Words to Die By

Chapter One ~ Red Stained Snow

Carlisle Cullen lay gasping for his last breath; lungs were filling with blood, his heart working hard to remain beating, all the while holding onto his prized firearm in his bloody hand. Carlisle would fight until he could not fight anymore, hopefully, giving his wife and son time to escape.

As he looked at his hand, he saw the bare little finger, where he had worn his family ring since the day he took control, he prayed that one day his son would avenge the many deaths that had happened today. Carlisle knew who, but he didn't understand how Aro Volturi had pulled this off.

After years of planning, the Volturi were prepared to make their move. At first, the plan was to attack in the dead of night, but the Cullens always had extra security in place during that time frame, so a daytime attack had been formed. Planning the takedown to the minute and deciding which Volturi family member would be responsible for the death of which Cullen family member had been fine-tuned. Aro Volturi had collected pictures of each of the Cullen immediate family members and soldiers, putting them on boards in one of his warehouses on the lower east side, where they had been planning the attack.

Aro had also invested a significant amount of money in the arsenal that would be needed for the job. He knew when he was in control of the turf that the Cullens owned, the money would be made back in spades. No longer would the Volturi family live off the scraps that the Cullens allowed them to have all these many years.

The most substantial amount of money paid was to the government official at the courthouse responsible for erasing the existence of the Cullen family. Carlisle Cullen, the current Don of the family, would have never been born. His father Cauis Cullen's immigration records would no longer exist. The newest Cullen, the heir to the family, Edward, would no longer exist. Any legal property owned by Carlisle Cullen would be altered to show ownership had always been Aro Volturi. However, he knew that it would take a considerable amount of money to bribe a banking official to change the Cullen accounts over to him. Aro knew there was a vast amount of cash already stashed throughout the Cullen estate, along with the fine jewels, silver, and gold bars.

"Sir, we are ready to begin," James said.

Aro looked out the window to see that it had begun to snow and not a few flakes, but large, heavy flakes. Pointing out to the storm, Aro turned to James. "Does everyone know to wear their white gear?"

"Yes, Sir. I am actually excited to see the snow. It will give us some cover, even during the day. The skies are very dark and the snow is making it hard to see anything other than a few feet away. Our men will be able to sneak up on the mansion and the other designated locations to take out the assholes, without them being able to sound an alarm," James explained.

"Alright, then in two hours we hit and make sure the men know that I will not allow subpar performance. If any man fails to kill his target, there will be dire consequences. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" Aro asked, his face full of conviction and determination.

"I, no sir we will not let you down, Boss," James said.

Aro smiled at the sound of James calling him Boss. By nightfall, he would be just that, Boss of the Volturi Crime Family and the most powerful man in Chicago. "I will be close at hand and let me know when you have Carlisle; I want to be one to put the final bullet in between that fucker's eyes. The last thing he will know before leaving this earth will be that I am now in control."

"Sure thing. Let's go take these motherfuckers out," James grinned, then began paging all the men to ensure that they knew what to do and where to be.

Aro called his inside guy at the police department and gave him a heads up with the time frame. Mike would make sure to delay any cops showing up on the scene at the Cullen mansion while the siege was taking place. He had already received the first envelope with fifty thousand dollars and when this was all over with, he would receive another hundred thousand dollars. Fuck this was more money than he could even possibly make in eight years on the force. Aro had also promised that if he continued to provide him information and keep the cops off his back, that the money would continue to flow.