Chapter 10

Stephanie's POV

The moment is here. It's now or never. It is time for me to reclaim my life. I know about the horrible things my so-called family said about me after I "died." I know how they treated Carlos horribly. I still don't understand why they hate me so much. However, after everything that has happened to me over the last year, I realized that I don't give a fuck anymore.

I am happier now than I have ever been. I have a love of my life standing by my side. I have a wonderful step-daughter and the perfect son. I love being a mother, more so than I ever thought possible. I am not a traditional mother, though. I still work for Rangeman, though I do office work solely. I don't put myself at risk of getting hurt anymore. My son needs me. Carlos has also cut back on his dangerous work, spending most of his time working on contract and installations, leaving the skip chasing to the younger guys. Don't get me wrong, he does go out for some "fun" as he calls it, but he is always back-up, never the lead. He knows I need him, and so does Miguel.

We open the doors, entering the ballroom. We walk towards the Rangeman tables, which are conveniently at the opposite end of the entrance. It takes about a minute, but suddenly a hush falls over the entire ballroom before I hear the whispering begin.

I hear various voices saying, "Is that Stephanie Plum? I thought she was dead? Look at the Manoso, he found a clone to replace Stephanie. He couldn't have actually loved her. What is SHE doing here? I thought she is buried in the cemetery. I must be seeing a ghost."

Finally, I hear the shrill voice that only belongs to Ellen Plum, "Stephanie Michelle Plum, what are you doing here? Who is that brat? Why are you here with that, that thug? You should be here with Joseph. You need to arrest that man! He kidnapped my daughter and held her hostage for the past year, making us all believe that she was dead! He's an animal, I tell you!"

We then hear Senator Junaik's voice over the rest of the voices. "Ladies and Gentlemen of Trenton, I would like to reintroduce to you all Mrs. Stephanie Michelle Plum-Manoso. I know that you have many questions regarding Stephanie, and I will do my best to give you the Reader's Digest version of what happened to her. Mr. and Mrs. Manoso has given me permission to share this information with you, and I ask that you don't bother them tonight for details of her ordeal. Anyone who harasses Mrs. Manoso will be removed from the ballroom.

"A little over a year ago, Stephanie was abducted when she went to give her friend and co-worker Lula a ride home from a club here in Trenton. Lula had set her up to be taken. When she woke up after being stunned, she found herself chained in a windowless room. At the time of her abduction, she was pregnant with Mr. Manoso's child. He was not aware of her pregnancy, and neither were her abductors.

"She was taken to be sold into slavery. The motive for kidnapping Stephanie was to remove a rival. One party wanted her out of the way so she could claim Joseph Morelli, while the other wanted to claim Ranger. The third party wanted Stephanie for his use, for his entertainment. Lula, though, wanted Stephanie out of the way so she could make money. Greed was the ultimate motivator for her.

"When her captors discovered that she was pregnant, they decided not to sell her immediately. You see, they were also involved in black market adoptions. They figured the child was Morelli's and knew they could make a lot of money on that baby. Fortunately for Steph, the baby was Ranger's child.

"When she gave birth to a son who looked Hispanic, the buyer reneged, wanting a white child. That kept Stephanie and her son together. In the meantime, Ranger and his company were working with TPD and the FBI to shut down a human trafficking ring. Little did Ranger know when he moved on his intel that fateful night that he would be reunited with Stephanie.

"With Stephanie's help, we were able to identify the perpetrators, Lula Knight, Terry Gilman, Homer Ramos, and Sophia Cabello. Terry and Homer tried to escape to Europe, and almost made it, except their plane malfunctioned over the Atlantic Ocean and crashed. They did not survive. Lula and Sophia were taken into custody, and are awaiting trial now. Three weeks ago, Stephanie and Ranger were married, living together as a family with Ranger's daughter Julie and their son, Miguel.

"I know, like you all, I'm so pleased that Stephanie is alive and well. I wish her and Mr. Manoso all the luck in the world because they deserve it."

At the end of his speech, the Senator walked away from the podium. Before I could take another step forward, my mother was in front of me with my sister at her side.

Ellen Plum's POV

I was so excited when Laura Juniak called to invite Frank, Valerie, Albert and me to attend the Mayor's Ball as their guests. Frank and I have never had the money to purchase a ticket to this event before, so it is even more special.

I went shopping with Valerie two weeks ago to find the perfect dress. Frank and Albert will be renting tuxedos for the night. We head to Macy's, where I am appalled at the selection of cocktail dresses. They are too low cut, too short, and too tight. Who are they designed for? A teenager? We left after only a half hour, before going to a small boutique in Hamilton Township.

There, we found the perfect dresses for the occasion. I am wearing a navy blue dress with three-quarter sleeve, a sweetheart bodice with lace covering to a collar around my neck. The dress is form-fitted through the torso, but not skin tight. The dress flares slightly at the waist is a typical A-line style and end about two inches below my knee. I pair the dress with navy blue pumps with a two-inch heel and a navy blue sequined evening bag. Nude pantyhose will finish my ensemble.

Valerie's dress is black, with an empire waist to make her appear thinner. It has a modest scoop neck with short sleeves. It comes with a jacket. The skirt ended halfway down her calf. She wears two-inch black pumps with a silver evening bag. We both decided to wear our hair in a delicate U-shaped French twist.

Valerie and Albert arrive at my house promptly at six-thirty, so we can be on time. The Juniaks is picking us up in a limousine. Tonight is simply magical. The men's tuxedos fit them good, not perfect, but what do you expect from a rental. We arrive in style to the hall, and I see many of my friends staring with envy at our good fortune.

The cocktail hour is marvelous, the food delicious. We are having such a great time. Valerie and I are in the middle of talking with the Mayor's wife when everyone stops talking suddenly. We glance around, trying to figure out what happened when I see HER.

The moment I laid eyes on HER I knew it was my wayward daughter. That bitch Stephanie, who has to return from the dead to destroy everything that Valerie and I tried so hard to rebuild this last year. To make matters even worse, she's standing with the thug and some brat. I hope that brat isn't my grandson. What would the neighbors say about having a dark-skinned grandchild?

I look at her dress in disbelief. Why me? That dress is RED! RED! Doesn't she know that an appropriate cocktail dress is black, blue or silver? She's the only one here wearing red. And her hair! My God, she's wearing it down in a mess of curls. Where did I go wrong? Stephanie should have her hair up. Those shoes, those shoes are the worst. They are hooker shoes. No one should be wearing shoes that high to a formal function. Stephanie looks like a hooker.

I must admit, though, that the thug looks really good in the tuxedo. There is no what that he rented that tuxedo. It looks like it was made for him. She doesn't belong next to him in that, that "outfit." Hell, she even has the brat in a tuxedo that fits him better than Frank or Albert's tuxedo. I need a drink.

I can't keep quiet any longer and finally yell out, "Stephanie Michelle Plum, what are you doing here? Who is that brat? Why are you here with that, that thug? You should be here with Joseph. You need to arrest that man! He kidnapped my daughter and held her hostage for the past year, making us all believe that she was dead! He's an animal, I tell you!"

Joe Juniak asks us to be quiet, and we comply. After all, he IS a Senator. Then he weaves this lie together about where my good-for-nothing daughter has been for the last year. I can't believe that she ruined poor Theresa's life. Theresa was a good woman. I should have known she was behind Theresa's sudden death. Thankfully, Joe is finally finished. I will go over to my disgrace of a daughter and find out what the meaning of all this is once and for all. I motion for Valerie to follow me and walk over to my ungrateful, slut of a daughter.

Stephanie' POV

"Stephanie Michelle Plum, what is the meaning of this? How could you spread lies about poor Teresa? She's a good woman, and you're nothing but a whore, a slut! How did I manage to raise such a sad excuse of a woman? I demand that you divorce this thug immediately and marry Joseph right away. I know that brat isn't yours."

Valerie joined right in, "Stephanie, don't you know how many problems you created for your nieces? My daughters are outcasts in the Burg because of you! Why do you continue to ruin our lives?"

I am on the verge of tears, the only thing keeping me steady is seeing my son in my husband's arms. I finally stand tall and proud, and stick up for myself.

"I am sorry you feel that way. I know that you would do so much better than I if you had been kidnapped, chained in a storage facility, and forced into captivity. I realize that my pain and suffering is nothing compared to your "rejection" by the Burg busybodies. Being that I am obviously such a pill, you can pretend I am still dead. My name is Stephanie Michelle Manoso. I am no longer a Plum. Therefore, I am no longer your problem. I hoped that you would want to know your grandson, but I see he isn't important to you. At least he has his Manoso grandparents and Ella to spoil him like he deserves. Now, if you will excuse me, I'd like to join my family at our table."

I walk passed Ellen and Valerie. Carlos squeezes my hand to give me courage as we walk to our table. Once I arrive at the table, my brother, my Merry Men surround me, hugging me and kissing me; congratulating me on finally standing up for myself. Just as I'm about to sit down, I see Joe standing by my table.

"It's good to see you back, Cup…Stephanie. I'm glad I no longer need to pretend that you are still dead. Let me know if you need any help. I'm, I'm proud of you, Stephanie." He said before kissing my cheek. He looks at Carlos, and they share some silent form of communication before he walks away to rejoin his family. As I sit down, I can't help but be thankful for all that I have now.

Ranger's POV

Five years later

I am amazed at the changes in my life over that last six years. It all started the day. I thought I love my Babe forever. Thankfully, she was only kidnapped. When I found her and my son, my world was right once again.

Miguel is now five, and he was joined by his sister Gabriela Lucia four years ago. Stephanie's pregnancy with Gabby was tough on her, and her birth was worse. Her water broke at home, and we barely made it to the hospital in time. She tore badly given birth and had uncontrolled uterine bleeding. The doctor needs to perform an emergency hysterectomy to save Steph's life. We were upset at first, knowing that Gabby would be our last child, but I much prefer to have my Stephanie over any other future children.

Miguel is starting kindergarten this fall, and Gabby is starting pre-kindergarten. Stephanie is now in charge of the Residential Security division of Rangeman. Families much prefer dealing with Stephanie than my men. At her instance, we hired more women, all former military. They have proven to be valuable. Since Stephanie decided not to do any more distractions, these women have stepped into that role, ensure everyone's safety knowing that they can handle themselves. It also allows us to get skips in the same location because we have different women. It also gives us a chance at getting a skip more than once. Also, women also help when dealing with clients. Most of our teams are now male/ female partnerships which have proven to be highly successful.

I now handle the Commercial Security division of Rangeman. I no longer go after skips, except to be in the communication van at the outer perimeter during a distraction. I won't put myself at risk. My family is more important. I try to avoid being directly involved in federal cases, usually allowing Lester or Bobby to take the lead.

Julie is twenty-one, studying computer programming and engineering at MIT. She wants to work at Rangeman, designing our new security systems. I'm all for her joining Rangeman. In her position, she'd be safe from harm. She has been dated a wonderful young man for two years. He's from a prominent Pennsylvanian family. He's studying cybersecurity, and would also like to join the Rangeman team. I know we need to venture into cybersecurity, but we don't have employees with enough knowledge to expand into that sector. I hope that Pedro will fill that role.

I still carry two guns and a knife, and Lord knows that I have enemies out there, but I wouldn't change my life for any amount of money. I love my wife, my Stephanie, and I love my three children. I hope that the next fifty years are as wonderful as the last five have been. I was almost too late to save my Babe, but thankful, I arrived just in time to save our lives.