"I beg your pardon?"

Bruce came by the door, my ever faithful watchman.

"Serena," he said.

"Hello there," she said, her voice smooth as silk. "It's been a long time."

"Not long enough," and with that, he turned away.

She gave me a stern look. "Do you know who I am?"

"My husband has not even found your memory important enough to mention your name." It stung, and I knew it. I could see her nostrils start to flare and her eyes inflame.

"Our kids are in the back if you would like to see them."

"Aren't you the least bit worried?"

"The worst that could happen is that you will make a fool of yourself and no longer be welcome in my company."

"I will make you regret you ever met me."

"Strike one," I said as I moved aside. She walked past me with an air like she believed that everyone else was beneath her. That kind of attitude irritated me to no end; but for now, I was going to leave it up to Alejandro on whether or not she was able to stay in our association. Her cold reception when everyone "greeted" her told me it was going to be very unlikely.

Cindy looked haunted as her mother entered the room, as if her presence opened an infested wound. "What are you doing here, mother?"

"Cindy," said her mother with a fake, sweet voice. "I am so glad you are here. You are about to witness your father and I to get back together." She turned to me with a look full of arrogance and said, "You don't really believe that you stand a chance, do you?"

"Of course I do. Do you really think that you stand a chance?"

"Mmm hmm." said Mattie, Mateo's mother, sarcastically. I really liked that woman.

Serena looked at her direction and said, "And what do you think you are doing, letting this down-town trash in the house?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" asked Mattie.

"That so-called trash, as you called her, is now part of my extended family, and you my dear, are already on strike two, and you haven't even been here five minutes yet."

She gave me a smirk that said "You don't think I really care, do you?"

Cindy looked like she was about to cry. "Why are you even here? It's not like you care about him."

"Now Cindy, you have begged me for years to take you back to your father. Don't you think it is time I finally did so?"

"It's because she no longer qualifies for child-support, isn't it?" I asked.

"You got that right," said Mateo. Mattie snickered with him. Cindy remained silent, too hurt from her mother's past actions to laugh. Serena meanwhile looked like she was going to blow a gasket. "Not looking so serene, now, are we Miss Serena," Mateo continued. Even Cindy managed to giggle a little with that wise-crack.

Serena looked even redder. She turned to me, her eyes full of burning flame. "I AM NOT GOING TO LET A LITTLE GOLD-DIGGING WHORE LIKE YOU STAND BETWEEN ME AND MY FUTURE!"

"I am not a whore, or a gold digger; and for the record, before I married Alejandro, my worth was more than three times his."

"What? How can that be?"

"I know why," said Maria. "My son was cut out of the Jones' fortune. He requested it himself. His father was guilty of doing many evil things, and he wanted no part of it. Whatever money he made, it was of his own earnings."

"But what happened to his family fortune? His father and step mother are dead."

"I have it," I said. "And all the liquidations of all the families that were killed."

"How? How is that even possible?"

"I am their adopted daughter."

She gave me a look of pure disgust. "And you did not think at all, that you are a dirty cunt for committing incest with your older brother?"

"Not at all," I said. "Jones is such a common name. Until recently I never knew that we were connected. And we checked our DNA. I am not his blood relative at all."

There was a shift of energy in the room. Everyone went from shock to relief in those short moments. It went from being able to hear a pin drop to a great, collective sigh of relief.

Clark came into the room. "Serena, you have someone here to see you."

"I didn't know you were here," said Serena to Clark. She turned to Bruce and said "Have you two come out of your closet yet?" she said with a smile that did not reach her eyes. Bruce and Clark both gave her a dirty look.

"Serena," said a fellow who walked into the room. "Where's my money?" He had a very tough and sleazy type of look, with his balding head and his long ponytail, and very overpowering cheap cologne.

Serena, once again, did not look so serene anymore. "I have some gambling debts."

"Mother!" exclaimed Cindy.

"How much does she owe you?" I asked.

"Five hundred thousand dollars."

Mateo whistled while Cindy sucked in her breath.

"Follow me," I said.

He followed me to the office, and I allowed Clark to sign him a personal check. Serena and Bruce followed them as well.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you," said the random collector.

"Please make certain this woman is not allowed to do business with you again. This is only going to happen this one time."

"What?" asked Serena. "I have other debts!"

"Then you better start liquidating," I said. I turned to the collector and said "Please take her with you."

Before she turned to leave, she gave me a look full of wrath and said, "This isn't over."

"It is today," I said. "Now leave!"

Just as she passed by Bruce, she muttered, "So long, "Butt-man." A hard look passed between them. If looks could only kill.... I wondered how long it would be before she would screw up and we would have to put her on our hit list. Women such as her, they would dig and investigate until they could find something to black mail you with, and that was something our family could not afford to tolerate.

Just as we were about to leave the office, I put my hand on the door, blocking everyone in. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

Bruce looked resigned while Clark gave a timid "I can explain."

I shook my head. "It's not that. What do you think of everyone else? The kids, and Mattie? I'm thinking about telling them the truth about Maria. They know her, but don't know about her new identity."

They both looked at one another inquisitively, and then looked at me.

"What did you have in mind?" The fact that they even asked me that meant they had my full trust. It meant the world to me. This was my home, my family.

"Leave it to me."

I told everyone "Alejandro has a secret." I did not mention the monarch project, or the experiences we had together. I kept it general, that my husband worked for the military, but the government wished to keep it secret. They found that fair enough, but I had a harder time explaining why we had to change Maria's name. I put it off that he was on a mission and knowledge of his family put them in danger, that things had to be done, and at the time it put Maria in danger. Changes had to be made. For now, the Maria that gave birth to Alejandro is dead, and the nanny that stood among us was simply her doppleganger to people outside our private circle. As for me, that mission was already completed and the danger had passed. Maria though, was to remain hidden to keep any associates of the past from coming after her.

"Why would he have to change Maria's name but not his father's or step-mothers?" asked Mattie.

"Why would he care if anyone came after them? Have you met either of them?" I asked.

Maria out-right laughed. Everyone else joined in.

"I can take you to see her grave if you like," I said.

This made everyone in the room unsettled.

"Wow, you really are serious about this," said Mateo.

"You have no idea," I said.

We all went to "Maria's" grave and left her roses: Bruce and Clark, Angie Marie, Mattie and Mateo, Cindy and me and my twins, Sandy and Bruce were there as well. I couldn't help but note that Cindy looked worried.

"What's wrong, Cindy?" I asked.

"What are we going to do about my mother? She knows about Maria's past. If there was ever a chance she could black-mail you for it..."

We all looked around at one another in concern. I noted that Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne had eyes of steel. If I only said the words....

"For now, we are going to do nothing. Even if your mother says such a thing, it is her word against ours. We all know who Maria is. We know who we will say she is. Besides, Alejandro has already made up some phony papers that Maria from Campeche has been arrested for stealing a dead woman's identity, and enough other rackets to put this woman away for a long time, at least on her records."

"What if she tries to say that she is the same woman?"

"Maria Jones is dead. The other had a past from Guatemala and is supposedly rotting away somewhere in Brazil. They will never find her."

Cindy still looked uncertain. "DNA?"

"There are ways around even that." We all dropped the subject after I said that. It's better not to know those details.

We waited at the graveyard for a taxi to take Cindy home. She was leaving with Mateo and Mattie, and had been living with them both for some time. Bruno and Sandy stuck with us, and shared the limo ride back home.

"Do you really think they are gay?" asked Sandy.

"I don't really care," I said. "Whether they are gay, or straight, or swing both ways or are an ace of spades, they are still the best bodyguards I have ever known and I couldn't feel more safe with them, or entrust my children to anyone else."

"Whoa," said Bruno. "That's deep."

"I couldn't agree more," said Angie Marie.