Summary: Isabella lived a perfect life with her husband until the abuse started. With the death of her mother, she may have just been given life-changing gift: a way out. But with it comes a whole new world that she may not be ready to face. Maybe with the help of her green-eyed savior. Mafia, Crime, Abuse, Hurt/Comfort.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Stephanie Meyers owns characters but the plot is of my original work.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Way Out?

Jason Jenks was not who I thought he was. When I walked into his office, I expected stained carpets and ripped couches. Instead there were white marble tiles with white leather seats, and an elegant crystal chandelier hung in the middle.

So much for a middle class lawyer, I thought.

I mean Mrs. Cope never told me that he was just a middle class lawyer, but I assumed since my mother and I came from a fairly middle class family. From just the interior of Jason Jenks' office, he made more money than I thought.

How did my mother afford this guy?

"Good afternoon, Miss," the receptionist greeted me with a bright smile.

"Hi, good afternoon," I said as I walked up to her desk.

"Do you have an appointment today?" she asked.

I nodded my head.

"Yes, it should be under Hayes."

She nodded and clicked away on her computer. Her eyes widened a slight bit then she looked at me. She nearly jumped out of her seat.

"Ms. Hayes," she was frantic. "If you would please give me a moment. I'll inform Mr. Jenks that you've arrived." And without another word, she dashed away.

I frowned.

My paranoia with my situation was eating me away. There's no way that James could have possibly known that I was here. The receptionist's reaction, though, didn't help ease my worries. She must know something, otherwise she wouldn't have acted like that.

James doesn't even know who Jason Jenks is. He's a lawyer hours away from our home. Although, I don't really know much about James…except that he was my monster husband. I didn't know anything about his company, what he did, and where he went on his "business trips." I use the word business loosely, because I'd be an idiot if I didn't know he was cheating on me. I couldn't find it in me to care though because the more whores he had, the more he was distracted and the less I was abused.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a deep voice suddenly spoke. I was too busy spacing off that I didn't realize that Jason Jenks had appeared right before me.

"Ms. Hayes," he greeted. "Let's take this to my office." I nodded my head and followed him down the hall. The inside of his office matched the décor in the lobby and I took note of how neat everything was.

I sat gingerly on my seat and waited.

He sat down and reached below him to open a file cabinet. He was a dark skinned man with a baldhead. He wasn't fat, but he had some weight on him. He wore a dark blue suit with a white-striped button up and a tie.

"I didn't think you'd be able to make it to me anymore if I'm being honest, Ms. Hayes. Or rather, Mrs. Witherdale," he said.

My heart dropped.

He knew my real name.

He placed a small manila envelope on the table and clasped his hands calmly in front of him. When he finally looked at me, his eyes held so much knowledge.

"I figured since your mother came to me with such urgency for this favor, you were in much bigger trouble than you anticipated with James Witherdale."

My mouth ran dry.

"And Isabella, I'm so sorry for your loss."

I nodded, accepting his words. "I came here without knowing what or why Mrs. Cope sent me here. You…what did my mother have involved with you? I ran away from home and I'm not even entirely sure you could help me. My life is in danger as we speak."

"Okay," he held his hands up in as if to clear things out. "Let's start from the very beginning. Above being a close family friend to your mother, I was the lawyer that helped her legally separate from your father, and for him to never have contact with you. She received full custody and started a new life here."

"My father?" I managed to say. "My father has never been in a picture. My mother said she made a mistake one night and never knew him. I don't know who my father is."

"On the contrary, I'm quite sure you have heard of your father at one point or another. Especially after being married to James Witherdale."

"None of this is making sense," I clenched my fists hard. I was so confused and lost. "I hardly know anything regarding my husband's business. He made sure I had no part in that. Why did my mother send me here?"

"Your mother and I had an arrangement from the very beginning. After the separation with your father was final and restraining orders were put in place, she had a back up plan for you should anything happen to her."

"What does this have to do with getting out of my marriage?"

"The original plan was for you to have access to the inheritance you father continuously funds to this day. It's in an offshore account that was under a false name and should your mother pass away, that account would be transferred to you."

"My mother had an inheritance for me?"

But we were barely middle class.

"Yes, both your parents deposited sums of money into that account every couple of months. After twenty-four years, they've put away a large sum of money that will be transferred to you once we take care of your current situation."

"Which is?"

"After your marriage with Mr. Witherdale, your mother came to me for help. She sensed something off about your husband and figured that if you needed a way out, you would have someone to turn to. If she was just being paranoid, then the original plan will be put in place but in case of trouble, you need to verbally tell me whether you need help or not."

"And if I do?"

"Your mother and I worked on a back-up plan. To create a new identity for you."

For the first time in months since my mother's death, I felt a spark of hope brewing inside of me. I felt tears prickling in the corners of my eye and the lump in my throat made it hard to breathe. Before I knew it, Jason was coming around his desk to hand me a bottled water. I was heaving, and it took me a couple minutes to realize that I kept saying, "I need help" over and over again. I finally looked at Jason in the eye and he nodded firmly. He placed his hands on my shoulders as he knelt in front of me.

"Your mother became a very good friend of mine after all these years," he said. "I've known you since you were very little, but your mother made sure to hide her past from you. Her death is also something that I've been investigating since then."

"What do you mean?"

"I have suspicions that your husband may be the reason your mother passed."

"What are you talking about?" I gasped. "She died from a car accident."

"I was talking to your mother a few minutes prior to the accident. I was the last person she spoke to. I'll get back to you on that matter once I get more information but more importantly, you need help."

He stood up and sat at the seat next to me. He took the manila envelope and handed it to me. "Inside there is a new birth certificate, social security, driver's license, passport, cash to last you until we are able to grant you access the funds, and lastly keys to a safe house."

My hands shook as I carefully opened the envelope that held a whole new life for me. Despite the trust fund, the fact that I have paperwork to create a whole new life away from James was enough. My mother gave me the biggest and most valuable gift she could have given me.

"Your mother put all of her money away into the inheritance fund. I know you didn't live an extravagant life, but that was because your mother wants you to have a future. The large child support money she received under the table went straight into the account through me. Your mother did everything she can to make sure you could get away."

"How did she know about James?"

"From the very beginning, you were blinded by your love for him. Your mother on the other hand, saw him slipping through the cracks. Something reminded her of her past life. So she asked me to check up on him. Even before your marriage, James had various affairs. After the marriage, James started getting suspicious so I had to back away for a bit."

"She warned me about him," I chastised myself.

"Isabella, you said you didn't know much about your husbands business."

"Yeah, I don't know much," I frowned. "I just know he's successful and owns Witherdale Industries."

"More than successful," Jason walked back around to his chair and pulled another file from his cabinet below. "I'm not so sure you're familiar with the Mafia then but James has ties into that community. Which is why I thought you would have heard of your father's name at one point or another."

I felt frozen in my seat.

"James is a lot more powerful than you probably thought," Jason said gravely. "Making you disappear will be a hard task but we'll be able to figure that out."

"Who is 'we'?" I asked.

He paused for a moment before looking back up at me.

"Your mother decided that upon her death…only under your permission should your father be notified," he said but held his hands up in defense. "Not to be fully briefed of your relationship with James or what happened, but only that your mother passed."

"Who is my father?" I finally asked.

"His name is Charlie Swan," Jason said.

This chapter was edited by EdwardsFirstKiss.
4/10/18