Thank you to everyone that has continued to read this story, you have no idea how honored I am every time I get that notification that someone has made a comment, mark the story had favorite or followed.

I have to thank my best friend for reviewing each chapter and making sure all mistakes are minimal and for giving me feedback to help me be a better writer.

All the familiar characters belong to J.E. However the story line and original characters are mine. I don't own them and I'm not making any money from them, I'm just playing with them for a little bit.

Authors Note:

Spanish conversations are italicized; however there are quite a few words that I've translated. I felt it was needed in order for them to start teaching Estefania Spanish. I don't generally like to translate but figured small amounts should be OK. If it's too confusing and you want me to skip that part in the future just let me know.

Trenton –A week later - Getting the Devastating News

Joe Juniak sat in his office and slammed the phone down, he couldn't believe what the Commander had told him and then for him to say that they had irrefutable proof is was shocked him the most. He promised they would send him the folder, but thought it was best that he called him first just so he wasn't taken by surprise. He pushed away from behind his desk and stood up with his anger getting the better of him he flung everything off his desk and just screamed. He was just waiting for people to start coming in his office but thank God that when picked up the call he had the sense to lock the door so he wouldn't be disturbed. He fell back into his chair and just couldn't believe it. He started to feel numb as he thought to himself why the fuck did this have to happen and just when the Plum family had just started to have a little normalcy in their life, although he knew they were still searching for her and holding out hope, they had started acting more as a family again. Once Edna had got a hold of them they were finally coming together and supporting each other. The Commander explained it to Joe that he felt the news would be better coming from him, since he's a close family friend. Joe tried to argue with him that he was just as emotional and didn't know if he would be able to handle it, but the Commander wasn't budging and gave him no other choice.

He thought that the best way to do it was just to go over there and tell them, they deserved to know and he shouldn't wait any longer. He thought God this was going to kill them all. He decided to call Frank to find out if he should speak to them together or just Frank. He picked up the phone and dialed the house number. Edna answered "Plum residence." Joe replied "Hey Edna, its Joe can I speak to Frank please?" Edna hesitated like she knew something was wrong and said "Sure hold on I'll go get him." Then he heard the phone being put down and the background noise of Edna telling Frank he had a phone call. Frank picked up the phone and said "Hello?" "Frank, this is Joe. I have some news and it would be best if I did it in person and I wasn't sure if you wanted to do it in front of the family or just the two of us." Frank said "Joe, oh shit this isn't going to be good it is? I'll make sure that it's just us. I know Helen is getting ready to leave and I can just tell her to take Valerie and Edna with her, so you can come over and we can talk here. Since they already know that it's you that called and they can tell that something's going on so I'm going to convince them to go out. Give me about 15 minutes." Joe agreed and said he'd see him in 20-25 just in case they wanted to fight about going. Joe showed up exactly 20 minutes later and knocked on the door and then opened it like so many times before and now he was about to destroy his best friends life. Frank walked into the living room when he heard the door open and saw the look on Joe's face and turned around and went straight to cabinet and got two glasses and then set them on the kitchen table. He then walked over to the liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Jack and brought it back to the table setting it down beside the glasses. He filled both glasses and set one in front of one seat and then set the other in front of him. He sat at the table and wondered if he was about to hear the news he'd been dreading. He grabbed the drink and downed it looking at Frank doing the same thing. Frank said "They've agreed to stay away for about 2 hours, I was right they figured out something is going on and that you coming over here to give me some news. Now, what the hell has happened?"

Joe grabbed the bottle and filled both glasses and handed Frank's to him and downed it. As Joe had followed Frank earlier, Frank did the same and downed his as well. Joe put his head in his hands and started to speak "Frank, I just got a call from the Commander." Frank interrupted said "She's gone, isn't she?" Joe replied "Honestly yes, she's gone." Frank broke down and cried, Joe reached over to try and console him the best he could. He didn't know how to handle this himself let alone seeing his best friend break down like this. He had no clue how was he supposed to keep it together as he was giving him the worst possible news that a parent could ever get. Frank said through his tears "Do you know the how and the why?" Joe said "Yeah I do. Here's the thing, I can tell you what I know or if you'd rather wait in a couple of days I'll be getting the official report, which apparently has the proof of what happened." Frank hung his head down and sobbed. After what seemed like hours but in reality was just minutes, Frank finally said the most terrifying words that he's ever had to say "Joe, tell me how my Stephanie died." Joe looked up at him and said "Are you really sure you want to hear this?" Frank just nodded his head. Joe began by saying "Do you remember Eduardo Jiménez?" Frank looked up at him with a shocked look on his face and said "Shit, yeah I remember him. He was the son of a bitch that we killed a few years ago for drug smuggling." Joe sighed and continued "Yeah he's the one. He's still dead but his son that's our age named Osvaldo, kind of followed in his father's footsteps. Instead of drugs though he's deals in weapons. Apparently, he's let it well known that he was looking to get revenge against the men that killed his father. They are supposed to be keeping track of the whole damn family, but one Osvaldo's plane was able to slip through the cracks and flew into Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania undetected. They were able to capture one of his guys on camera getting off the plane and straight into a blue car. It took some doing and I don't know how they were able to do it but they were able to find cameras that showed his movement. They were able to track him all the way to Trenton two days before Stephanie disappeared. Then they tracked him heading back to the same airport on the same day that she was taken. In fact he showed up there a couple of hours after she was gone. They were able to find the guard who was on duty that day and got his reports for that day and then showed him a picture of Stephanie. He said he remembered that he did see her and that she was sleeping in back of the car in a car seat when the guy pulled up to the guard shack. The guy made the comment about how exhausted she was from her first trip to America but that she was ready to get home. The guard said that they guy had all the right paperwork and that their passports even had the same last name and looked official, which is why he never questioned it. Right before the plane took off he was seen carrying the child on the plane and there are pictures showing him holding the small child in his arms wrapped up in a blanket." Joe stopped there pausing knowing that what was coming up next was going to be even harder to say, but before he continue Frank stopped him and said "Holy Fuck Joe, he took my little girl. Who was he and what happened that makes them say that she's dead." Joe looked at him and continued with "According to the guard's report his name is Alejandro Rodriguez. The best that can be guessed is he was one of Osvaldo's henchmen. To answer your other question after the plane made it to Venezuela and was going down the runway after landing someone launched a rocket missile at it and hit the side of the plane blowing it up. Intel says that is was one of Osvaldo's enemies that knew it was his plane and thought that he was on it. They determined that moment would have been their best chance to eliminate him. They knew that since the plane was still on the runway there would have been no way for anyone to see it coming and no way for anyone to have gotten off since it never made it to the terminal. The kicker was that Osvaldo wasn't even on the plane and they didn't find that out until after it happened. The powers that be are afraid now that there will be retaliation but they don't know when or how. The Commander told me that the pictures were horrible and show the plane completely destroyed and burning while still rolling down the runway." After Joe finished he stood up and grabbed Frank and pulled him into a hug as both men started crying uncontrollably.

Neither man heard the front door open, nor did they hear anyone come into the kitchen. They didn't realize that anyone was there until the heard Helen ask "What was going on?" They looked up at the same time and realized they were still hugging. They stepped back from each other and Frank moved toward Helen. She took one look at her husband approaching her and started backing away shaking her head no. She started to say something but she couldn't find her voice. Edna walked in and saw the site before her and just sat down at the table put her head down and cried. No words were needed, it was known by the looks on the guys faces. Helen had finally stopped backing away and quietly asked "How". Frank walked up to her hugged her and whispered "She was on a plane that was blown up."

Puerto Cabello, Venezuela –Finally getting home

After Osvaldo was given the news he sat back happy knowing that at this point everything would turn out the way he planned. He knew that having those fake ID's created for Tomas and Estefania was the best thing he could have done. It will make everything much easier. He needed to make sure that Tomas understood what had just happened and that he will be able to live without having to hide or change his name. Osvaldo spoke to the man in the front seat and said "Do you know what happened back there?" Tomas said "I'm not sure, but I think I have a pretty good idea. I believe you blew up your own plane because you wanted it to seem like her and I were still on the plane and died during the explosion. I also know that the ID's I gave the guard were fake names so then after the plane blew up it wouldn't seem like I was the one on the plane but that Alejandro was and he's the man that died. The only questions I have are why and who's being told." Osvaldo replied "You're very smart Tomas, your thoughts are correct. They why is simple my boy, I figured it would be easier for you to have introduced yourself to Estefania as you so she wouldn't get confused later, but with my plan I knew you needed to be someone else so it didn't seem like you were dead. The question as to who is being told, well basically the whole world thinks that Alejandro and Estefania Rodriguez died on that plane. There will be pictures of you and her getting on the plane and then pictures of the plane landing and then getting blown up. What is being announced is that one of my enemies blew it up thinking that I was on it." Tomas said "That's brilliant, sir. They think she is dead and will stop looking for her." Osvaldo looked at Tomas and told him "We will still have to be careful for the first couple of years since I'm sure my every move will be watched. But yes it will be much better now. Now the other thing that I wanted to speak to you about is I want Estefania to start learning Spanish and since besides me she'll be around you the most we need to start mixing our words and having her repeat them. The quicker she learns the better." Tomas nodded his head in agreement.

They continued down the road and after what seemed forever they finally reached the city limits, Osvaldo looked over at Estefania he wanted to show her the city that she will be living in, but he saw she was sleeping. He sat there and watched her for a few minutes mesmerized by how peaceful and angelic she looked in her seat. He couldn't wait until they got to their compound for her to see it, knowing how excited she would be to explore. Their compound he thought it surprised him by how quickly and easily he fit her into his. He reached over and gently stroked her face and whispered "Estefania, it's time for you to wake up so you can see your beautiful city that you will be living in." She moaned and said "No, tired want to sleep." Osvaldo laughed and replied back to her "You don't want to see the oceano?" She opened her eyes and looked at him and repeated "oceano?" He said "Si, Yes oceano means ocean in our language. You said that muy bien or very well." She smiled and said "Thank you" Tomas turned around and said "Gracias." She repeated "Gracias." Osvaldo beamed at her and said "Excellent, I'm proud of you Bebe. Now if you look around you'll see your city. Papi owns a lot of it and one day it will all be yours." Estefania looked sad for a second but then quickly covered it up and looked down. Osvaldo picked up on it and said "Estefania, are you thinking about your old family, it's OK you know. Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head no and said "Oceano." Osvaldo looked at her and gently turned her head for her to look out of her window where she could see it between the buildings. She got so excited she jumped up and down in her seat. They were all laughing at how she excited she was, she kept looking out of her window and the window on the other side of her. When they turned on to the road that Osvaldo's compound was she saw a huge gate. She looked over at Osvaldo as they were going through the gates with wide questioning eyes. He smiled and said "Nuestra casa, our home. These gates protect us from anyone outside of the gates that may try to cause harm to us. You must never go beyond the gates alone. You must only go outside of them with Tomas, Franco, or me. Do you understand mi princesa or my princess?" She nodded and said "What's yes." He replied "Si." She smile and in a loud strong voice she said "Si, I understand papi." Then she laughed and screamed. We all turned to look at her to see what made her scream, and then she yelled "OCEANO! Look Papi look, it's the oceano. It's so pretty. Can I go see it, please please please!" As they drove up to the house she could see the water perfectly. Osvaldo caught up in her excitement said "Si, Estefania. After we get settled in the house, I will take you to see the agua water. OK?" She rapidly nodded her head up and down. With that the car pulled into the garage and came to a stop, Osvaldo got out of the car walked around to unbuckle her from her seat. As he was picking her up Tomas got out and walked over to the door and opened it up and looked at Estefania and said "Welcome home dulce nina, sweet girl." She replied "Gracias Tomas." She looked up at Osvaldo and smiled proudly and said "See Papi I'm learning." "Si, you are. You make me so proud."

When they walked into the house and Estefania looked around and saw the huge living room and she said with surprise "Wow our house is so big." Osvaldo replied "Yes it is. Would you like to go see your room?" She nodded. They walked through the living room up to a huge spiraling staircase. He walked up the stairs and down the hallway. They passed 2 doors on the left and 1 door on the right. When they came up to the 2nd door on the right he stopped at the closed door and said "Behind this door is your room, my room is across the hall and Tomas's room is the one in front of mine. Are you ready to see your room?" Stephanie nodded and said "Si, Papi I'm ready." He put her down and opened the door. He wanted to let her walk in on her own so she knew that it was her space. She walked in and started spinning around in circles looking at her room. She said "Papi, is this all mine?" Osvaldo nodded and said "Yes, mi dulce nina." She screamed happily and looked around her room the first thing she noticed was the French doors that went out to a balcony. They were slightly open; she took in a deep breath and smelled the salty air. To the left of the doors she saw her bed that was in the corner. It was a white-gold finished pumpkin carriage with a full sized bed. Covering over and down the carriage was a white lace tent canopy. It had light pink satin sheets and comforter with matching pillowcases and duvet. After walking over to the bed and touching it she looked around and saw the walls were painted a little darker pink than what was on her bed and her carpet was the same color as the walls. She noticed a couch and matching rocking chair that were white but had specks of pink in them the same color as her bed. She saw what looked like a hallway to her right that went past the couch so she walked over to it, when she got close enough it lit up and she saw a huge walk in closet that was already fully stocked with clothes. Her eyes got really big looking at all the clothes and she said "So pretty." She turned around and started to walk out of the closet when she saw a door that was partially closed. She looked up at Osvaldo who was standing beside her and nodded his permission. She opened it and saw that it was a bathroom. He explained "This is only yours." She looked closer and saw a huge circular bathtub that had windows behind it that looked out to the ocean, the sink was next to the tub and was a part of a cabinet looking thing that had drawers, and there was a step stool right in front of the sink that would allow her to reach it. There was an open door that showed where the toilet was. Osvaldo at that point said "I didn't think you would want a shower yet so I only put in a bathtub. If at any time you want a shower we can build you one. OK?" Showing how excited she was she said "YES! I love the tub!." He laughed grabbed her hand and said "Come on let's go meet Maria."

They walked out together and saw an older woman standing by a door that was on left side of the room. She smiled and started talking "Estefania, my dear child look at you. You are so beautiful and precious. You have eyes the color of the ocean and I will take excellent care of you." Osvaldo spoke back to her "Maria, Estefania doesn't know how to speak Spanish yet but that will be something that we will all be working on. For now we are just introducing only words to her. She's smart and I'm sure she will pick it up quickly, with all of us working with her. As you know Tomas will be her bodyguard but I have assigned Franco as her chauffeur. If you take her off the compound for any reason both men will be with you understand?" Maria nodded her head and said "Yes, I understand." Osvaldo said "Good, Estefania this is Maria she will help take care of you when I have to work or go away on business trips. The door that she is standing by is her room. That was the first door that you saw on the right. Can you say Hola, Hello Estefania?" She looked at Maria and said "Hola, Maria." Maria put her hand over her mouth and wanted to scream but instead rushed up to her and gave her a big hug and said "Hola, Estefania. It is a pleasure to meet you. You are a beautiful child and I'm going to take excellent care of you." Estefania hugged her back and said "Gracias." Then she turned to Osvaldo who was now standing by Tomas and said excitedly "We go to the beach now?" Osvaldo laughed and said "Yes we can go now. Maria will help you get your suit on and all of your stuff together, and then we'll head to la playa or the beach." With that he lead Tomas out of the room closed that door behind them so that she could get ready. For the first time in a long time he was looking forward to going on the beach and playing with Estefania.