"You're late." Lauren sneered as if I hadn't already known that and I didn't even bother to try not to roll my eyes as I stamped my time card and put it back with the others.

When I started working at the Cyprus Hotel, I had just decided it was something I'd do while I went to community college because I needed the money I had for bills and to feed my daughter. After graduating, I thought I'd be able to get another job, but the only one who offered enough for me to ditch the Cyprus required me to stay until midnight and leave every morning at seven. I did try to make it work, but it turns out that having a kid is a bit of a twenty-four seven gig.

Glaring at Lauren who sat munching on a bag of chips and wearing a uniform that was two sizes two small, I sighed. "Well, I'd be on time if I slept with the bosses husband like you do." She blanched, not realizing I knew that, but it wasn't like she was exactly discreet. Leaning on the table, I grabbed a chip from her bag. "I wonder what Irina will say when somebody finally gets the balls to tell her." With a quick smile, I popped the chip into my mouth before depositing my purse in my locker and started on my tasks for the day.
Despite the fact that I did hold myself to a higher standard than Lauren, we were both stuck here doing the same job; scrubbing toilets and refilling minibars.

So, for the next twelve hours, that's exactly what I did; from seven in the morning to seven in the evening, I scrubbed the toilets, made the beds, refilled the minibars and vacuumed the floor of every room on floors six to seventeen and, by the time I was finished, I regretted covering the shift for my sick co-worker, but I wouldn't take back the offer. Lord knew I needed the money; the Cyprus barely paid minimum wage.

After I was finished with the last room, I went back down to the first floor and got my purse from my locker, intent on picking up my daughter from the babysitter that watched her while I worked. I honestly couldn't wait until Elizabeth's birthday in a couple of days because turning five meant I could finally enroll her in kindergarten. At least then I wouldn't feel guilty for working all the time and leaving her with Mrs. Cope.

"Isabella," Irina, my boss's voice called just as I was heading towards the door of the break room. "The penthouse suite needs more toilet paper and clean towels."

Sighing, I turned around to face her. "I just clocked out and I need to pick was Elizabeth."

"Please, Bella." She said, despite the fact that it wasn't a request, but an order. "Lauren's not allowed up their ever since the last person who booked the room found her in the shower on her lunch break and Kebi's already left. I'd do it, but I've got to pick up my mother from the airport." Sighing, once more, I grabbed my time card and stamped it. "Thank you, Bella." I heard Irina say in relief before she fled the break room.

Quickly making my way to the elevator after grabbing some toilet paper and a few clean towels, I slid my master key card into the slot underneath the floor numbers which lit up the button for the penthouse. Pressing it, I waited impatiently for the doors to close and for the elevator to stop moving.
Since the penthouse was on the thirtieth floor, I had to wait about ten minutes to make it up with all the stops I was forced to make as people got on and off. Eventually, though, I got there.

The penthouse suit of the hotel was the most expensive room suit the Cyprus had at seven thousand dollars a night and consisted of the top three floors of the hotel. There were several different bedrooms, two living rooms (the second floor living room overlooking the pool), a kitchen, two offices, and several other amenities I couldn't name. I had only ever cleaned the penthouse once and that had been on my first day after some trust-fund babies trashed the entire thing during a graduation party. The things I had seen had not been pretty.

Dropping my bag near the elevator, I made my way to the bathroom. The only problem being that I had no idea which bathroom needed the toiletries, so I was forced to go through each one. After finding the ones on the first floor completely stocked, I went up to the second floor and then the third. By the time I finished checking them all, I got aggravated because every single bathroom had towels and toilet paper. The only bathroom I hadn't checked, I realized, had been the bathroom inside the second floor office.

"Why the hell couldn't they just get this shit from one of the million other bathrooms in this place?" I grumbled to myself. I knew I was being stupid- complaining for having to do my job- but I honestly couldn't be bothered to care at the moment.

Stopping in front of the office door, I didn't bother knocking, assuming that whoever booked the penthouse had made themselves scarce, and pushed open the door.

Unfortunately, I had been wrong.

Just as the door opened and I got a full view of everything and the three people inside and realized who each of them were, I realized that I was in the wrong place and at the wrong time.

There were three different people in the room; all of them were white, wearing expensive business suits, all with varying shades and styles of dark hair, but I knew who they all where; the one closest to the door with only the side of his face visible was Emmett McCarty; he had gone to prison for ten years after he was found guilty of murdering Aro Volturi, a gun smuggler from Italty; the man in the middle of Caius Volturi, Aro's brother, whose face had been plastered on every news station after his testimony sent Emmett McCarty to prison and on the left...the man on the left had a face that everyone knew.

Edward Cullen was the son of movie star Esme Platt and, for lack of a better word, mob boss Carlisle Cullen. Because of his mothers star status, the Cullen family business and all it's illegal dealings were brought into the public eye. Edward Cullen had gone to prison on six different occasions for different lengths of time, only to be let out when evidence was found of be tainted or witnesses mysteriously went 'missing'. His face had been on my TV screen more times than the local news reporter and there was no mistaking his bright green eyes for anyone else

Caius was on his knees with his hands tied behind his back and both Emmett and Edward held silencer equipped guns in their hands. It was only a split second after I figured out what was happening that the gun in front of Caius went off, sending a bullet through his head and his body crumpled to the ground. It was only when the two remaining men's heads turned to me that I realized that I had gasped. Thankfully, I seemed to spring into action faster than they did.

"Don't let her get away!" I heard one of them yell as I ran down the hallway and down the stairs. The only thing I could think about at the moment was getting away and staying away from those men.

Knowing that they would expect me to go to the elevator, that's what I did. I just didn't go to the one they'd expect; the service elevator was in the back of the suit on the first floor and I quickly got on before pressing the down button.

As soon as I made it to the ground floor, I ran; through the lobby, out of the service exit of the hotel and to the scrappy red truck of mine that sat in the parking lot, thankful that I kept my car key in my bra.

"What the fuck?!" I panted to myself, zooming down the streets at an illegal speed as I tried to get myself home. "Edward Cullen. You just had to walk in on Edward fucking Cullen killing someone. What the fuck, Bella?!"

I continued my self-chastising the entire time I drove home to my dingy little house on a street littered with trash and abandoned houses. It wasn't until I got to the front door that I realized that I left my purse at the hotel.

"Fuck!" I yelled before grabbing the out of place potted plant that sat next to my stoop. Dumping the plant and all of the dirt out, I grabbed the plastic baggie at the bottom that held a copy of my house key. With fumbling hand, I pulled it out and shoved it into the door before letting myself in. Somehow I was on autopilot as I went through the house and to my bathroom where I kept my stash of emergency cash. I had always had an emergency get away plan in place, but I never thought I'd have to use it because of something like this.

After grabbing my cash and shoving it into my bra, I went to the living room and grabbed the land-line phone from the reciever before dialing Mrs. Cope's number. She answered on the third ring. I was lucky, Mrs. Cope was a eighty five year old woman who took seven minutes to walk to the bathroom. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Cope, it's Bella." I told her as I paced around the coffee table, running my hand through my hair. "Something came up and I need to catch the train out of town. I know it's a lot to ask, but could you bring Elizabeth to the train station?"

"But your friend already came and picked little Ellie up." She insisted and I froze.

"What?" I demanded. "Who picked up Elizabeth?!"

"This very nice looking man." She said. "He was so handsome too. Oh, Isabella, I'm so glad you finally found someon-" But I couldn't hear anymore because I dropped the phone, not caring about being rude, and rushed to the door, intent on finding my daughter. Wrenching it open, my heart pounded in my chest when I saw who stood there.

There were four people standing on my stoop; a tall, blonde woman with bright blue eyes, a stoic looking man with a black suit and sunglasses and lastly, my little baby girl, who beamed up at me while holding the man who had just changed my life forever.

"Hi, mommy!" Elizabeth grinned, showing off the two front teeth she was missing before holding up long sock monkey. "Look what Mr. Edward got me!"