Chapter 13

Stephanie collected enough evidence to send Perez and Martinez to federal prison for the rest of their natural lives. The emails showed intent for fraud and embezzlement. Stephanie found all correspondence between Orr and Perez that included documents to transfer all the Rangeman branches to Perez.

He smiled when he read the highlighted text in the initial Rangeman partnership contract between Carlos, Tank, Lester, and Bobby. "Divesting or selling Rangeman branches requires the signature of all four core members as described in section 2.23iv of the partnership agreement," Mateo read out loud. Perez does not legally own Rangeman Atlanta because Tank, Lester and Bobby did not sign the paperwork.

"Did you read everything?" Stephanie asked.

"Yes. You are a genius. I doubt Perez knew about this clause," Mateo replied.

"I'm good at my job," Stephanie dismissed the compliment.

Mateo sat beside Stephanie and gave her a mug of coffee. "Ricky should wake up soon to get fed," Mateo reminded her.

"Thanks." Tank, Lester and Bobby arrived as Stephanie nursed Ricky.

"We told Axel, Marlin and Hunter what happened in Rangeman Atlanta," Tank announced.

"They won't talk. The men know we'll kick their ass if they do," Bobby added.

Stephanie went through all her data as Mateo passed around the papers. Ricky moaned as he ate. He released her nipple when he got his fill. Careful to keep her breast covered, Stephanie lifted Ricky to her shoulder to burp him. After he expelled the gas, Lester grabbed the infant.

"Hi, Ricky. I'm your uncle Lester," he crooned. Ricky smiled at his cousin as his eyes drooped. Lester placed his head on his shoulder as the child fell asleep.

They poured over the documents and formulated a plan to handle Perez and Martinez. Hector called a few hours later. Mateo asked, in Spanish, "Did you redact the change?"

"Yes," Hector replied. "Anybody requesting the record will only get the original certificate."

"What about the hard copies?" Mateo asked.

"Hard copies get forged more often than people know. If there are any doubts, the copy filed with the state is the one of record. My buddy will search her home for documents and digital files. Have Lester meet him at 0800 near her bank." Hector ended the call after he shared the information.

Lester checked the time on Mateo's watch. "I need to leave to get there in time," he announced as he placed Ricky into Tank's arms. Ricky whimpered as Tank placed his head on his shoulder. As she watched each man hold Ricky, it made Stephanie smile.

Stephanie planned to get Lester to speak to the loyal Rangeman Atlanta clients. She decided to divest the branch and sell the clientele to another party. "While you're there, talk to Andie Barrows, the bank branch manager. She gets to work an hour before her staff," Stephanie said as she showed him the photo.

"Barrows only renewed the Rangeman contract because of Ranger," Lester added. The woman was in her late forties, heavyset, blond hair, blue eyes and wore glasses. She was not married or in a relationship. Andie had a fifteen-year-old daughter and fought hard in the courts to get the biological father tested for paternity.

It proved the man listed on the birth certificate was the father, and he refused to pay support. Lester could use the information to appeal to her better judgement. He needed to know when Martinez visited the bank.

All Lester had to do was flirt, and she would be putty in his hands. On the way to meet his contact, Lester thought about how to approach Andie. She was a pretty woman, not his type, but he was confident he could get her to help.

Hector had his friend Jose meet Lester to provide the information he discovered in the filing cabinet at the Martinez home. "I waited for her to leave with the toddler," Jose explained. "She had the cabinet key hanging on a hook in the room. I copied the SD card and flash drive I found in the cabinet." Jose gave Lester the portable hard drive. "Everything you need is on the device."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?" Lester asked.

"No charge to protect Hermana," Jose replied before he left.

He was stunned that a total stranger would risk a break and enter charge for a woman he had never met. Beautiful had that impact on the people she met. Hector must have stressed the importance of keeping Stephanie safe.

Lester approached Andie to appeal to her motherly instincts. Andie saw the gorgeous man in charge of client relations at Rangeman approach. He quietly said there would be no record of this exchange before telling her what he needed to get done. Andie did not have to participate, but she also didn't want a man paying for a child that wasn't his.

As he predicted, Andie was furious that a woman would list a man who wasn't the father on a birth certificate. She paused before agreeing to notify him when Martinez arrived. "I need to see proof the man isn't the child's father," Andie stated.

He removed the paternity results from his pocket to show her. Andie read the results showing the first man was not the dad, and another man was the biological father. "Martinez changed the name of the father on the birth certificate. I'm not asking you to grant me access to her safety deposit box. I need to know if and when she enters the bank."

Andie said, "I'll call if she arrives."

"Thank you," Lester said before he gave the woman his phone number. Andie stared at his ass as he left the bank.

When Andie met Myla Martinez last year, she did not trust the woman. Myla was dishonest. She claimed her daughter's father died. Andie met Ricardo Manoso and knew he was an upstanding citizen and soldier. Manoso would never get himself mixed up with a woman like Martinez. She knew if she helped the attractive soldier, it was the correct decision. Women like Myla Martinez need to get stopped. Dishonest women made it difficult for honest women to sue for child support.

Lester called Hector after Lester returned home. "I have something for you to see. Martinez had a flash drive and SD card in the home file cabinet. Thanks for giving your buddy the portable battery-operated drive. He downloaded the contents of both devices. Where do you want me to send the files?" Lester asked.

"Stephanie's laptop. The best antivirus programs are on her computer. Run them on the portable drive. View the footage and send it to the server Stephanie is using," Hector said before he hung up.

Hector didn't trust that the footage was free from viruses. He called Stephanie to explain the process. "I know how to scan a device for viruses. Are you concerned about malware?" Stephanie asked.

"It's possible. Always assume the file got corrupted," Hector stated. "Let me know when the virus scan is complete. I'll check for malware. I know Perez's style."

"Got it, thanks, Hermano," Stephanie said before she hung up.

Within a few hours, Hector cleared the files. Martinez had videos of Perez and her discussion about taking money from Ranger. Perez knew he was the baby's father but said they could swindle money from Manoso to give her child a better life than he could provide.

Martinez had copies of confidential documents she got from Perez's Rangeman computer. She had multiple pages that showed only Ranger's signature. "Lester, we need a lawyer immediately. Martinez and Perez are in this video forging Ranger's signature. We need to divest Rangeman Atlanta and have those two arrested," Stephanie ordered.

Mateo stated, "I'll call Celia. She can represent us."

Stephanie smiled that another family member would learn Carlos had a second child. Mateo talked to Celia in rapid Spanish. He hung up after he thanked Celia for her help.

"What is Celia's ETA?" Stephanie asked.

"Twenty minutes. Celia was already in the area," Mateo replied. "Tank called Celia before he left Trenton. She flew in from Miami."

"This kid eats too frequently," Stephanie complained as she nursed Ricky again. Her nipples got chaffed from nursing. Ricky was teething. He often clenched his gums together, which made his tooth dig into the nipple. Stephanie winced as Ricky clenched his jaw.

"We can try baby cereal," Bobby suggested. "It would keep his stomach full for a little longer."

"I'm willing to try anything," she stated. "I started weaning Ricky too. He takes a bottle during the night."

"I'll go shopping," Mateo offered as he grabbed the keys. "Write a list of what you recommend, Bobby."

Bobby used his phone to research baby cereal and foods to give a four-month-old infant. He gave Mateo a list of baby food, including carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, squash, bananas, pears and peaches. "We can make our own, but it would be more convenient to purchase the jars of food," Bobby said as he passed Mateo the list.

"Guys, you don't need to hold Ricky all the time. He needs floor time, too," she said when Lester reached for Ricky. Stephanie laid Ricky on top of the blanket he placed on the floor. "At night, I lay him on his back. He wakes up on his stomach."

Tank, Lester and Bobby sat on the floor to keep Ricky enclosed within the triangle of their legs. Ricky kicked his legs a few times before he rolled onto his stomach. They would roll him onto his back and watched him roll over again.

Stephanie answered the door when someone knocked. She recognized Celia immediately. "Come in," Stephanie said as she opened the door. "Don't mind the men. They're in the living room getting their kicks."

Celia entered the living room and laughed. "I have got to get a photo of this." She took out her phone to take a picture. "Hey, little man," Celia said as she kneeled to look into the boy's blue eyes. She lifted him and asked, "Is this my nephew, Stephanie?"

"Yes. I named Ricky after his father," Stephanie replied.

"He looks like Julie with your blue eyes and curly hair," Celia commented. "Does mama and papa know?" Stephanie shook her head. When Stephanie reached for Ricky, Celia noticed the rings. "My brother has some explaining to do."

"Right now, we have a serious issue to handle. Ricky and my marriage to Carlos got suppressed until we deal with Rangeman Atlanta," Stephanie explained.

She went through all the details she uncovered while she searched the Rangeman databases. Stephanie neglected to mention the intel Lester gathered from the file cabinet.

Celia contacted her friend with the FBI. She explained everything they uncovered. Her friend said they'd send an agent to collect the evidence from Stephanie. Rangeman Atlanta got divested by Hector according to Stephanie's order.

Mateo returned to the house with baby food for Ricky. The boy smiled when he saw his uncle. "What's in the other bag?" Stephanie asked when Mateo didn't unpack it. His face flushed as he passed the item to Stephanie. "If you pump, we can feed Ricky during the night," Mateo stated. "It's the battery-operated one. The manual pump takes too long for you to use."

She went on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.

It took a week for the FBI agents to organize a team. They made sure none of their agents were related to or knew the Rangeman Atlanta employees.

The FBI agent, Sandra Michaels, stayed in Atlanta for several weeks as she reviewed the documents. With Hector's assistance, Sandra and her partner, Brett Andrews, recorded every phone conversation, email and text exchanged between Martinez, Perez and Orr. "Who is Rangeman's current CEO?" Sandra asked after she compiled the papers.

"I am," Stephanie replied. Tank gave the agent a copy of the contract.

"You're also the person to uncover this clever scheme?" Michaels asked.

Stephanie replied, "Yes. There is something else you need to know. Richard Orr Jr, also known as Dickie, was my first husband. I helped Rangeman and TPD's Organized crime division solve cases involving the man."

"Do you have a personal vendetta against Mr. Orr?" Sandra asked. Sandra assessed Stephanie during her time in Atlanta. The woman was kind, generous and genuine. She was slightly jealous that the men doted on Stephanie. Sandra had to admit that Ricky was adorable.

"No. However, it would be nice if Orr left my husband's company alone," Stephanie replied honestly.

Sandra asked her partner to contact the state district attorney. They had more than enough evidence to put Dickie, Perez, and Martinez in federal prison. Stephanie's brows moved together as she thought about how Dickie, Perez and Martinez met. It was the only piece of the puzzle missing.

Lester watched Stephanie as she processed the information Sandra shared with her partner and DA. He touched Stephanie's arm before he asked, "Beautiful, what's on your mind?"

"Through all my research, I couldn't connect how Martinez, Perez and Dickie know each other," she replied.

"I may have the answer," Brett Andrews replied. "When Myla Martinez was fifteen, she was charged with prostitution in Trenton by officer Joseph Morelli. Since she was a minor, her record got sealed. The DA unsealed her record yesterday."

Stephanie knew Myla Martinez was born in New York but never knew she ran away to New Jersey. "Let me guess," Stephanie said, "Her lawyer was Richard Orr Sr." Andrews touched his finger to his nose. "Great," Stephanie mumbled.

Perez got suspicious after he submitted the monthly expense sheets for ammunition and clothing. Both amounts got declined by the accounting department. Rangeman Atlanta wouldn't get reimbursed for the claim, meaning Martinez wouldn't get the support money. "You aren't getting money this month," Perez told Myla when she answered the phone.

"How am I going to pay rent?" Myla shouted.

"Turning tricks?" Darius suggested. Martinez was pissed. She relied on the 5000 Perez siphoned from Rangeman. "I think they're onto us."

Martinez panicked and arranged for another mother to babysit Selena. Myla went to her file cabinet and sighed with relief to find it still locked. She grabbed the file and pulled out the birth certificate. After Myla pressed it against her chest, she placed it back into the folder containing the SD card and flash drive. This birth certificate would force Carlos to pay support, she thought.

Myla didn't know someone copied her files.

Andie sent Lester a text stating Martinez deposited an envelope into her security box and removed a large sum of cash. Lester thanked her and told the team. Stephanie smiled at the woman's predictability.

Perez tried to access the bank account to withdraw funds but got denied. He could feel that everything would get unravelled. Someone cut off his access to the Rangeman accounts. Ranger was gone and couldn't be responsible. He called his friend to see who was running Rangeman. "Yo," Silvio answered.

"Hey, buddy. I submitted my expense sheets, but they didn't get paid," Perez stated.

"I don't know what to say," Silvio said. "We didn't have a problem."

"Huh. Can you submit my request?" Perez asked.

"No can do. Each office is responsible for submitting the paperwork for their branch. If you got denied, there must have been a reason," Silvio replied.

Silvio did not like Perez or his managing style. Perez is a selfish, arrogant man. He often scheduled meetings with the Miami and Boston branch managers to change the protocols Ranger meticulously created. When Perez got kicked from the Rangers during training, Perez held Manoso responsible. Perez failed to realize he lacked the skills and endurance to become a Ranger.

He listened to Perez rant that his army career ended after he got kicked from the elite program. Perez could have gone back to regular duty, but it wasn't good enough for him. He wanted Manoso's life.