Yes, well we have a little problem with his selection that he doesn’t seem to be able to handle. That’s part of why I want Demetri to come. It’s been too long since Edward has had a challenge and I think this may be just the thing to get his head back in the game.”

**

He laughed, “So do I tell Demetri before we get there what the challenge is so he’s prepared?”

**

”No. This time I think it will be obvious when he sees her.”

**

“What if he decides he wants her? Are you going to let me buy her? You know I don’t want my son to be disappointed,” he warned.

**

“I want Edward to keep her, but he’s not to know that. He’s going to have to earn her now. I’ll pick an alternate for Demetri if things work out with Edward. If it doesn’t then we’ll negotiate something for her. I know once Demetri sees her he will want her so I’ll be sure the alternate selections are among the best so he isn’t disappointed,” I assured him. “But we’ll talk more when you arrive. Have Demetri email his behavioral checklist tonight and call me when you know your flight.”

**

“Alright, I’ll call you later tonight. Goodbye.”


I hung up the phone and finished formulating my plan. I heard a door slam somewhere in the house and two sets of footsteps running up the stairs.


“Bella, you’re going to pay for that!” Edward was yelling at her.


“No! Edward, please!” she shrieked. “I’m sorry! I swear!”


I smiled. It was about time. I stood and went quietly to the door to watch unobserved. I saw Bella get to the landing a few steps ahead of Edward on her way up to their room. She kept turning back to see how close he was to her. I saw the expression on her face and felt my blood pressure rise. Instead of the fear I expected to see at the punishment she obviously knew was coming, she was laughing as she turned up the next flight of stairs to the third floor.


I saw Edward; his hair and shirt were dripping water. He leaped across the landing at her and caught her, making her scream again. He threw her over his shoulder and continued on to their room.


“I got you now. There’s no escape for you. I’m going to tickle you until you can’t breathe and then I’m going to see how much you like a cold shower, you wicked girl,” he laughed.


“Uncle! Uncle! I give up!” she screamed, laughing. She was hitting his back, hanging upside down. “Please don’t, I need to pee.”


I watched in disgust as he set her down at the top of their landing, laughing at her. “Okay, no tickling. What about a kiss until you can’t breathe instead?”


She bit her bottom lip in that sexy way she does and tilted her face up to him as he leaned down. She shoved him back and took off again to their room. “You have to catch me first!”


Edward growled and took off after her. I heard their door slam twice and then her giggling before silence.


I picked up my briefcase and headed down to my car smiling. That type of juvenile behavior was about to end. I could feel control coming back within my grasp already. I whistled all the way to the hospital. It was going to be a great day.