"There you have her, ladies and gentlemen; Isabella Swan, the new CEO of Toncom Corp…"

"Toncom Corp. just announced plans for a new product. The details are…"

"Isabella looks magnificent in that dress. She was confirmed to be a candidate for the prize…"

"Upcoming news: Isabella Swan and mysterious man seen together at the Plaza…"

"Toncom Corp. Technologies surprised us all when CEO Isabella Swan announced the merging with an anonymous pharmaceutics company…"

"Isabella Swan shocks the world with sudden retirement at the young age of thirty-six."

"The mystery of Isabella Swan: four years after her disappearance."

Even the lack of concrete information could not make the rumor less alarming. But there was none to be done. Isabella had disappeared on her own account, no indication of being abducted.

The family would always reunite in a semi-circle, always looking at the TV. Alice would either remain quiet or gasp after a vision, and then the rest would know what to expect. Always watching they were; always wanting to know what had been of Bella, in spite of Edward's insistence to leave her be and Rosalie's unusually quietness and the permanent crestfallen scowl she wore now. They were at least fascinated with her changes, and not just the physical ones. It was as if she was someone else altogether. Calm, confident… cold.

Isabella Swan disappeared soon after delivering the news of a merging. Even after this, new products in the market continued to be reported from year to year. All employers refused to comment, and it wasn't long before the urban legends started.

But then…

"…Announcing the unexpected return of Isabella Swan to the company..."

"Merging partner's name revealed: Volturi Inc…"

"Isabella Swan and Aro Volturi seen together in meeting to negotiate future plans…"

The following months are void of visible events. Isabella and Aro keep to themselves. Carlisle sends a letter to his old 'friend', disguising it as a casual letter. The Cullens live in fear and anguish, both for them and Isabella. There is also shared familial emotional upset permanently circling the air. And many questions without answers.

As twilight deepens Rosalie turns on the one feeble electric bulb over the luxurious, wooden-framed bed, and tries as best she can to continue the reading she had begun hours ago. She feels it judicious to keep her mind wholesomely occupied, for it would not do to brood over the abnormalities of these past times any more than she already has. She feels she must keep the image of her cold, indifferent eyes as far as possible from her imagination; the face for whose horror her conscious mind could never account. It would perhaps be easier to keep her thoughts from disturbing topics if the room were not so gruesomely dim.

To gain a partial relief from the general tension and sorrow she busies herself with her book collection, every day, every hour. She barely drinks blood anymore. Not that she feels any particular need. The symbol of security her fantasies provide is welcome in an environment of this kind, mostly to keep her sanity at bay.

The rest of the family worries, of course. This sudden hermit life calls for one or two meetings that exclude her. Alice is the one who keeps her mouth and mind shut. She has always known, deep down, who Rosalie really is. Rose is less surprised than regretful at the close confinement and secrecy her sister adopts. This reticence she explained away as due to a wish to wait and see how the future plays out. Rosalie holds no true hope.

During the next few days Rosalie is seldom seen by her family. She keeps closely to herself in her room; Alice brings packs of blood to the door and Rosalie will not take it in until after she has gone away. Suspense is written portentously over the whole situation, and the family finally confess themselves wholly at a loss what to do or think about it.

Then on the fifteenth of April a strange development occurs. While nothing appears to be different in Rosalie (save, perhaps, becoming more recluse), there is certainly a very terrible difference in the atmosphere; and Alice is just about to confess everything she knows and the bit she suspects. The aspect of her sister now became very haggard and hunted, and, in retrospect, she may have wished at this period to make some statement or confession. She thinks herself foolish to have waited so, but there is little to do now. A vision comes to her. Edward blurs to the door and opens it with trepidation, his eyes wide and frantic –even hopeful.

A predator smirks at the door.

Updated: 05/12/2015