Chapter Eighteen

The local newspaper, The Pine Valley Bulletin, received a manila envelope which had been addressed to their senior editor. Opening the envelope in his office, the man gasped as multiple photographs slipped out onto the surface of his desk. They were horrifying, showing a teenaged girl being bound with rope and brutally tortured and raped by two men in ski masks. Along with the pictures, the editor also received a letter describing the events as they occurred that awful night.

At the same time, an identical manila envelope had arrived at the residence of Bianca and Reese. It was addressed to Miss Gabrielle Montgomery-Williams.

"Honey, you got some mail," Bianca said as she handed the envelope to her youngest daughter.

"I wonder what this could be?" Gabrielle said to her moms as she tore into the sealed envelope to disclose whatever might be tucked inside. Seeing the disturbing photographs, Gabrielle let out a scream which tore from deep within her soul. She ran toward her bedroom as scalding tears blinded her vision.

Bianca picked up the photos and the accompanying letter, gasping as she looked at them. Fingers trembling, Bianca showed them to Reese. She struggled not to throw up when she realized what it was she was seeing. Along with the photos was a hateful letter which had been written directly to Gabrielle.

The letter read:

To Gabrielle, the girl who has had the misfortune of being raised by a couple of lesbians:

We did what we had to do the night of the football game. We had to forcefully pleasure you and we would do it again. It had to happen so you will learn what is like to be with a man. Now you'll want a man deep inside you and you'll never want to become a lesbian.

We'll all meet again some dark night. You can be certain we'll go on another fun road trip. Until then, we'll be thinking of you.

There was no signature on the note. "Bianca, give me the letter," Reese said. "We need to call the police."

Bianca handed over the letter, her hand shaking in the process. She felt physically ill. She couldn't believe this was happening. Reese was on the phone calling the police. She reported the letter and photographs.

Meanwhile, at The Pine Valley Bulletin, the editor reported the correspondence he had received as well. Two separate teams of police officers were sent out to investigate the incidences. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the front door and Reese, who was well advanced in her pregnancy, stood up to greet the police officers. Her attempts to comfort a distraught Bianca had not gone well. Bianca was sitting on the couch as tears streamed down her cheeks, the offensive pictures right in front of her, facedown on the coffee table.

"Hello, ma'am," said the policeman. "My name is Detective Harrison. I am here about a letter and photographs you received in the mail. Could my partner and I come inside?"

Reese welcomed the officers inside and showed them the photos as well as the disturbing letter. "This was sent to your teenage daughter?" the detective asked.

Reese nodded. "Yes, and she was recently raped. That's her in the pictures along with the two men who brutally violated her."

One of the officers wrote down the necessary information. "Did she know these boys?" the officer asked.

"The two boys were wearing ski masks, so she didn't know them or at least we don't think we know them. There was also a woman driving the van," Reese explained.

The officer continued jotting down notes about the case. "We have to take the photos and the letter down to the station as evidence."

"It will be checked for fingerprints?" asked Reese.

"Yes, and trace fibers. We'll do what we can to catch the two males who hurt your daughter along with their accomplice," said Detective Harrison.

"When will this ever be over?" Bianca cried out.

"They'll catch the ones who did this to our daughter," Reese said to Bianca.

The officers thanked them for their time, then headed for the door, taking the evidence with them. After the police officers left, Reese held and consoled Bianca. "We need to check on Gabrielle," Bianca whispered.

Meanwhile, Miranda heard her sister sobbing. She walked down the hallway to Gabrielle's room. Gingerly, she opened the door. "Sis, are you okay?" Miranda asked with concern.

Gabrielle was too upset to reply. She looked at her sister with tears streaking her face. "Ohhh Gabby, what happened?" Miranda asked as she sat down on her sister's bed. Tenderly, Miranda stroked Gabrielle's brown hair.

"Th-they wrote this nasty letter to me," Gabrielle sobbed. "They sent pictures, too."

Meanwhile, back at The Pine Valley Bulletin, the senior editor was being questioned by the police as the officers gathered the evidence. "These photos and this information CANNOT be released to the press," warned the policeman. "The girl in the photos is a minor."

The senior editor spoke up. "We have no intention of publicizing the contents of that envelope. It's such a shame that this has happened to that unfortunate young girl."

"Yes, it definitely is," the officer said as he took down the information that was necessary for the report.

After the police officers had gathered all their evidence and left the newspaper office, the senior editor spoke to one of the reporters. "Get me all the information you can pertaining to this case. We cannot publish the name of the teen girl, but we CAN get all the important details out to the public. The people of Pine Valley deserve to know that there is someone in our midst preying upon innocent teen girls and raping them."

Xxxooo

"Who sent the letter, Gabrielle?" Miranda asked as she held her sister close in an attempt to comfort her.

Bianca and Reese entered Gabrielle's bedroom to see Miranda with her arms around her little sister. "Ohhh honey," said Bianca as she too knelt at Gabby's side. "I am so sorry that happened. All of this is so wrong and so entirely unfair."

"I just want them to STOP. I don't know who it was; I could only hear them. I couldn't see them," she sobbed.

Miranda's eyes went wide. Suddenly she realized just whom had sent the hateful letter to Gabrielle. It was her attackers. Why were they still tormenting her vulnerable sister?

"We are all here for you, sweetie," Reese said as she joined her family on Gabrielle's bed. She lay her hand on her enlarged abdomen, feeling the baby kick merrily in her womb, completely oblivious to the chaos that the entire family had been experiencing since Gabrielle's attack.

"We are going to get through this," Bianca said as she wiped away her youngest daughter's tears.

Miranda was angry. "Why don't the police do something?!" she cried out.

"They are doing everything they can. We spoke with them a few minutes ago," Reese said in an attempt to calm Miranda down. "They are working on the case."

"I just don't want anyone to know about this... or look at those- those disgusting pictures!" Gabrielle exclaimed.

"It will be okay, honey. It's scary, I know, but we'll make it through this," Bianca said as she held Gabby's hand.

"But what if those guys come back? What if they- they... hurt me again?"

Gabrielle broke down into sobs as Reese and Bianca did everything possible to reassure her. Miranda didn't know what to do or say. She didn't want her sister to be so broken and tormented. She wondered if there would ever be a time when it would be okay again.

Xxxooo

A few days had passed and Gabrielle seemed to be doing slightly better. She was quiet and spent a lot of time in her room, but when she was around her family, sometimes she could laugh just a little bit and smile.

It was the day of Reese's ultrasound. She and Bianca could hardly contain their excitement. They were certain that they'd soon know the gender of their unborn child.

Miranda and AJ were going to stay home with Gabby and keep her company. "Want to watch a movie?" Miranda asked as they all sat in the living room.

It was one of those rare occasions when Gabrielle had actually came out of her room. "I could make some snacks," AJ suggested. "If the two of you would like to pick a movie?"

"Okay," said Gabrielle. "But nothing scary... and nothing sad."

"Alright. Comedy it is then," Miranda said. She called out the titles of the funny movies they owned so Gabrielle could pick one she wanted to watch.

Gabrielle was a fan of Adam Sandler. so she decided on "Bedtime Stories." "Great choice," said Miranda as she put the DVD into the DVD player. She had it set up to play when AJ returned with their snacks.

In the kitchen, AJ put some cheese into the microwave for nachos. Once the cheese was warm, he removed it from the microwave and placed it on a tray with a bag of tortilla chips and some cold drinks. After the snack was ready, he returned to the living room. He placed the snack tray on the coffee table and settled down on the couch next to Miranda. "The snacks are served, ladies," said AJ.

"Thanks, Ace. That looks great," Miranda said as she snuggled up to him and pushed the pause button on the remote to start the movie.

"Bedtime stories" started as Gabrielle sat on Miranda's other side on the couch and opened up a can of chilled soda. It was times like these that she could enjoy life for just for a little while and forget all of her troubles.

Meanwhile at the hospital, Reese was taken to radiology for her sonogram. Bianca was at her side. "Are you ready for this?" Bianca asked. "We've been waiting such a long time. Is it a boy or a girl?"

"We're going to find out soon," said Reese as she smiled and squeezed her wife's hand.

Bianca was so excited. "I can't wait," she said.

The lab technician came in and prepped Reese for the ultrasound. Moments later, they were staring at the screen and got a glimpse of their little baby. "Ohhh wow," said Reese with tears in her eyes. "There HE or SHE is."

"Would you like to know the gender?" asked the technician.

"Yes, we are dying to find out," Bianca spoke up.

"You're having a boy," he stated.

"A boy!" Bianca exclaimed. "I knew it."

"I am so happy," she said as she kissed Reese.

Reese was so emotional she couldn't even speak. Tears of happiness slid down her face, but Bianca wiped them all away.

"Is our son okay?" Bianca asked.

"Perfect and healthy," the lab technician assured.

It was a few minutes later when Reese and Bianca left the exam room, marveling over the ultrasound photos of their new baby son. "I can't wait to show the girls," Reese said.

They were walking down the hallway when they nearly ran into Kendall and Zach. "Hi," said Zach. "What are you two doing here? Did you have an ultrasound?"

"We did! It's a boy!" Bianca said happily as she hugged her brother-in-law.

"Ohhh wow. A boy," Zach said with a wide grin. "That's amazing."

"Zach and I just found out we are having a daughter," Kendall announced.

Bianca squealed with delight at her sister's news. "A girl? You're having a girl?!"

"After two wild and rambunctious boys, we are finally getting a girl," Zach chuckled.

"Let's all go somewhere and celebrate," Reese suggested. "Want to have lunch?"

"That's a great idea," Kendall agreed.

Xxxooo

The movie ended and AJ was lounging on the couch. Miranda got up to get the mail which had just arrived outside. She was walking back in with a stunned look on her face. "What is it?" AJ asked when he saw her horrified expression.

"I can't believe they did this! How could they do this?!" Miranda cried out.

AJ got up and looked at the front of the newspaper in Miranda's grasp. There on the front page was a detailed article about a teenage girl who had been raped by two men in a van on the night of a football game. AJ's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Ace, we can't let Gabby see this!" Miranda exclaimed.

"Too late," Gabrielle said sadly as she had quietly entered the room and was reading the article over her sister's shoulder. "Now the whole world knows - I am a rape victim."