Chapter 20
Celia gave the temporary custody papers to the child protection services. Julie's caseworker arrived at 9 am to discuss the next step. "I'm working on reversing the adoption," Celia stated. "Mr. Manoso only gave up his rights to protect Julie while he had a military contract."
"I should already know this information, but I just received Miss. Martine's case last night. Sonya Evans went on maternity leave, and I inherited her caseload. Has Mr. Manoso's status in the military changed?" Mindy Lutz asked.
"His contract ended four months ago," Celia replied.
"Does he have other children?"
"Two sons. His youngest was born last night. Stephanie, his wife, and child are doing well," Celia stated.
"Very good. How do you feel about your father having other children?" Mindy asked Julie.
"I'm so excited. Ricky is the cutest little boy I have ever seen. I can't wait to see Mattie and Stephanie," she gushed. "And you can tell that we're related because we look alike." Mindy smiled at Julie's reaction. She could see how much Julie loved her brother.
"Why did you get kicked out without clothes?" Mindy asked, appalled that a parent could do that to their child.
"I can't think of a good enough reason other than I wear trackers owned by Rangeman. If they see my trackers outside after dark, they search for me," Julie guessed.
"How did they find you?"
"Routine patrol," Julie replied. "I think my mom knew they drove past every fifteen minutes. We live in a gated community. My biological dad is protective."
"Be as it may, it's still unconscionable." Mindy reviewed the temporary custody request and stated, "It says here that Mr. Manoso lives near Trenton, New Jersey." She wanted to place Julie with her biological father as soon as possible, and she had to sort out the logistics.
"That's correct. Mr. and Mrs. Manoso are willing to relocate to Miami. But it would take a few weeks before the infant could travel by plane," Celia stated. "Driving that distance with a newborn would take a long time."
Travelling with one child was difficult, as Mindy knew first hand. But to move two children under three would be too much of a challenge for the best of parents. "I'll contact the children services in New Jersey to assist with Julie Martine's case. We could transfer Julie to Trenton, so the Manosos don't have to move two young children," Mindy said as she entered the request on her computer.
Celia suppressed a smile. Her sister, Sophia, worked in the department and was waiting for the request to cross her desk.
Sophia Cruz smiled when she was assigned the case. "Monica, do you have a few minutes to discuss a case?" Sophia asked.
Monica DeMarco, Sophia's supervisor, replied, "Sure. Bring the file to my office."
"Thank you." Sophia printed the documents Mindy sent along with the request. She sat in the chair across from Monica and opened her folder. "I got assigned the case for Julie Martine. Danielle thought I would be the best person to handle the case, but I have a conflict of interest. Julie's my niece."
"Could you be unbiased?" Monica asked.
"You know I can," Sophia replied.
"But?"
"But I would feel better if someone reviewed the case intermittently to protect Julie's best interest."
"Do you believe Julie Martine should get returned to her biological father or entered into the foster care program?" Monica wondered.
"Julie would thrive in the Manoso household. Stephanie loves Julie. She would make sure Julie gets all the help, support and love she needs. No child deserves the treatment Julie got from her mother and adoptive father. It's incomprehensible that they would hold an act of self-defence against her," Sophia stated.
Monica wanted to hear the story about Julie's kidnapping. Sophia told her everything she knew and supported the story using police reports along with Julie's statement. "Everything was fine until she got kidnapped?" Monica asked to confirm.
"Correct. The Martines got worried that Carlos Manoso's enemies would come after their children. It's a valid concern, but they shouldn't have ostracized Julie. They removed from all extracurricular activities and spent the money on their children. Julie said they don't let her go out in public with her siblings," Sophia explained. "To be honest, Carlos didn't have to give Rachel Martine support payments for Julie. He reluctantly signed away his parental rights when Julie was a year old."
"Reluctantly?" Monica asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Rachel married Ron Martine, who wanted to adopt Julie. Carlos knew how challenging his military career could get and wanted Julie to grow up with a father. Besides, he didn't know if he'd live or die while deployed. It was a hard decision, but he decided to give his daughter the best chance at a happy life with two loving parents," Sophia explained.
"He sounds like a man who loves his daughter more than his own life," Monica muttered. Sophia suppressed a smile. She knew Carlos loved his daughter. "I'll oversee the Martine case. You're too close if the courts were to get involved."
"Thank you, Monica. If you could sign off on the file, I can get my sister, Celia, to fly Julie to Trenton," Sophia offered.
"The Manosos will need to finalize custody in the Florida courts." Monica dismissed Sophia and called Mindy Lutz.
"Hi, Mindy, it's Monica DeMarco. I'm working with you on the Martine case. Has the temporary custody agreement been arranged with the courts?" Monica asked.
"Celia just emailed me the signed order. Mr. and Mrs. Manoso has temporary custody of Julie Martine. She also filed an injunction to have the adoption overturned," Mindy reported.
"Wow. When does Julie come to New Jersey?"
"Celia is flying to Newark, New Jersey on the Rangeman jet at Mr. Manoso's insistence. She'll be there in a few hours," Mindy replied.
Monica whistled. "Impressive. Her father must be excited to see Julie."
"I'd say he is. Contact me when Miss. Martine arrives," Mindy requested.
"I'll be waiting at the airport," Monica offered.
Joseph Morelli couldn't believe the test results. Cameron Scorsone was his half-brother, born when Anthony was four months old. Joe sat on the information for three months. He knew his mom deserved to know, and he was reluctant to break her heart. His mother knew Anthony cheated but assumed he didn't have any children with his mistresses.
Paulina found Joe staring at the paternity results. "Joey, your mom deserves to know," she said, sitting beside him.
"How do you tell your mother that your father had other children?" Joe asked.
"Rip off the bandaid. You can't avoid the truth forever," Paulina wisely replied.
"I may as well get it over with," he groaned.
"Joey, it's about time you called. Were you avoiding me?" Angie admonished.
"Yes. I have to tell you something, but I'm not sure where to start," Joe replied.
"At the beginning works best." Reluctantly he told his mom the entire story. She cried when she heard her husband fathered a child while she was pregnant with Anthony. Angie was devastated. "Your father said he didn't have other children," she cried.
"I'm sorry, mom. Cameron was married to Paulina. They had two children together. A girl named Tawny and a boy we named Cameron. Mom, next month I'm getting married to Paulina. We would love to have you and the family here," Joe explained.
"My Joey is getting married?" Angie asked.
"Yes, mom. I'm getting married. Paulina and I will raise Tawny and Cameron together."
"I'm proud of you, Joey. Of course, your family will be at your wedding," Angie replied. She grabbed a pen and notepad to write down the venue and address.
"Any news?" Joe asked.
"Stephanie had another boy," Angie replied.
"Wow. I'm happy for her and Manoso," Joe answered honestly.
"She had him at home. Her husband delivered the child."
Joe laughed. "I'm glad I didn't have to deliver Cameron. Good for him."
"You sound happy, Joey."
"I am happy, mom. Paulina and I work," Joe added.
"We'll see you next month. I expect you to send pictures of my grandchildren," Angie said before ending the call.
Joe kissed Paulina. They got carried away. For the first time since his surgery, Joe felt himself get hard. "Lina," Joe moaned, moving her hand to his crotch.
"Joey," she groaned. "It's been too long." Joe lifted her into his arms and carried her to bed. He used protection during sex, even though she couldn't get pregnant. Paulina understood his reason without asking. She appreciated his thoughtfulness.
Julie was anxious to meet her youngest brother. She was on Rangeman's jet flying towards Newark, New Jersey. Celia had the interim custody papers for her dad to file with his lawyer. "What's going to happen with Ronnie and Silvie?" Julie asked.
"It depends what they uncover when they investigate. How your parents treated you raised questions on how they interact with your brother and sister," Celia replied.
"I don't think Ronnie and Silvie should get taken away from their parents," Julie stated. "Ron and Rachel were great parents to them, but not me."
"Unfortunately, it isn't your decision. Kicking you out of the house doesn't look good on your mom," Celia explained.
Julie shrugged because Celia was right. It wasn't Julie's decision to remove her siblings from her parents' care. Most of the problems Julie experienced were from Rachel.
Silvie looked for Julie after school. Julie promised to help her with the confusing math homework. "Ronnie, have you seen Julie?" Silvie asked.
"Nope. She should be home. Have you checked her room?" Ronnie wondered.
"She isn't there," Silvie replied. She went to the kitchen to grab a snack. Her mom left a note telling them she was next door. After eating her cookies, Silvie went to the neighbours to find her mom.
Silvie listened outside the front door. The windows were open so she could hear their conversation. She cried when her mom said Julie got kicked out last night. "In a towel? Rachel, what did you do?" Debbie asked.
"Her biological dad cut back the support payments. Ron and I needed the money to pay for Silvie and Ronnie's programs," Rachel stated. "If he doesn't pay us support for Julie, then she doesn't live with us."
"Rachel, Ron adopted Julie. Her biological dad gave up his rights and shouldn't be paying you support. He gave you money to pay for Julie's activities and clothes. You haven't bought her any new clothes in over a year while Silvie and Ronnie are wearing name-brand clothing," Debbie explained.
"Hmph. Her biological father can afford to pay for her clothes. If she wanted new clothes, she should have asked him," Rachel stated, defending her actions.
"But why did you kick her out wearing only a towel?" Debbie asked.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "She always wears those awful trackers and panic buttons. Rangeman runs regular patrols in the area. She was never in danger," Rachel replied. "No doubt she's at Rangeman, safe and sound."
"Rachel, are you really that naive? You could lose custody of Julie."
"As if that would happen. Julie's father doesn't want her, or he would never have given up his rights. Nobody can take away my other kids," Rachel snapped.
"A well-placed call to child protective services could change everything. You endangered Julie by kicking her out at night. I bet someone from Rangeman called the CPS."
"Until they contact me, I refuse to believe it," Rachel said, looking at her watch. "I should go. The children should be home from school."
Silvie ran home to tell Ronnie what she heard. "Stop telling stories, Silvie. Julie's probably staying over at a friend's house," Ronnie said, dismissing her concern. "Mom would never kick her out. They get lots of money from Julie's biological father. I doubt they would do anything to mess it up."
"I heard mom say that he's not paying them much," Silvie stated.
"Ya, right. I'll believe that when mom stops buying us designer jeans," Ronnie said, laughing.
Mindy Lutz contacted the police to get assistance to remove Ronnie and Silvie Martine from their home. They reviewed the videos and audio tracks from the case investigator. How these people treated their oldest daughter was despicable. Rachel and Ron may not think their treatment of Julie negatively affected the other two, but they do.
She arrived at the house and waited for her police escorts to exit their cruiser before she got out of her car. Mindy got prepared to get some resistance from the Martines. Armed with the police and her evidence, Mindy walked to the front door to take the children into protective custody. They would spend the night at the office before they get placed with a family tomorrow.
Officer Macey Stevens knocked on the front door. Her partner, Pete Barker, stood behind Mindy Lutz. Silvie answered and let them into the house. "Are you here to take Ronnie and me away?" she asked Mindy.
"Yes. Is your mother home?" Mindy asked. Silvie hollered for her mother to come to the door.
Rachel wiped her hands on the apron as she walked towards her uninvited guests. "How may I help you?" she politely asked.
"I'm Mindy Lutz, from the child protection service. We're here to take Silvia and Ronald Martine into custody."
"What about Julie? Are you taking her too?" Rachel sneered.
"Julie Martine had already been taken into custody and placed into a home," Mindy replied. Rachel should receive custody papers soon.
Rachel's face paled. Her friend Debbie warned her that this could happen. "What does Julie have to do with my other children?"
"I'm afraid the guidelines for leaving children unattended at home are strict. Your child must be at least ten before getting left alone or twelve to babysit a younger sibling. When Julie was here, she was old enough to babysit her siblings. Ronald Jr is eight, and Silvia is seven. Neither is old enough to be home alone nor able to babysit. An independent investigator had been watching your house. You visit with the neighbour daily for at least two hours. During that time, your children come home, and you don't check on them. Earlier today, your youngest daughter listened at the front door of the neighbour's house. Her facial expression indicated that she heard your conversation. Silvia and Ronald are coming with us," Mindy explained.
Rachel was stunned. She reached for Silvie, but the girl moved away from her. "I'm going with Mindy," Silvie announced.
"Wherever Silvie goes, I'm going," Ronnie added. Ronnie grabbed his sister's hand. "Silvie, I'm sorry for not listening."
Ron came home from work a few hours later. Rachel was in the living room drinking from the bottle of Vodka. "Do you mind explaining this?" Ron asked as he dropped the legal documents onto the table. "A court representative served me papers to get Julie's adoption reversed, and we're getting sued for custody of Julie."
Rachel took a large drink from the bottle as she stared at Ron. She lowered the bottle and said, "The kids are gone."