A/N: This is a short chapter all. Sorry about that. The next one should
be longer. We're about to see how much Casey means to everyone in this
chapter. You'll see what I'm talking about. Thank you so very much for
all the reviews!!! :)
I pulled on my Mystic Angel flares and a sweatshirt. I sighed as I thought of all the cold I'd be felling later on. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and worked on my make-up.
"Okay, we are not goin into the Antarctic!" Shane joked coming out of the bathroom in black leather pants and a sweater.
"We might as well be! New York is a cold place in November and plus we're gonna be riding down a road on a float!" I said as I pulled out a pair of earmuffs and gloves.
"I'll stick with my gloves and jacket."
"Fine, freeze. See if I care!" I laughed. We pulled on our coats and he grabbed his mask. I grabbed my cell and room key before we ran off to join the others riding on the float in the lobby.
"Alright, Shane, Case, on the ladder. Shane, you lean on the bottom and Case, you climb up and lean on the top," Vince ordered as we got into position. We all did as we were told and were soon riding down the streets of New York City.
"How ya doin up there?" Shane yelled to me, teeth chattering slightly.
"COLD!!!! VERY FUCKIN COLD!!!" I yelled back as he laughed. "I can't believe I'm in this parade. As a kid, I used to watch it with my.......oh fuck!"
"What?!" Shane exclaimed turning to look at me. I carefully climbed down the ladder. I stood next to him and continued waving to the crowd. Shane put his arm around me and pulled me to his body.
I smiled and through clenched teeth said, "I think, I believe, hell I know, I'm in trouble."
"What are you talking about?" Shane whispered.
"Shane, ever since I can remember I watched this parade on tv with my family."
"So?"
"Think about it. My family. My whole family. My parents."
"Your parents? Oh shit!" he said as it all finally hit him. "Casey, they're bound to see you!"
"I know. I can't believe I didn't think of all this earlier!" I exclaimed.
"Hey, what's goin on?" Vince asked as he gave the crowd that smug smile of his.
"Here's a float sponsored by the WWE with the RAW superstars. We have Vince McMahon the owner, Triple H, The Hurricane, Mystic Angel, and many others," people announced as we rode past Macys.
"Casey just realized that her parents are gonna find out where she is," Shane said.
"WHAT?!" Paul exclaimed looking at us with wild eyes. "Casey, that's not good!"
"I know. It didn't even hit me till I realized that I've been watching the parade since for like ever," I explained.
"Well, they can't contact you right?" Vince asked.
"As far as I know they can't," I said.
"Then you shouldn't have any problems?" Paul said.
"I don't know. Depends on if they want me back or not and if they noticed it was me," I said.
"Case, if they haven't tried to find you before.....why would they now?" Paul asked.
"I don't know. I just don't know!" I said as we finally came to the end of the parade.
"It's not like your sisters are gonna say anything about your phone number or where you're located, right?" Vince said in a caring tone.
"They shouldn't. They said they wouldn't. I have no reason to believe that they would."
"Well, what if they do try to take you back? Are you gonna go? Do you think they'll force you?" Paul asked.
"They try to take me back I'm gonna fight. I don't wanna go back. Hell, I can't go back! And if they force me, well, I guess I'm gonna have to go. What else am I gonna do?" I shrugged as we walked into a warm Starbucks.
"We won't let you go," Shane blurted out.
"Right, we'll fight for you," Paul said.
"You are one of my top superstars. You have a t-shirt coming out, two posters, and your career is soaring! I will not lose you!" Vince said putting a protective arm around me.
"Casey, we would do what ever possible to keep you with us," Paul said kissing my cheek.
"I'm gonna say this in the perspective of someone who's not your boyfriend right now. Casey, I love you. I don't know what I would do without in my life. I don't want to lose you," Shane said. "Now as your boyfriend, I say this. I love you with all my heart and can't bare to think of what life would be like without you. You are the best thing that has happened in my life. Baby, I can't spend a nite without you in my arms. I wouldn't be able to stand the thought that someone had taken you away from me. I will never ever let them take you away from me."
"Casey, I'm not just your employer. Remember that. I'm a family member. An uncle if you will. You do mean a lot to me and the rest of my family. I mean, if you didn't, I wouldn't have told you to come eat dinner with us. But anyways, as a family member, I can tell you with all honesty that you'll be greatly missed. And I'll fight with everything I have to keep you in this family!" Vince said.
"Thank you so much. You don't understand how much this all means to me to hear all this! This must be the first holiday that's actually gone my way!" I said as Shane ordered my French vanilla cappuccino.
"Am I giving you and Shane a ride to the McMahon's'?" Paul asked as I sipped my drink.
"Yeah, I believe so. If it's okay?" I said walking out of the store.
"I'll see you all at my house at 3:00," Vince said as we walked in different directions.
"Yeah, that's fine. I'll meet you two at my explorer in an hour?" Paul said as I began jumping up and down to keep warm. "WHOA! Chill out! What's in that damn drink?!"
"I'm cold okay?! I'm trying to keep warm."
"Yeah, sure!" Paul laughed as he hugged me. "Don't worry okay. Everything will turn out fine!"
"I hope so. See you in a few," I said as Shane and I walked into our room.
"Are you gonna tell Jeff?" Shane asked.
"About my discovery?"
"Yeah, give him a heads up type thing."
"No, I don't think so. You know how worried he'll be. And then Matt. Oh my God. If he finds out, he'll move himself to RAW and attach himself to me. You know what he's like with me!" I said with a laugh.
"But Case, don't you think they should know?"
"Yeah, but not yet. Okay? I'll tell Jeff when we get back tomorrow. I think it's better that way."
"Alright. If you think so," Shane said as we packed up our stuff. I sat on the bed and sighed deeply. "Are you scared?"
"Wouldn't you be?"
"Yeah, and I am. I'm petrified."
"You're not the one that has to worry about being taken away from your family."
"No, I'm the one that has to worry about the one I love being taken away. Casey, I meant what I said earlier. You are the best thing that has happened to me. I've never been with someone like I am with you. You are the only girl for me. And I know this after only 3 months."
"Shane, I feel the same way. All you have to do is promise me that you're not gonna let me go without a fight," I said. He walked over to me and kneeled down. He took both my hands in his and looked up at me.
"I'll fight for you until I die. I will fight for you until I take my last breath of air. I will never stop fighting for you until I get you back," Shane said.
"Thank you," I said softly. He smiled and stood to continue packing things up.
"I can't believe how much I ate today!" I said to Shane in the guest room Linda had set up for us.
"I know. It was great wasn't it?!" Shane laughed as he relaxed into the tub of the bathroom. "Are you gonna join me or what?!"
"Just a sec," I called back to him as I brushed my hair. From my bag came the Hardy Boyz entrance music and I dug through it for my cell. "Hello?"
"Casey, we have a problem."
"Mel? What's wrong? Are Luke and Matt okay?" I asked frantically. Shane walked up to me dripping in water with a towel wrapped around him.
"We're all fine. You're the one who's not."
"What do you mean?" I asked as I sat on the bed hard. Shane sat next me and put his hand on my knee.
"I talked to Mom today right after you all were on tv. She saw you. She recognized you. She wants to know what the hell is goin on!"
"You didn't say anything did you?"
"No, I told her that I saw you in the parade, but I'm just as confused and stuff as she is. I think she bought it."
"I'm completely screwed aren't I?"
"No, I don't think so. There's no way she'd go out looking for you. I wouldn't think so anyways. I just wanted you to know that she knows you're in the WWE now."
"Thanks Mel. I gotta go. Early flight tomorrow. Goodnite." I said hanging up.
"What's wrong?" Shane asked.
"My mom knows," I said looking at the floor. Shane put his arm around me and pulled me into his wet body.
"So, what now? Tell Vince?"
"No, not until something happens. I don't want anyone worrying about me."
"Why don't you lay down and get some sleep. We'll talk more about this in the morning," Shane said as he pulled the covers over me. He crawled in, towel included, and held me tightly.
"Casey, Shane, wake up!" Vince's voice echoed in our ears. I opened my eyes and saw him standing in the doorway. I sat up and Shane followed. "Casey, I think your mother knows about you."
"She does. My sister called me last nite and told me. But why do you think she knows?"
"Because my secretary called me this morning and told me that there was a lady there looking for you. Claiming to be your mother," he said as my eyes grew big.
"Oh shit! What the hell am I gonna do?"
"Fight," Shane said. "We fight for you."
"I called the Hardys this morning right when I found out. And Mark. They all said they're on there way here to help keep you. I'm goin down to my office now to keep her there as long as possible. The Hardys will be at the building in 2 hours. Mark won't be here till late tonite," Vince explained. "I don't want you there until the Hardys get there. You two will go with Paul and Steph to pick them all up. Casey, I'm gonna try and keep you away from her. I don't want her to see you cause then she could be more intent on getting you back. I'm telling you right now that I intend to do whatever possible to keep you with us."
"Thank you so much. I'm gonna go shower and get ready. Shane, could you grab my Cotton Candy pink, Atomic Turquoise, and Mystic Heather dye out of my bag. I'm gonna show her that I'm not Casey Piniarski anymore. I'm Casey Hardy, aka Mystic Angel. The extreme one!" I said standing. I walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower. When I was done, Shane had the sink all set up for me to dye my hair. When I had finished, my whole head was covered. There was no more blonde showing through. I smiled at my creation and dressed in a pair of low-rise black jeans and a cut up white wife beater over a black long sleeved shirt. I pulled on my boots and was ready to go.
"Well, are you okay with goin?" Paul asked walking into the room. "Holy cow!! What happened to you?"
"I'm gonna show her that I'm extreme. I'm not the Casey she knew. That this is who I am. And yes......no, who the hell am I kidding, I'm not ready at all!" I said breaking down into tears.
"Casey, you're not even gonna see her. None of us are gonna let her near you," Shane said holding my hand.
"Come on, lets go to the airport," Paul said wrapping his arm around my waist.
"CASEY!" Jeff yelled as he ran through the terminal. I wiped my eyes and put on a smile for him. "Oh Casey." He pulled me into him as Matt, Amy, and Gil followed.
"Why didn't you call us yesterday when all this started?" Matt asked wrapping his arms around me tightly.
"I didn't want to worry anyone."
"Casey, you're my daughter no matter what, okay? And I'm not gonna let them take you from me!" Gil said kissing my forehead. I rested my head on his shoulder comfortably as Amy walked up and put her hand on my back.
"You're my girl. I love you. You're the sister I never got to have. I'm not gonna lose you now," she said as Gil let me go.
A smile broke through my tears as we packed ourselves into the van. I rested my head on Matt's shoulder as he rubbed my back lightly. Shane just held my hand the whole time. When we went up to Vince's office we could hear yelling. But it wasn't Vince's or my parents, it was Mark. Stephanie took my hand as Shane gave me a reassuring kiss. Steph pulled me into a conference room and sat next to me on a couch.
"My father is gonna take care of all of this. I know he will," Steph said.
"I hope so."
"Mrs. Piniarski, I'd like to introduce you to Casey's family," Vince started. "Mark Callaway and Gilbert Hardy, her fathers. Jeff and Matt Hardy and Paul Levesque, her brothers. Amy Dumas, her sister. And Shane Helms, her loving boyfriend."
"I don't care who you all are. I'm here to take back my daughter. Get her here now!" my mother ordered.
"No," Shane said.
"No? NO?!" my mother yelled.
"He's right. No. We love her more than anybody. She came to us. We took her in when she needed a family. We are her family," Matt said.
"I'm her mother. She's my daughter and I have the right to see her."
"That's where you're wrong. She doesn't want to see you. And we're not going to let you," Mark said sternly.
"You don't scare me!"
"Ma'am, she is the most important person in our lives. You can not take that away from us," Gil said politely.
"Hell, we're the most important people to her. You can't take that away from HER!" Jeff said.
"Give me back my daughter."
"She can't leave," Vince said in a business like tone. "She means too much to my business. She has signed a contract. If she leaves now, I have the power to sue her."
"You wouldn't."
"Try me," Vince said getting into my mother's face.
"Look, we love her. We've gotten attached to her. We gave her a home. How could you make your daughter leave something she loves so much to go back to something she hates? If you truly loved her, you wouldn't dream of doing that to her," Amy pointed out.
"Let me see my daughter."
"No," Shane said. "You're not going to see her."
"She's not your daughter in her heart and ours. She's my daughter and I'm not going to allow you to get near her," Mark said.
"She's also my daughter. She lives in my house. She eats my food. You'll not see her as long as I'm standing in this spot," Gil said strongly.
"Casey is now 19 years old. By law, she's an adult. She has the power to do what she pleases. If it pleases her to see you, she'll see you. BUT it doesn't, so you won't be seeing her anytime soon," Jeff said.
"All you people care about is how much money she's bringing in for you anyways," she said directly to Vince.
"Yeah, she is bringing in money to my business. But she's also loved by many. From day one she has been in my mind as a family member. Not as strongly maybe as in Mark's mind, but a family member nonetheless. I called her my niece just recently. She was at my house enjoying thanksgiving, until you showed up! I want you out of my building and away from her immediately. Before I have you arrested," Vince said. My mother growled a bit and walked out of the room.
"Dad!" I cried as I ran into Mark's arms.
"Darlin, it's alright now. She's gone," he said holding my tightly.
"I heard. I heard it all. I never thought I'd mean so much to a group of people," I said.
"If we have to, the next time we have a conflict, we'll bring in the whole company. Rey, Trish, Nora, Adam, John, Andrew, everyone!" Vince said.
"Hopefully there won't be a next time!" Shane said.
'Please, God, don't let her come back. Don't let her take me away from these people,' I thought as Mark continued to hold me.
I pulled on my Mystic Angel flares and a sweatshirt. I sighed as I thought of all the cold I'd be felling later on. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and worked on my make-up.
"Okay, we are not goin into the Antarctic!" Shane joked coming out of the bathroom in black leather pants and a sweater.
"We might as well be! New York is a cold place in November and plus we're gonna be riding down a road on a float!" I said as I pulled out a pair of earmuffs and gloves.
"I'll stick with my gloves and jacket."
"Fine, freeze. See if I care!" I laughed. We pulled on our coats and he grabbed his mask. I grabbed my cell and room key before we ran off to join the others riding on the float in the lobby.
"Alright, Shane, Case, on the ladder. Shane, you lean on the bottom and Case, you climb up and lean on the top," Vince ordered as we got into position. We all did as we were told and were soon riding down the streets of New York City.
"How ya doin up there?" Shane yelled to me, teeth chattering slightly.
"COLD!!!! VERY FUCKIN COLD!!!" I yelled back as he laughed. "I can't believe I'm in this parade. As a kid, I used to watch it with my.......oh fuck!"
"What?!" Shane exclaimed turning to look at me. I carefully climbed down the ladder. I stood next to him and continued waving to the crowd. Shane put his arm around me and pulled me to his body.
I smiled and through clenched teeth said, "I think, I believe, hell I know, I'm in trouble."
"What are you talking about?" Shane whispered.
"Shane, ever since I can remember I watched this parade on tv with my family."
"So?"
"Think about it. My family. My whole family. My parents."
"Your parents? Oh shit!" he said as it all finally hit him. "Casey, they're bound to see you!"
"I know. I can't believe I didn't think of all this earlier!" I exclaimed.
"Hey, what's goin on?" Vince asked as he gave the crowd that smug smile of his.
"Here's a float sponsored by the WWE with the RAW superstars. We have Vince McMahon the owner, Triple H, The Hurricane, Mystic Angel, and many others," people announced as we rode past Macys.
"Casey just realized that her parents are gonna find out where she is," Shane said.
"WHAT?!" Paul exclaimed looking at us with wild eyes. "Casey, that's not good!"
"I know. It didn't even hit me till I realized that I've been watching the parade since for like ever," I explained.
"Well, they can't contact you right?" Vince asked.
"As far as I know they can't," I said.
"Then you shouldn't have any problems?" Paul said.
"I don't know. Depends on if they want me back or not and if they noticed it was me," I said.
"Case, if they haven't tried to find you before.....why would they now?" Paul asked.
"I don't know. I just don't know!" I said as we finally came to the end of the parade.
"It's not like your sisters are gonna say anything about your phone number or where you're located, right?" Vince said in a caring tone.
"They shouldn't. They said they wouldn't. I have no reason to believe that they would."
"Well, what if they do try to take you back? Are you gonna go? Do you think they'll force you?" Paul asked.
"They try to take me back I'm gonna fight. I don't wanna go back. Hell, I can't go back! And if they force me, well, I guess I'm gonna have to go. What else am I gonna do?" I shrugged as we walked into a warm Starbucks.
"We won't let you go," Shane blurted out.
"Right, we'll fight for you," Paul said.
"You are one of my top superstars. You have a t-shirt coming out, two posters, and your career is soaring! I will not lose you!" Vince said putting a protective arm around me.
"Casey, we would do what ever possible to keep you with us," Paul said kissing my cheek.
"I'm gonna say this in the perspective of someone who's not your boyfriend right now. Casey, I love you. I don't know what I would do without in my life. I don't want to lose you," Shane said. "Now as your boyfriend, I say this. I love you with all my heart and can't bare to think of what life would be like without you. You are the best thing that has happened in my life. Baby, I can't spend a nite without you in my arms. I wouldn't be able to stand the thought that someone had taken you away from me. I will never ever let them take you away from me."
"Casey, I'm not just your employer. Remember that. I'm a family member. An uncle if you will. You do mean a lot to me and the rest of my family. I mean, if you didn't, I wouldn't have told you to come eat dinner with us. But anyways, as a family member, I can tell you with all honesty that you'll be greatly missed. And I'll fight with everything I have to keep you in this family!" Vince said.
"Thank you so much. You don't understand how much this all means to me to hear all this! This must be the first holiday that's actually gone my way!" I said as Shane ordered my French vanilla cappuccino.
"Am I giving you and Shane a ride to the McMahon's'?" Paul asked as I sipped my drink.
"Yeah, I believe so. If it's okay?" I said walking out of the store.
"I'll see you all at my house at 3:00," Vince said as we walked in different directions.
"Yeah, that's fine. I'll meet you two at my explorer in an hour?" Paul said as I began jumping up and down to keep warm. "WHOA! Chill out! What's in that damn drink?!"
"I'm cold okay?! I'm trying to keep warm."
"Yeah, sure!" Paul laughed as he hugged me. "Don't worry okay. Everything will turn out fine!"
"I hope so. See you in a few," I said as Shane and I walked into our room.
"Are you gonna tell Jeff?" Shane asked.
"About my discovery?"
"Yeah, give him a heads up type thing."
"No, I don't think so. You know how worried he'll be. And then Matt. Oh my God. If he finds out, he'll move himself to RAW and attach himself to me. You know what he's like with me!" I said with a laugh.
"But Case, don't you think they should know?"
"Yeah, but not yet. Okay? I'll tell Jeff when we get back tomorrow. I think it's better that way."
"Alright. If you think so," Shane said as we packed up our stuff. I sat on the bed and sighed deeply. "Are you scared?"
"Wouldn't you be?"
"Yeah, and I am. I'm petrified."
"You're not the one that has to worry about being taken away from your family."
"No, I'm the one that has to worry about the one I love being taken away. Casey, I meant what I said earlier. You are the best thing that has happened to me. I've never been with someone like I am with you. You are the only girl for me. And I know this after only 3 months."
"Shane, I feel the same way. All you have to do is promise me that you're not gonna let me go without a fight," I said. He walked over to me and kneeled down. He took both my hands in his and looked up at me.
"I'll fight for you until I die. I will fight for you until I take my last breath of air. I will never stop fighting for you until I get you back," Shane said.
"Thank you," I said softly. He smiled and stood to continue packing things up.
"I can't believe how much I ate today!" I said to Shane in the guest room Linda had set up for us.
"I know. It was great wasn't it?!" Shane laughed as he relaxed into the tub of the bathroom. "Are you gonna join me or what?!"
"Just a sec," I called back to him as I brushed my hair. From my bag came the Hardy Boyz entrance music and I dug through it for my cell. "Hello?"
"Casey, we have a problem."
"Mel? What's wrong? Are Luke and Matt okay?" I asked frantically. Shane walked up to me dripping in water with a towel wrapped around him.
"We're all fine. You're the one who's not."
"What do you mean?" I asked as I sat on the bed hard. Shane sat next me and put his hand on my knee.
"I talked to Mom today right after you all were on tv. She saw you. She recognized you. She wants to know what the hell is goin on!"
"You didn't say anything did you?"
"No, I told her that I saw you in the parade, but I'm just as confused and stuff as she is. I think she bought it."
"I'm completely screwed aren't I?"
"No, I don't think so. There's no way she'd go out looking for you. I wouldn't think so anyways. I just wanted you to know that she knows you're in the WWE now."
"Thanks Mel. I gotta go. Early flight tomorrow. Goodnite." I said hanging up.
"What's wrong?" Shane asked.
"My mom knows," I said looking at the floor. Shane put his arm around me and pulled me into his wet body.
"So, what now? Tell Vince?"
"No, not until something happens. I don't want anyone worrying about me."
"Why don't you lay down and get some sleep. We'll talk more about this in the morning," Shane said as he pulled the covers over me. He crawled in, towel included, and held me tightly.
"Casey, Shane, wake up!" Vince's voice echoed in our ears. I opened my eyes and saw him standing in the doorway. I sat up and Shane followed. "Casey, I think your mother knows about you."
"She does. My sister called me last nite and told me. But why do you think she knows?"
"Because my secretary called me this morning and told me that there was a lady there looking for you. Claiming to be your mother," he said as my eyes grew big.
"Oh shit! What the hell am I gonna do?"
"Fight," Shane said. "We fight for you."
"I called the Hardys this morning right when I found out. And Mark. They all said they're on there way here to help keep you. I'm goin down to my office now to keep her there as long as possible. The Hardys will be at the building in 2 hours. Mark won't be here till late tonite," Vince explained. "I don't want you there until the Hardys get there. You two will go with Paul and Steph to pick them all up. Casey, I'm gonna try and keep you away from her. I don't want her to see you cause then she could be more intent on getting you back. I'm telling you right now that I intend to do whatever possible to keep you with us."
"Thank you so much. I'm gonna go shower and get ready. Shane, could you grab my Cotton Candy pink, Atomic Turquoise, and Mystic Heather dye out of my bag. I'm gonna show her that I'm not Casey Piniarski anymore. I'm Casey Hardy, aka Mystic Angel. The extreme one!" I said standing. I walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower. When I was done, Shane had the sink all set up for me to dye my hair. When I had finished, my whole head was covered. There was no more blonde showing through. I smiled at my creation and dressed in a pair of low-rise black jeans and a cut up white wife beater over a black long sleeved shirt. I pulled on my boots and was ready to go.
"Well, are you okay with goin?" Paul asked walking into the room. "Holy cow!! What happened to you?"
"I'm gonna show her that I'm extreme. I'm not the Casey she knew. That this is who I am. And yes......no, who the hell am I kidding, I'm not ready at all!" I said breaking down into tears.
"Casey, you're not even gonna see her. None of us are gonna let her near you," Shane said holding my hand.
"Come on, lets go to the airport," Paul said wrapping his arm around my waist.
"CASEY!" Jeff yelled as he ran through the terminal. I wiped my eyes and put on a smile for him. "Oh Casey." He pulled me into him as Matt, Amy, and Gil followed.
"Why didn't you call us yesterday when all this started?" Matt asked wrapping his arms around me tightly.
"I didn't want to worry anyone."
"Casey, you're my daughter no matter what, okay? And I'm not gonna let them take you from me!" Gil said kissing my forehead. I rested my head on his shoulder comfortably as Amy walked up and put her hand on my back.
"You're my girl. I love you. You're the sister I never got to have. I'm not gonna lose you now," she said as Gil let me go.
A smile broke through my tears as we packed ourselves into the van. I rested my head on Matt's shoulder as he rubbed my back lightly. Shane just held my hand the whole time. When we went up to Vince's office we could hear yelling. But it wasn't Vince's or my parents, it was Mark. Stephanie took my hand as Shane gave me a reassuring kiss. Steph pulled me into a conference room and sat next to me on a couch.
"My father is gonna take care of all of this. I know he will," Steph said.
"I hope so."
"Mrs. Piniarski, I'd like to introduce you to Casey's family," Vince started. "Mark Callaway and Gilbert Hardy, her fathers. Jeff and Matt Hardy and Paul Levesque, her brothers. Amy Dumas, her sister. And Shane Helms, her loving boyfriend."
"I don't care who you all are. I'm here to take back my daughter. Get her here now!" my mother ordered.
"No," Shane said.
"No? NO?!" my mother yelled.
"He's right. No. We love her more than anybody. She came to us. We took her in when she needed a family. We are her family," Matt said.
"I'm her mother. She's my daughter and I have the right to see her."
"That's where you're wrong. She doesn't want to see you. And we're not going to let you," Mark said sternly.
"You don't scare me!"
"Ma'am, she is the most important person in our lives. You can not take that away from us," Gil said politely.
"Hell, we're the most important people to her. You can't take that away from HER!" Jeff said.
"Give me back my daughter."
"She can't leave," Vince said in a business like tone. "She means too much to my business. She has signed a contract. If she leaves now, I have the power to sue her."
"You wouldn't."
"Try me," Vince said getting into my mother's face.
"Look, we love her. We've gotten attached to her. We gave her a home. How could you make your daughter leave something she loves so much to go back to something she hates? If you truly loved her, you wouldn't dream of doing that to her," Amy pointed out.
"Let me see my daughter."
"No," Shane said. "You're not going to see her."
"She's not your daughter in her heart and ours. She's my daughter and I'm not going to allow you to get near her," Mark said.
"She's also my daughter. She lives in my house. She eats my food. You'll not see her as long as I'm standing in this spot," Gil said strongly.
"Casey is now 19 years old. By law, she's an adult. She has the power to do what she pleases. If it pleases her to see you, she'll see you. BUT it doesn't, so you won't be seeing her anytime soon," Jeff said.
"All you people care about is how much money she's bringing in for you anyways," she said directly to Vince.
"Yeah, she is bringing in money to my business. But she's also loved by many. From day one she has been in my mind as a family member. Not as strongly maybe as in Mark's mind, but a family member nonetheless. I called her my niece just recently. She was at my house enjoying thanksgiving, until you showed up! I want you out of my building and away from her immediately. Before I have you arrested," Vince said. My mother growled a bit and walked out of the room.
"Dad!" I cried as I ran into Mark's arms.
"Darlin, it's alright now. She's gone," he said holding my tightly.
"I heard. I heard it all. I never thought I'd mean so much to a group of people," I said.
"If we have to, the next time we have a conflict, we'll bring in the whole company. Rey, Trish, Nora, Adam, John, Andrew, everyone!" Vince said.
"Hopefully there won't be a next time!" Shane said.
'Please, God, don't let her come back. Don't let her take me away from these people,' I thought as Mark continued to hold me.