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"Pearl Clearwater. I am granting you legal emancipation from your mother Sue Clearwater, on the grounds of emotional abuse and child negligence." The judge announced firmly, then tapped her gavel down on her bench.

Before Pearl could even get a chance to react, Sue Clearwater started screaming at the judge for her decision. Sue's unexpected outburst caught everyone by surprise.

With Sue Clearwater screeching obscenities towards the judge for her decision, the judge quickly ordered the bailiffs to detain her.

As the bailiffs dragged Sue out of the courtroom, she started threatening the judge, Mr Conway and the Cullens, in graphic detail for taking Pearl away from her.

Since she had now threatened a government official, Sue Clearwater was remanded into police custody.

After Sue had been removed from the room, the judge turned her attention back to Pearl. Speaking kindly, she said, "To finalise you legal emancipation, you will need to sign and complete all of the necessary documents. Once you are finished, I will sign off on them."

"Yes your honour, and thank you." Pearl replied, gratitude evident in her voice.

Pearl and Mr Conway were then led out of the courtroom by another legal official to a separate room which contained all of the necessary documentation Pearl needed to fill out to finalise her emancipation.

Before they got started on the paperwork, Arthur asked, "Would you like to have someone else in here with you? The trial is over, so if you want some company to be here right now, you're more than allowed to."

"I can?" Pearl cautiously questioned. When Arthur nodded, Pearl answered him immediately. She didn't need to think about who she wanted, she already knew. "Could Carlisle, Esme and Emmet be here, please?"

Mr Conway nodded and signalled an employee to retrieve them. Minutes later, the three vampires entered the room. Within moments of entering, Pearl was scooped up into a hug by her vampire brother. The solo embrace quickly turned into a group hug once Esme and Carlisle joined in.

"We're all so proud of you Pearl." Said Esme, as she hugged her daughter in all but blood.

"That's right. You did so well, and it was a very brave thing you did, to allow Mr Conway to use your old diary as evidence for your case. I know that must have been difficult for you." Carlisle praised.

Pearl clung onto the vampires tighter, not wanting to let go of them.

Emmet leaned down to whisper in Pearl's ear. "My badass little sister just became a legal adult early. And you kicked butt."

Esme slapped him playfully on the arm, scolding Emmet for his language, but she refrained from commenting on it.

Arthur eventually broke it up by reminding them all of the paperwork that Pearl had to fill out.

Carlisle and Esme pulled away and sat down at the table, ready to offer their assistance if it was needed. But Emmet refused to let go of Pearl, and instead, just picked her up and sat down on her chair, holding the hybrid in his lap.

Pearl blushed out of embarrassment at first, because of her brothers actions and sent him a questioning look.

He responded simply, "I promised Bree that once this was over I wouldn't let you out of my sight for a single second, not until you were safe at home.

Plus, at least this way there's no risk of anyone taking you away again.

No one is going to get through me." He finished in a serious tone, tightening his grip on his sister ever so slightly when he mentioned her being taken.

The hybrid smiled softly at her big brother and nodded. Then turned her attention back onto the documents that Mr Conway had already began sorting for her, so that she could quickly and efficiently fill them out.

One of the first documents that she had to sign was regarding Harry Clearwater's life insurance policy. Upon reading the paper, the topic sparked many questions in the young hybrid.

"Umm, what's this?" She asked the group in an unsure tone, holding out the paper for them all to see.

Carlisle and Esme shared a quick glance with each other, unsure how to approach the topic of what they had learned through Edward during the trial.

Emmet noticed their silent exchange and became slightly confused, completely oblivious to what Sue's real intentions were during the events of this whole debacle.

Pearl failed to notice the brief look her 'parents' gave each other, as Mr Conway had already began explaining the details of the document to her.

"Your father, Harry Clearwater, left behind a hefty life insurance policy.

It was willed to both you, and Leah Clearwater.

I'm unsure as to why Seth wasn't included, but the stipulations of Mr Clearwater's will, were clear.

You and Leah are to receive monthly payouts from the insurance until you turn 25, and once you do, you will receive the remaining amount in it's entirety. "

This new information was incredibly surprising to Pearl. No one had ever told her that her father had a life insurance policy, it was a shocking discovery. In a quiet hesitant voice, she asked, "How much... money is there?"

Mr Conway read over the paper quickly to find the total sum, once he did, he disclosed the amount. "The total policy amounts to ￡1.2 million. And that is split down the middle with you and Leah Clearwater. So, by the time you reach 25 you will have received a little over ￡600,000 from the policy."

Both Pearl's and Emmet's eyes practically popped out of their head's once they heard the amount.

In absolute shock, Pearl started stuttering, "How... we weren't rich... there's... no... way..."

"To my knowledge, the amount has something to do with you lineage. I'm afraid I don't know any further details on the subject." Mr Conway responded in a factual, yet, apologetic tone.

Still stunned, all Pearl could do was nod her head in acknowledgement. After taking a bit of time to process the information, a question popped into the hybrid's mind. "You said monthly payments. When do those start?"

Arthur raised his eye brow at her, then answered in a matter of fact way. "They started from the moment your father passed away. Mrs Clearwater made the insurance claim the moment he was pronounced dead."

'Wait, what? She didn't even wait? Why? Money couldn't have been the only thing on Sue's mind after dad died, right?

No. She was grieving. She had to be. No one could be that heartless to file for money the moment their husband kicks the bucket.

' Pearl's mind went into overdrive, as she tried to rationalise the behaviour and convince herself that her mother wouldn't have done that to her father.

As Pearl sat in silence, taking in the information, Emmet asked a question of his own. "Hang on a minute. If the money from the policy was willed to Pearl and Leah, why would Sue file it so soon? Since she wouldn't be the one having access to it and all?"

"She retained access to the monthly payouts as long as Pearl was in her care. Since Pearl was legally a minor she was not allowed to receive them directly. Sue received them on her behalf." Arthur swiftly answered the question.

Pearl's head snapped towards him as realisation crossed her face. It wasn't long before her look of shock, was replaced with one of hurt.

Esme reached across the table and grabbed Pearl's hand in hers. In a gentle motherly voice, she said softly, "Sweetie, are you okay?"

Her lips wobbled and her eyes filled with tears, as she murmured out a quiet response, "I was nothing but a pay check to her..."

Emmet hugged Pearl tighter against his body, and a growl rumbled from his throat. "Sue is a fucking bitch." He snarled.

Esme ignored her son's colourful vocabulary, and instead focused on her daughter, who was clearly upset by the revelation.

Moving over to Emmet's side and coincidently, Pearl's as well, she began rubbing small circles on the back of Pearl's hand, in hopes to bring the hybrid some comfort.

In a calm, yet firm voice, the matriarch said, "You are not a pay check.

You're a wonderful person, who is strong and kind, tough but gentle, serious yet playful, as well as amazingly loyal.

You're incredibly intelligent, and extremely protective of those you love.

You're a treasure to be around, even if you may not think so. "

Pearl moved her gaze away from the floor to make eye contact with Esme, tears still caught in her eyes.

The matriarch gave the hybrid a warm smile, and continued.

"Not having you around this past week, I don't think the house has ever felt more empty.

We can't control the actions of others, Pearl.

All we have control of, is how we choose to respond.

The way Sue has treated you, is wrong. And you know that.

It still hurts you because she is your mother.

She played a part in raising you, and once upon a time, was a big part of your life.

But do not let her treatment of you in the past, define how you're going to live your future.

Mrs Clearwater has no place in your life any longer, so don't give her any more power.

" Esme finished talking and gave Pearl's hand a comforting squeeze.

A couple of tears escaped Pearl's eyes because of Esme's words, but the hybrid soon composed herself and nodded gratefully toward her mother figure.

At that moment, Carlisle wondered whether or not he should disclose everything Edward had learnt from Sue's lawyer.

They were currently on the subject, so it was technically the perfect time to bring it up, but, at this point, would it really do any good for her to know?

She's likely already gathered the gist of Sue's intentions.

Confirming it all, wouldn't do her any good.

Especially with everything that she currently had to sort out.

This situation was obviously fairly over whelming for her.

Silently, Carlisle made the decision to not reveal what Edward had learned unless she directly asked about it.

It seemed like the best approach to go with.

It took Pearl and Arthur Conway over an hour to fill out all of the necessary paperwork. Even with Carlisle helping them out, it still took quite a while. When they finally got to the last document that was needed, Mr Conway explained what it was.

"Since you are now legally emancipated from your mother, you have the opportunity to change your legal name if that is something you would like to do.

Most children who leave their parents care early, decide to take on an entirely new identity of their own creation. To mark the new chapter in their life."

Carlisle chimed in to add, "You don't have to. If you would rather keep your current name then that's fine. The choice is just given to you in case you do want to change it."

I can't believe this is all happening right now. It's so overwhelming, but in such a good way!

I'm finally free of Sue. I don't have to listen to her anymore. I don't even have to see her again if I don't want to. And considering the fact that she only wanted me around because of the insurance policy, I certainly have no intention of ever contacting her again.

Right, they asked if I wanted to change my name. Do I? I mean, I guess the name Clearwater is tied to a lot of bad memories, but it's still who I am, right?

I stared at the paper in front of me for a while, debating what I should write down. Nobody rushed me, so that was good. I suppose they all knew that this was a big decision to make.

When Carlisle and Esme first took me in, they did offer to change my last name to Cullen. But I ultimately turned them down at the time because of my feelings towards my biological parents.

That's ultimately, not exactly an obstacle anymore, since as far as I'm concerned, Carlisle is my dad, and Esme is my mum.

I guess the new issue, is that Bree goes by Bree Cullen now. I can't exactly have the same last name as my imprint, if we're going to go on a date, and hopefully start dating on a regular basis. That would be, just a little weird.

I hummed in concentration as I wracked my brain for an answer.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to leave the name Clearwater behind, but deciding on a new name is a big deal.

I don't think I can come up with an original surname all on my own.

So that leaves names I already know, and somewhat associate with.

I don't exactly look anything like Jasper and Rosalie, so I shouldn't use the name Hale. Using it would bring up too many questions in the future. Especially since they pose as biological siblings.

But, what if... I could do that... right?

Still in Emmet's lap, I shyly turned towards him, so that I could make eye contact with my brother. Ever so quietly, I asked, "Would it be okay for me to use your last name from when you were human?"

Emmet stared at me wide eyed for a moment, completely unmoving.

Worried that I had upset him, I was about to back track, but then a blinding grin spread across his face, and I was pulled even further into his chest by his arms. Since he was hugging me much tighter than before, breathing was becoming more of a challenge, but I wasn't too worried about it, because Emmet's next words made me so happy.

"Pearl McCarty certainly has a ring to it, little sister."

Mum and dad nodded their heads in approval, so without hesitation, I signed my my new name at the bottom of the final document.

I wasn't Pearl Clearwater anymore, from this day forth, I am Pearl McCarty.