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November, 2024 Endicott, MA was a hometown most folks would love to live in, until you actually lived there for more than a few days. With the town being one one of longest-settled in the state and with a rich history of people with, "Blue blood" in their veins and deeper pockets than 99.999% of the populace, it was seen as a place of splendor and luxury. But looks were deceiving, as many couldn't afford to live in the town and mortgaged their futures to achieve prestige of being residents. That wasn't the case for two families who moved to the town over the years. They came from different humble origins but weren't "blue bloods" so the families struggled with living in Endicott and enduring its legacy. Neither family cared much about the town's long history, the two families chose to live there despite being seen as "not belonging" in the town by the longstanding Endicott families. One family was the James family, a political family whose ancestor built an insurance empire from the ground up and hated what people were doing to his state. The family chose to get involved in politics to help change things, becoming one of the most powerful groups in the state over the years. They did just that and used their influence to help right the wrongs of colleague without caring about the fallout. The head of the family was Christian James, elected after running to keep the state out of the hands of a group of heavily connected political hacks whose only purpose was to act as puppets for politicians in the hopes of allowing their illegal activities to prosper. Christian won headily over two closely linked yet different candidates and led the state into a new era that saw multiple changes for the better. Those same changes would lead to family changes for the James family as well as his closeness with a man whose family helped spearhead changes in Winnisimmet, MA- John Finn. Christian's son and daughter-in-law avoided politics and chose to go into law, but still kept a close eye on things politically to protect Christian from vultures in his own political party. The couple were close to John Finn and saw their daughters befriend and later marry into John's large family. This came as a shock to Endicott but that paled in comparison to their eldest daughter coming out as a lesbian and marrying a young woman whose family was everything residents of Endicott hated with a passion. Zoe James married Juanita Vega in a large private wedding at the family's home in 2020. Their nuptials came a year after the couple fell in love at first sight and came after Juanita's twin sister Carmen fell in love with and was impregnated by a transgender woman. The couple happily helped Carmen until the couple gave birth to identical twins, with Juanita and Zoe finding their love growing stronger as the duo helped Carmen and her wife endure being parents. Zoe coming out had a big impact on the family as the town was forced to act like they accepted her but in reality multiple families were outraged that their sons were no longer going to be able to be used as a bargaining chip to get at the James family and their fortune. They had no chance of ever getting at it, it was tied-up in stock and investments that were controlled by Christian through his wife Heather and a trusted investment advisor so Zoe marrying wouldn't give her suitors who married her any access to a penny of her money. She knew all of that, she never told anyone about it so it was always something that she'd endure as the boys would try to ask about it. Zoe had a long list of boys that she had dated over six years and whom she had spurned when they couldn't get at her family's wealth. The list included just about every major family in Endicott as well as in several surrounding towns, with the town's hierarchy eventually demanding that she settle down and stop, "Leading their sons on" to Paul James, the man who had adopted her but it turn out was really her biological father. Paul ignored the complaints, especially as it was clear that all of their threats were baseless and nobody had any way of carrying them out. Zoe's fear of reprisals caused her to become a recluse as time passed, going only to college classes and later just to visit her sisters Sela and Isobel down in Winnisimmet. She rarely left the house unless it was required, and even then only if she had no other choice but to go. The fear of her former boyfriends was strong, and had a strong basis in reality that she didn't like talking about. After graduation, Zoe would only leave to go to work and return home. Sela and Isobel had by then married a pair of twin brothers giving her little reason to tag along on their nights out. She hated being all but trapped up in Endicott, but fear was a strong force to overcome. Next door to the James family lived a family whose very existence caused the town's blood to boil as it was a family who broke just about every unwritten rule regarding families in their town. The home was owned by Sheila Bailey, having been bought by her parents when she was an infant and had sat vacant for years after Sheila's birth parents died. Now, the Baileys lived there and caused multiple plans for us of the home to fall through- plans that nobody but a select few knew about. Sheila's family were part of the Peterson family, who founded Peterson Manufacturing and made it into one of the top parts manufacturers in the country with focus on small components useful in many of the key industries from mining to entertainment to electronics. Her father wasn't a Peterson, but her mother was. That fact caused many to be upset that she inherited anything from her parents as her father wasn't "one of the Petersons" despite being considered as a son by Sheila's grandfather and happily being the younger brother that her uncle loved deeply and touted as being a "true Peterson" in all but name. Sheila and her husband Ian were a large part of the company's rebirth as a separate company, with both heavily investing in the company to buy- out stocks of its previous owner and allow the company to thrive on its own. Ian had a nest-egg that he used to buy his own stocks, giving him money of his own and letting the couple be the solo couple that they felt that they had to be even if they were tied to the company. They were heavily involved in the company with Ian reluctantly sitting on Peterson's board of directors in place of Sheila, giving him a say in the company's life. Sheila was adopted into the James family in 2019 when she became close to Ruth and Avery James, the neighbors of her aunt and Christian's daughter and granddaughter. Ruth and Paul were close to Sheila's parents to the point of being appointed as Sheila's godparents, with Ruth taking the job seriously even if Sheila sheltered herself away from the world after her parents died. Avery and Ruth brought her back into their lives and made her a James, with Ian ending up getting drafted into the family when he and a reluctant Sheila started to date not long after Sheila's adoption. Sheila and Ian were joined by their twins Wyatt and Deborah Bailey. The kids were precocious and enjoyed causing trouble, even if they never did it outside of their home. They were heavily favoring their namesakes as Wyatt was inquisitive like his maternal grandfather and Deborah loved to be around animals and help her mother around the house like her aunt/Sheila's best friend. Sheila may have grown up in the town, but Ian was a lifelong resident of Winnisimmet- just about the polar opposite of Endicott regarding its reputation and history. Ian was tall, muscular, and had only a basic college education. In contrast, most families in Endicott were WASPs with Ivy League education opportunities and flaunted their connections to their schools every chance they had even if those same connections were just to each other and not actually to anyone in power. Ian was also something that they hated: an honest police officer making a living through working long hours patrolling the streets and keeping order in the city's middle school building. Sheila and Ian might have moved up to Endicott, but Ian still had strong ties to Winnisimmet and always kept close to what was going on in the city. He hated living in Endicott, but Sheila needed to get away from the city and be her own person even if it meant that she would live in a place that she had hated living in before. Ian and Sheila had a strong connection that infuriated the townsfolk more than just being from one of the most jealousy-inducing cities in the country- they were part of the James and Finn Families. Sheila never like to mention that fact, but Christian never hid it from the town and happily touted Sheila as a granddaughter whenever he was asked about her by people trying to use her as a way of getting access to Christian. He was happy to have a connection to John Finn, even if it was a roundabout connection and Sheila would never allow herself to be seen as a way to get access to the Finn or James families. When Sheila gave birth she moved north to give her mother space and allow Avery to not be bothered by the twins shrieking at all hours of the night, while also keeping the house in the family and keeping the town from taking it away from her for dubious reasons. Her moving in permanently caused plans to forcibly sell the house to friends of longtime families to fall through and those same people to get back at the family in any way possible even if it cross legal barriers. They had little fear of ending up in jail or getting investigated by the state, they believed themselves to be untouchable. Sheila gave up being a librarian when she had the twins, despite pleas from her family not to. She felt that it wasn't worth taking the job from someone who needed it and she was able to be a good parent to the twins without having to put them in daycare. Even if she got daycare for free, it still mattered to her to be a good mother and to her that meant being there for the kids whenever possible. Ian knew not to argue with her, he happily doted on the kids and drove them around whenever they got cranky. He was a happy father, especially when it came to helping Sheila when she needed a long rest. Ian happily changed diapers and fed the twins, with Sheila enjoying most weekend nights off thanks to Ian insisting that she get back outside and enjoy being close to her grandfather's brood. Seeing Ian around town when he wasn't working caused a lot of fear and anger as the 6'8" 300 lbs. with large muscular arms Ian was a mountain of a man who happily pushed the twins around town getting exercise and ensuring that the kids got their fill of being outdoors. Whenever he was in the town park the townsfolk followed him to get a glimpse of the behemoth who was called a freak of nature by them. Ian heard a lot of the whispering and ignored them, which only caused the townsfolk to try to get him to react. He didn't give in, especially as he helped the twins play and kept their focus on him instead of on the twins. Both were oblivious to the townsfolk and only ever tried to get attention from the James family, making them hated by townsfolk as those people hated being ignored by anyone. Ian got close with the town's police chief, Andy Fife, after Christian introduced them to one another at an event at the James family home. Andy was happy to have an officer in town who had a clean record and happier that he came highly touted by Winnisimmet Police chief Willie Pena, Ian's boss/unofficial uncle. The two hit it off over discussing the town's needs especially as Ian noted a lot of things that needed to be done by the department yet somehow weren't being done by them. Ian wasn't the only James family member who worked for Winnisimmet Police, Zoe's sisters married Sebastian and Fabian Perez but neither had gotten anywhere near as close to Andy as Ian had gotten. The two rarely saw Andy and when they did it wasn't for long as they only ever visited the James home during school vacation weeks or major holidays as they tended to be with their families most days. It was solid reasoning by Andy, they were Winnisimmet residents who hated being around the snobby Endicott people except for the James and Bailey families- something shared by Ian but unfortunately overruled by Sheila's need to be there. Ian spent a lot of time in Endicott but learned immediately that the locals hated him for no good reason and to avoid the local shops because he'd receive broken pastries, spit-in coffee, feces in a bag, and the looks that told him not to complain. He did, and caused multiple businesses to be shut down then have to pay heavy fines for their actions while explaining to the state why the town ignored their actions and weren't willing to shut down the businesses for intentionally harming customers. After the fourth time, Ian told the businesses that they wouldn't get a penny of any member of the James family which caused several to lose out on thousands of dollars in catering for events held at the James mansion followed by several major customers refusing to buy from them once the truth about why they stopped was learned. The family was frequently visited by Juanita's twin sister Carmen and her wife Addison Carter. Both ladies had the unfortunate luck of being hunted by the town's predators as they drove through town to visit Juanita and Zoe. Whenever they would stop to get something from the store they were refused and threatened by the owners with arrest if they refused to leave, that was followed by one of the officers in close contact with the owners threatening them with tickets unless they left town immediately. Neither said a word until they reached the James home then explained everything to Paul who then called the store owners, got them to lie to them about what happened, then told the owners, "If you threaten them again you will be not only sued, you'll have to explain to the state why it was necessary to violate the rights of two patrons who have no idea who you are or why you felt the need to threaten them. As for your brother, he's about to get booted from the department. He chose the wrong person to upset, those two ladies have spoken with their in-laws and will retaliate legally." He wasn't joking, Carmen was in tears as she told her sister Deborah Peterson then Deborah's brother-in-law David. David listened, told her that he'd go with them the next day to Endicott, then told some of his colleagues who happily told their boss Angela Victor about the town's antics. Angela smirked and gave approval for a sting operation, with the group giving her in-roads into making Endicott her next big target for demolishing corruption and ensuring changes were made in the state. Christian didn't bother to dissuade any of what he was hearing, he happily knew that Angela was going to run the state when he retired after the next term. He wanted the job to go to a strong person and until she was ready to commit to running he would run himself and likely win a forth term. Christian had to fight off people trying to get at his job by offering positions down in Washington or overseas as one of the top ambassadors, but he hated national politics and wanted to retire on his own and walk away. The Petersons being involved ensured that Carmen and Addison weren't going to be harassed in town again directly, but that didn't stop certain people from trying to cause trouble for them away from the town's small business district. It was easy for officers to claim that they were speeding or blew through a stop sign or didn't use the proper signal when turning. They were always cautious, but the officers were on to them and were going to get their revenge one way or another. A week after the incident with the police at the shop, the couple were pulled over by one of the town's officers and ticketed for failure to stop at a stop sign and speeding. The couple were humiliated but had the tickets torn apart by David who happened to be behind them and explained to the officer that he and the department would have to explain how they were ticketing people for nonexistent signs or for being over the speed limit when there is no posted speed limit in the neighborhood and the car had been only two miles under the basic state speed limit for residential areas. The officer tried to claim that he had no right to do that, but David showed his badge and then added, "The judge hearing this will happily tell you that you were in the wrong and if you go after this couple again without justification you'll face the court on charges of harassment and lying on court documents. The Carters were ticketed again the next week, this time by another officer. David shook his head at the officers thinking that they could get away with it simply be changing who gave the tickets but were put before an Assistant Attorney General who happily told the officers that their practices were to cease or the department would face the State Police over harassment of residents. The officers weren't deterred, they vowed to get back at the AAG for daring to tell them off. The AAG simply told Angela who then had the officers fired for violating the rights of residents while also telling Andy that he had to rein-in his officers or she'd take again against him next. He tried to tell her that he was powerless, but she wouldn't accept that as an excuse. He had ways of handling them in a legal manner that nobody could go against, he just chose not to use them yet. Deborah drove up when David was working and was arrested for assaulting a police officer, something that drew attention from the media but ended up being turned around on the department once she and her lawyers spoke. The officers were forced to speak with the State Police then forced to show what the bodycams that they were wearing showed, leading to the officers explaining that they weren't wearing them at the time. Andy was outraged at them for violating strict rules that the town had put in place to prevent such actions and protect the department, causing him to suspend the arresting officer for one month and making every officer return to the station to show that their cameras were on and working. The troopers smirked then told the officers, "The suspect is released as there is no evidence that any of the claimed happened. As it stands now we have nothing but your word against hers. She recorded the entire encounter and sent it to her brother-in-law who forwarded a copy to us. She didn't do anything, it was actually you who assaulted her. Video of the arrest was captured by her rear-facing camera, she had done nothing wrong except be the sister of the person that you are actually harassing." The troopers placed the officers under arrest then told the media what actually happened, with Andy having to fire the officers for their actions. This had a cascade effect as multiple officers refused to go into work to replace the offending officers causing him to have to go out on patrol by himself. He had no intention of letting the wayward officers come back even if they beat the rap, it wasn't worth having the James and Finn families on his back over it and the officers barely did anything as it was. Juanita was all but trapped in her home whenever the James family weren't there causing her to become depressed and consider leaving permanently, even if it meant divorcing Zoe. Carmen was her lifeblood and without her twin sister she was lost. She loved Zoe, but she needed Carmen and couldn't endure the pain of being forced apart from her because the town hated her for living there. Addison was even more upset than Juanita as she was targeted at work by the townsfolk who thought it was going to get her fired and force a divorce from Carmen which would then cause the twins to fight and end up hurting Juanita and Zoe's relationship. That very idea was foolish, Addison was vital to her company to the point that she was the director of operations for the company's office and only spoke to the company's partners during daily briefings about the office issues as she all but ran the visible aspect of the company. Addison was the one who ensured that all of the computers were up to day, conference rooms were clean and ready for use, and the staff were in working order allowing the partners to focus on doing what they did best: making deals and finding ways of increasing their clients' revenues. Zoe was her #2, seeing her at the office while trying to go after Addison was even more reason to cause chaos for Addison. When the group tried to make an issue about Addison and told to leave by Zoe they went after Zoe being there which only infuriated the partners. Zoe was pulled aside so she didn't have a go at the people, with Addison ignoring their complaints while also calling the police. Zoe expected the worst but was enveloped into a hug by Greta Nelson and Karen Smith, with Michael Finn holding off James York as the duo grew increasingly angered that a group was allowed inside of the building and up to their floor by security. The two angrily called the building's owners then the building's supervisor causing a stir as legal representatives rushed to the building to see what was going on. None of them were expecting a group of people to be in handcuffs and trying to get away from police while seeing the granddaughter of the governor in tears and comforted by Greta. The group were sent to the nearest police station and questioned by officers, with it being clear that the group were just hired thugs meant to intimidate Addison to keep her from going up to Endicott again. It was made worse as the group were ordered released by a judge, something that wasn't going to be done as the judge had no reason to intervene. Upon learning just who the judge was, the officers laughed and asked her if she was ready to explain to the Attorney General why she felt the need to intervene in a case that her son was implicated in then told the judge to leave- she had no authority there. The judge angrily tried to get her clerk to issue arrest warrants for the officers before the clerk laughed and told her, "I've been ordered by higher authorities to tell you that I don't have to follow your orders or help you break the law. Per order of the Chief Judge of Essex Superior Court you are ordered to step aside and leave the case alone. As for your warrants, you have to explain to the State Police about that as you have no right to issue them as you were removed from the case the second that you admitted to the officers that you were the mother of one of the prisoners. If need be, I'll gladly fight you in court to keep my job- it's your job on the line. I doubt you'll ever get a promotion, you're likely going to end up being asked to resign in disgrace. That is, if you aren't removed by the Governor's Council first." It was clear that the Carter and James families were targeted by residents of Endicott, which made all of their relatives upset while piquing Angela's interest. She had a big grin as she announced to David, "The town has finally gone too far. We're going to ensure that the residents know that they don't have a right to say who can and can't live in the town nor who can and can't visit it. Something is way off about the town's residents and it stinks. I want a close look at their finances, your cousin might have caused a lot of people in town to lose their shirts over a deal that the town had with them. If my hunch is right, she just caused multiple people to be arrested on fraud and embezzlement as well upend the town council." She laughed and added, "They seriously did not know who they were messing with when they went after Zoe and Juanita James' family. Sheila Bailey is going to be hard to deal with when she gets upset over hearing that her beloved cousin-in-law nearly got arrested because someone wanted to get revenge on her for her sister marrying a woman and her other sister marrying a transgender woman." She then added, "Sheila isn't the one I'm worried about: it's your sister-in-law Deborah. She is the single most protected woman in your family and has multiple people backing her with enough money to take down an entire country and still live well off of the remaining money. I fear anyone stupid enough to go after her, the wrath of your uncle John pales in comparison with your brother and Sheila. Sheila and her being almost sisters makes things even tougher- she's practically a James even if she isn't directly one." David didn't have to respond, he knew full well that someone messing with Deborah was in for a world of hurt- the two were best friends and godmothers to their children for a reason. Sheila's own daughter was named in Deborah's honor, while Deborah vowed to name their next child after Sheila. It would be a hard gamble that the child would be a girl if her husband used an egg donor, or if they adopted if the girl accepted a new name to go alongside new parents. The officers who harassed Deborah didn't know about her status as transgender, if they had they would have sought her out more often and all but barred her from town. She enjoyed some protection now that David had the police backing off of her, but when the inevitable happened and she was outed the town would be in an uproar over her, "Daring" to drive through their town and pass by their houses even if she had no intention of ever going close to their neighborhoods on the other side of town. It was the whole idea that she was even in their town that offended them, even if they had no right to bar her from there. Things changed the next weekend as Deborah took her kids north to see their aunt and this time had her in-laws with her who were also going to visit Sheila at home. It was going to be a big family gathering to celebrate the return of Will Bollinger from overseas deployment with his National Guard unit but it turned into a pain in the neck for the family thanks to the officers' antics. Deborah was again targeted as she drove onto the road leading to Sheila's house, this time with the officers claiming that Deborah had stolen her car as it wasn't registered to her. Her sister-in-laws Claire Bollinger and the fiery Daisy Peterson were fighting anger while their mother Lilly Peterson stoically asked if they had reason to stop Deborah's car. When the claims that the car was stolen were flung at them, she happily shot back, "That's a lie as you didn't run the registration until you had already stopped the car. The same goes for the license check, your own communications betray you as you can't lie as it was done during your quick phone call. The State Police are aware of your check as it was flagged the second your colleague did it at the station. Further, your partner there might find a few things about my daughter-in-law but if he tries to use that information he's going to be sued and the two of you facing civil rights violations charges. And we will sue, as well as seek prosecution." His partner glared at them and announced, "She's one of those tranny freaks. It's no wonder that idiot is in love with them: he's a tranny lover! Wait until the press gets ahold of this, they're going to rip him to shreds and give us a lot of money! The governor protecting a child molester tranny freak!" Lilly just smirked as David signaled two troopers to come forward and place them under arrest. He then told them, "All of what you have said and done is recorded on video. Enjoy the big house." The arrests caused the department to lose more money as the town had to pay a hefty settlement against it to Deborah. The officers were fired after pleading guilty to false arrest, civil rights violations, lying on public documents, and criminal threats. They tried to use Deborah's gender change as a defense but the judge shutting them down then admonishing the defense lawyer for her actions. The town was outraged that Andy didn't get the officers off. He was struggling to replace them as it was hard to get anyone to want to work for the department due to the town's actions against anyone not up to the town's arbitrary standards. With nobody applying and the town shunning any outsiders, Andy considered disbanding the department and asking the State Police to takeover the town's policing. Ian talked with him and volunteered to serve as a reserve officer. He saw it as doing a favor to the town even if they'd never accept his help, it needed help and he was going to ensure that the town wasn't left without someone to defend it. He swore that his family would be protected, even if he had to do it all alone with just the chief by his side to weather the storm. Zoe struggled with the townsfolk and finally confessed to Juanita that a lot of it stemmed from her not wanting to marry several boys whose families needed her connections to get at her grandfather. There was a bidding war for her hand in marriage in high school, with most of the boys being lecherous jerks who tried to force sex with her but who ended up facing her father's wrath when he caught them doing it to her in the driveway. They barely avoided being arrested by Christian's protection detail and had to hide away until the heat died down after graduation. Addison and Deborah refused to back down and visited the James family each weekend, leading to the former officers stalking them as they drove from Winnisimmet. They made the mistake of not waiting until they were on safer ground as they tried to threaten them just outside their homes, doing so in front of the Perez twins as well as Michael's brother Miles Finn. Miles happily arrested them on charges of criminal threats while the Perez twins backed away letting the newbie state trooper handle the mess. The former officers tried to plead innocent but Winnisimmet officers clocked them as they stuck out in the city due to their looking like they were up to no good based on what they were heard saying to one another while waiting. The Winnisimmet officers waited for them to make a mistake but Miles being there only made things easier for them as he also heard their threats and had to intervene alongside the Winnisimmet officers. Miles called in for a State Police cruiser allowing Deborah and Addison to go on their way as their statements weren't needed yet and would be handled by his colleagues in Endicott. Paul listened to Deborah and Addison's complaints and started to finally get the pattern of who was the mastermind behind the harassment and why. He had to laugh as the people responsible were about to get themselves handed lawsuits and go bankrupt as the town was forced to withdraw plans with them to develop certain properties particularly ones close to the James family mansion. The Baileys were just a side benefit to them, the real prize were the neighboring properties that were being bought out from the residents through connections at their banks and eminent domain seizures. Going after Deborah was going to be a problem, especially as she was a Peterson: a family who could buy the entire town of Endicott without spending half of their wealth and do so without needing any of the money from banks or selling shares in their investments. Deborah herself had money, but it paled in comparison with Sheila's own wealth as well as the wealth of her husband. If need be, Sheila wouldn't hesitate to drop $200 million to buy out all of the downtown businesses in Endicott who were going after the family then shutter them so that their owners couldn't harm Deborah anymore and laugh as she counted her remaining $5 billion+. Paul talked with Sheila, Deborah, Ian, and Deborah's husband Patrick about what was really going on and saw the family grow angry but then saw Patrick thinking hard about what was going on behind the scenes. He smirked, and shot back an evil, "They'll be getting desperate soon. They haven't been able to scare Deborah and Addison away so they're going to go after them through the property. They have to have reason for seizing the property, the town doesn't have any public plans for taking the land so why is it so valuable to them? The answer is clear: they are the ones who're getting rich from the scheme. It isn't for the public good- it's for their good. The public is just the ones footing the bill while they get the money on the back-end from developers buying the land from the town. You can bet your bottom dollar that they avoided going after the James family directly is because they'd have to explain why the land is needed by the town- but with Sheila and Ian? They don't have to explain anything to anyone." Paul nodded but Patrick then shot back, "Sheila can fight back: she has the banks in a bind as they have to fund the sales but without the town's backing they won't allow the loan to buy the properties. Sheila can simply buy the properties out from the banks or let the state undo the sales and then buying them at a cheap price from the old owners who have to unload the unwanted properties. The town can't retaliate as they'll be facing investigation for multiple violations once Angela gets through with them." Paul laughed and added, "They are going after the one family who can not only fight back: you can win. I agree with everything that you said, hell I think Sheila should start looking to buy-out properties here and make the town get on notice that she's not going away. She's a lifelong resident to the town, they're 'originals' but they are insulting their ancestors by abusing that claim. Most of them lived elsewhere for most of their lives and only 'live' here on paper. Those cops were all outsiders living in Salem or up in Byfield, they haven't actually lived here as residents since graduation!" Ian took Zoe out on the town one afternoon not long after Patrick and Paul's revelations and yet again it turned into an attack on Zoe by townsfolk- only this time she was targeted because Ian was with her. It was almost laughable how blatant the townsfolk were with their rumor- mongering as the duo were out together and not with their wives. Ian fought hard to keep from saying anything while Zoe expected it to happen especially as she was seen as the primary target to exact revenge against the James family. Zoe's only saving grace what that Ian help himself together and didn't let the talk get to him. It was hard to do, but he was used to people trying to invoke a response and walking themselves into trouble only to endure their own words shoved back into their mouths after arrest. He calmly let them talk then in an authoritative voice asked if the people of the town always acted that way or if they were selective in the nasty behavior to people and if selective- why them and why only them? His words were carefully chosen and caused many people in the stores to leave when the owners or the staff insulted Zoe's sexuality and sister- in-law. Ian happily asked if they were aware that they had just admitted to violating multiple laws and done so willingly causing them to quickly threaten to call the police on them leading to Ian happily countering, "That's fine. But when you end up with fines for false claims and lying to police you'll enjoy facing bankruptcy as her family tears you apart legally." Outside, Ian asked what the real cause of their issues was. Zoe looked away in shame then told him, "It's due to my being a lesbian. They have tormented me since I was in middle school forcing me to date the boys of my class in a bad attempt to be straight. I hated it, and when I came out they went after me. I'm the most hated person in town because I spurned boys!" Ian nodded and added, "So it's pure jealousy. They wanted to use you and you rejected them. You're one of the James family, you're one of the best people in town and they hate that you fond Mrs. Right." Things cooled off for a month until late January when the town struck yet again, this time going after Deborah. While driving back towards Winnisimmet she was forced to detour through the town due to construction, but when entering the middle of town she was hit from the side and knocked out by the impact. She was dragged from the car and forced into another car, with her car then being driven into a stop sign and then into a fire hydrant before driving away. Deborah was dumped back into her car and driven to Boston where she was found by Boston Police in a daze. The police placed her under arrest, claiming that she was wanted for fleeing the scene of an accident causing bodily harm. Deborah was handed over to the Endicott officers who then proceeded to beat her senseless again before bringing her to court to face a judge. The judge arraigned her and sent her to have a psychiatric evaluation, with the judge denouncing what she had done to the town. She wasn't able to speak to a lawyer, nor was she in contact with Patrick or Lilly. It was as if Deborah disappeared, with the police claiming that they hadn't seen her. Lilly screamed foul play while David and Miles were hard at work trying to pinpoint what happened to her and why. Miles was no fool and was able to find surveillance footage of the kidnapping then of the car going out of control and crashing. What was clear was that it wasn't Deborah, the person driving in the car didn't know about the video cameras nor did they know about the recordings being sent out to a secure server with Miles able to show that she wasn't in the car when the accident happened. David struggled to find where Deborah was taken to, with the Boston Police forced to admit to him that several officers made egregious errors in their handling to the Deborah situation by releasing her first to Endicott instead of sending her out to be evaluated by doctors as per protocol. The officers realized that they were about to be in deep trouble and gave away who took Deborah, admitting that they were paid to do so and not ask questions about why she was being sought even if there were no warrants for her at the time and what they saw should have required immediate medical attention instead of an arrest. Miles spent hours sifting through warrants and court proceedings until he found what he needed- one of the officers used Deborah's former name to hide her within the system but in doing so they setup their own downfall as it meant that they knew that she was transgender and thus they were purposely going after her because of her status. The judge caused an outburst from David as the woman again helped the Endicott officers and purposely went after Deborah in retaliation for her son's previous arrest. They had a lot of work to do to get Deborah out of the hospital, but thankfully they had help coming that night. Angela had finally had enough and was bringing in a full investigation into Endicott with all of their contracts and financial information seized followed by employees of the town forced to speak in front of a grand jury under oath. Deborah's situation hastened her pouncing on Endicott and gave her reason to wrestle control of the town's departments away from the town council and into a trusted receiver who would work with her instead of blatantly defying her. It was further strengthened as the town's state representative and senators both supported her actions and forced a bill through with the town unable to counter them due to their having stronger influence than them. The judge was overruled by her colleagues on the Supreme Judicial Court with Angela sending out the State Police to remove Deborah from the psychiatric hospital then send her to a normal hospital to have a series of blood tests to find out what was used on her. The tests took a while but came back positive for multiple controlled substances, with the officers' homes searched afterward. They uncovered several vials of illicit drugs alongside multiple needles- one of which was used and had Deborah's blood on it. Deborah was out of it for several days but when she came to she confessed to being abducted and then forced to endure abuse by the officers in the police station. The doctors at the psychiatric hospital were told that she was a drug addict coming off of a high and threatened to kill herself leading them to have to sedate her as she begged to be released. She wasn't able to fight back nor speak clearly due to all of the drugs in her system, but when they cleared-out, she was able to defend herself again. Deborah's plight caused Angela to talk with Andy and force him to take a stand against the town. He stood tall but in a depressed voice explained to her, "I can't do anything! The town is the only one who has the power to hire people. I can't bring in good officers without their approval and anyone who tries to apply is forced to withdraw because they don't meet arbitrary standards. They claim that there's no applicants, it's a lie. They refuse to adhere to the civil service list despite claiming to the townsfolk that we are hiring based on scoring and those who were hired were the best. It's a lie, they were all lower to bottom scores and none of them would have passed any exam without a lot of coaching. I can't do any of what I need to do, you can see for yourself how much crap I have to endure. I'm trying to retire but if I retire the department will be the town's personal bullying squad." He sighed and added, "The one I want to replace me is the only one in town whom I trust: Ian Bailey. He has a strong track record down in Winnisimmet and is a resident who is married to a lifelong resident. I know he doesn't want the job, but he's the best I can come up with. If he doesn't take the job, I'm asking the state to disband the department and takeover all policing in town." Ian's name held a lot of sway with Angela, so much so that she had to smirk at him knowing that Ian is the only one in town who wouldn't be intimidated by anyone. He wouldn't be, he faced tougher people in Hannah Smith and Daisy Peterson. Daisy alone scared him beyond belief, she was capable of doing things to you that would make you scream for mercy- especially if she was upset at you. Hannah was mellowing with age and wasn't as irrational anymore, but she was capable of making your life miserable just by manipulating you into doing what you didn't want to do and making you think it was your idea in the first place. Their one common factor was Deborah, who was the only person able to make both calm themselves as well as being immune to their manipulations. With Deborah now in a state of danger Hannah might do the unthinkable and involve her entire family and do to Endicott what had been done in Newhall, MO 11 years before- cease to exist as a town. Deborah was sued by residents of the town for, "Causing damage" but upon being shown the reports by the Attorney General's Office the judge dismissed the lawsuits as being made by members of the same family making it no different than fraud, something that David and Miles had been looking at as a motive for the kidnapping. The duo were able to prove that there was collusion in the town's hierarchy to get at Deborah and the Peterson family wealth, hoping to use the arrest as a way of being paid to keep quiet about, "Her actions" but never realized that she might have help to prove her innocence. Their claims fell apart once they reached court and the judge was forced to do his job and ensure true justice instead of being moved by money and power, it also led to the duo being able to get at multiple families as their lawsuit was evidence of fraud and extortion giving them access to emails and more via a search warrant from a superior court judge. Zoe blamed herself for what happened to Deborah, if Deborah hadn't decided to go visit her to keep her company Deborah never would have been kidnapped or arrested. She was inconsolable to the point that her mother Heather felt that she might do something stupid to herself. Her sisters were no better, the two blamed themselves for not inviting her down to see them or spend the weekend with them. Addison felt like she couldn't see the James or Bailey families at all and holed herself in her room when not working or keeping an eye on her twin sons Chance and Brady. Carmen and she had long fights in the week that followed over her trying to hide away from everyone and letting the Endicott snobs win. It was the same old fight for Addison, only this time it was hurting her family instead of just her and she refused to let them get hurt again. The twins wanted their mother to stand strong and not let people get to her, refusing to do anything for the couple until they visited their aunts and then only if Addison went too. She tried to reason with the twins but nothing Addison said or did would move the twins and only infuriated them further. They had a right to see their aunts, they wanted their aunts and nothing could dissuade them! The couple had no choice, that weekend they were going up to Endicott and had to take the twins or it would be a major meltdown for them. Deborah only went because she had to due to the kids needing to get out and Patrick working hard that weekend. Daisy and Claire refused to let her stay at home, if she didn't do what she wanted to do then the scumbags in Endicott won by default. Dorothy and Antonio Peterson loved their mother without question and hated that people hated her for something that she couldn't control. They also hated that she couldn't take them wherever she needed to because of people trying to get after the family. Very rarely did they take a stand against what Deborah wanted, but that time she had both angrily demanding to go play with their cousins up in Endicott. The family talked it over and agreed to go up to Endicott but only because the kids needed to get out of the city and enjoy their 2nd- cousins. Wyatt was itching to get Antonio to play some of the older games his mother owned that she got him hooked on. Little Deborah wanted her namesake to be there for her usual tea party, especially as Deborah always knew what to say to make it fun while Dorothy couldn't help but giggle at her mother's jokes that the younger Deborah didn't get. David and Miles were going along as escorts, with Andy being notified that they were expecting the Endicott issues to finally bubble-over into something worse. The duo didn't need to tell him about their being armed and ready for a confrontation, him being told was enough for it to be out of his hands and into their hands. They weren't fooling around anymore, the only place that the confrontations could go was to gun violence and the two were prepared for it. Carmen had to take an emergency shift at her restaurant leaving Addison to take the twins north on her own, with Brady and Chance loving that she had no choice but to take them as their aunt wouldn't be happy to not see them after they promised to be there. Addison was fearing the worst but met Deborah, Miles, and David and drove north with David and Miles tailing them from a discrete distance. Both of them were talking with State Police dispatchers and the Governor's protection detail, with the detail all happy to offer backup with them ensuring that the locals stayed away under orders of the Colonel. Ian was upset at being called into work for an emergency 4-hour shift and would be joining Deborah as he drove north, with Miles and David happily enjoying additional protection with the two ensuring that their colleagues were aware of an Endicott reserve officer assisting them with Andy being told by the group that Ian was being activated by them to serve as personal protection for the day. To be told that was akin to being told by the duo that not only was Ian going to be involved in the shootout but he was going to be part of it as a duly appointed officer of the law. Andy could only tell them to not go overboard and if possible not kill those that they were aiming at as he'd be the one whose head as on the chopping block and would have to face the wrath of the townsfolk. David and Miles simply told him that things were out of their hands and they would act with whatever necessary force was required to ensure that all parties were unhurt especially the if they were fired on by others. They didn't intend to kill anyone, they were shooting-to-wound as it wasn't worth the hassle to deal with the media and the kids didn't need to see their uncle kill someone. Miles and David were a couple of crack shots who could easily wing someone, they needed that ability that day. That week Zoe ended up having to work overtime in Boston late into the night on a personnel matter so wasn't able to go home directly making her stay with Addison and giving her a reason to join them for the trip north. Zoe saw the assembled group and shook her head as it was just inviting trouble: Ian, her, Deborah, and Addison together? They were too big of a target to ignore: which was what David and Miles had been counting on to finally put an end to the Endicott troubles once and for all. Zoe was right, their stalkers were onto them immediately after they left Addison's house and went for the kill once they crossed the town line into Endicott. Miles and David radioed State Police dispatch to get help rolling while Ian called Andy to tell him that there was a confrontation coming just off of the interstate. Andy sighed and made a final phone call, telling the person on the other end, "Finality is coming shortly. I'm not supporting them, they crossed the final line. I'm done in June, deal with it." Several hundred feet after the off-ramp into Endicott, the group struck. They forced Deborah's car off of the road while a second forced Addison's car off the road. Multiple masked men got out of their cars and showed guns, with them screaming at Deborah and Addison then finally at Zoe before trying to go after the four kids and Ian. David and Miles blocked the cars in on both sides so they couldn't escape while drawing their guns and proclaiming, "State Police, put your weapons down and your hands over your heads. Do not move!" That didn't do anything except infuriate the men leading to them pointing their guns at David and Miles and tried to fire on them, the two then quickly fired shots into their shoulders causing them to drop their guns to the ground in pain while Ian got out and covered the duo as they moved forward to secure the men. They didn't the chance as multiple Endicott Police cruisers came screaming down the road and towards them. When the cruisers stopped the officers got out and fired shots at Miles and David leading to Ian firing at them as the two moved around to flank the officers from behind. Ian proclaimed to the officers, "You just fired at two State Police troopers in the midst of defending their family. You weren't dispatched by the town, there was no call over the inter-agency frequency so you're here on your own. The chief knows what is going on and is expecting a phone call from us shortly to explain why you chose to try to murder two state troopers. You're under arrest for attempted murder and criminal conspiracy. These four are under arrest for the same. Thank you for showing just how bad it is in Endicott, you just ensured that the state implodes the town." More cruisers streamed in, with the State Police forcing the town's officers away with guns drawn. The town officers were going to fire at the troopers but Andy himself appeared with his gun drawn at the officers' back and told them to take off their uniforms- they were under arrest for attempted murder. He had a look out outrage and was ready to fire on them at the earliest provocation, causing capitulation. Andy looked over at Ian and nodded to him that it was alright. Ian secured their weapons while Andy secured the cruisers. They had the State Police takeover while the two went to work protecting the town as it now had no officers to cover due to the officers choosing to try to murder the troopers. The media learned about the incident and were given a statement from Andy as well as Angela. She was vicious, going after the town and its culture of elitism and trying hard to target two families due to plans for making money through illicit means falling apart. She then praised Miles and David for trying to wound the men instead of killing them, with Ian then praised for helping protect the duo and acting as a resident of the town should act: protecting the town from predators and those wanting to harm it. The townsfolk went to Andy's office to demand, "Justice" for the arrested officers. He let them give a longwinded diatribe then countered, "Let me understand this: you want me to force the State Police to do the impossible in releasing officers who abandoned their patrols to murder troopers? Then you have the gall to demand that the State Police release the four men who tried to murder two people on the side of the road after forcing their cars off of the road? All witnessed by a reserve police officer? That's not gong to happen and I refuse to help them. They are terminated immediately for using their jobs for criminal activities and abandoning their posts. I'm also not going to seek the prosecution of Ian Bailey for what amounts to self-defense and protecting the lives of two officers of the law." He listened as they threatened to remove him from his job, to which he explained, "You don't have the right to do so. I have a contract with the town and I have not broken it. By all means, please try to get me removed, but you'll cost the town millions in lawyer costs as I've retained James and James as my lawyers and am not afraid to sue for breach of contract. Further- none of you are elected officials so it isn't you who have the right to fire me, that power is firmly in the mayor's hands and he has refused to fire me as it would only cause the state to go after him. You can try to get the town council after me, I'm more than happy to explain to the Attorney General how things really happen in this town. She's in the next room awaiting me and likely overhearing everything that you just screamed at me." Angela entered, smirked, then explained to the townsfolk, "The town council is abolished. The mayor has a new plan for the town that includes reapportionment and redrawing boundaries to reflect accurate lines and not false lines for neighborhoods that don't exist. We aren't as stupid as you believe, we know all about those future neighborhoods that haven't been built. They won't be, all of those deals are frozen by court order and the contracts are ordered reviewed by a judge. The town is in receivership in the expectation of emerging once all of the rats have been removed from power." She led the crowd out then saw them all being questioned by detectives and investigators as Angela had a big awakening ready for them: prison, heavy fines, bankruptcy, and likely divorces and forced moves to, "Calmer climates". Addison, Deborah, and Ian had unintentionally caused the entire town to reform in a single day with nobody in power in town able to stop it. Zoe was the only one who saw just what it meant for everyone: they were about to be free of the forced isolation and harassment. The next day saw Zoe having to speak with detectives about the shootings and featured her pinpointing everyone involved as she recognized each of them by voice. She angrily told the detective, "I dated the one who shot at Miles. We broke-up after graduation, I refused to date him anymore. I hated everything about him, he was handsy and beat several girls to a bloody pulp for rejecting him. His parents got the police to cover it up, I'm sure you'll find the initial reports locked away somewhere in the station in the filing cabinets, they never entered them into the computers to save them from prosecution and likely a long prison term. The one who shot at David I dated in middle school and broke it off when he tried to have sex with me. He's been involved in multiple stalking incidents since then, using his police badge to harass and beat women. You're probably going to find reports with the State Police but his aunt got him released- she's a judge who'd always let them go after he was arrested, especially after getting caught drunk driving. I know that she is the one who got involved with their hiring in the first place, she's married to the council president's brother." She ended up giving the detectives everything that they needed as there was no way to deny who it was who shot at them, especially as it was caught on audio and video. Zoe was brave in trying to see they were doing, ensuring that two were sent to prison without a chance of claiming that it was a setup. She also gave them a new lead as the town council was more involved in things than they let on, especially as key people used their influence to hire or fire people who worked for the town. The investigation relied heavily on the paper trail that Zoe had led time to after that. The families had a lot of time to think about what happened and didn't talk much about it as it was clear that there wasn't anything else to say. The kids didn't care, they didn't hear most of what happened and were uninjured so it was simply easy for them to block the whole thing from their minds and enjoy the Endicott houses. The families avoided shopping in Endicott, choosing to go to larger stores in Salem and Peabody rather than endure the outrage and harassment of the families. The stores in Endicott started to suffer as there were many who joined the Bailey and James families in boycotting the Endicott stores, leading to a few having to declare bankruptcy and close. It took two weeks but half of the stores in town were the same way, leading to the town trying hard to keep people from shopping elsewhere to the point that anyone who was seen with a bag from an out of town store was banned, which only led to more people going to other stores and avoiding Endicott entirely thus making the circle complete as they were hurt more. The town was worse off after a large winter storm all but closed the town for several days. Ian was on a two-week vacation thanks to school vacation so was forced to patrol alongside several newly-hired men and women. He was the de-facto sergeant for the town as he knew it better than the newcomers and had to make multiple decisions to keep the new officers heading in the right direction. The storm hit the town harder than others due to the town's refusal to hire plows to clear the outlaying streets while focusing entirely on the town's center and major homes. Ian and Andy forced the town's department of public works to make the town's contracted plows clear all of the residential streets in town before clearing the town's center again as it was a a severe safety issue that the director of public works couldn't deny, leading to a heated debate with the town's influential people losing as it was clear that they were the ones who actually owned the plows so were being payed to plow their own homes by the town. He handed that information off to Miles and David who happily got Angela made aware of it allowing her to dig deeper into town contracts causing yet more investigations to occur. Ian's standing-up the town's elites earned him respect from the silent majority of town as he was able to reopen the town to the outside world and not just among the few in power. The fact that his family had to wait until last to have their street plowed showed that it wasn't about helping himself, he did it for all of the town and cared about them instead of looking down on them. He had won over so many people that it was made clear to the elites that the townsfolk weren't going to let Ian or his family get targeted by anyone anymore and anyone trying to go after them would face their wrath. Andy saw that as the biggest sign that the time had come to finally retire. He announced to all of the townsfolk that he was retiring at the end of June and that the choice for his successor was obvious: if Ian wasn't appointed as the new chief of police then the town would have to answer to him as to why it chose someone who was neither a resident nor had the experience that Ian had as a police officer. The majority of townsfolk were vocal in their support, with the town council being screamed at for hours as it tried in vain to refuse to appoint Ian as the replacement for Andy. When Alexandra stepped forward, she announced to the townsfolk, "The reason for the delay is it was already settled by the council months ago. They chose to appoint one of the men on trial for trying to kill two state troopers three weeks ago and then wounded by Mr. Bailey as he defended those troopers. They still hold out hope that he'll be appointed despite it being pointless given that he's facing a prison terms of over two decades for his actions that day. That isn't what they told you publicly when they said that they were seeking the best, they lied to you about everything that they have done for years!" She smirked and shot back at them an angry, "The state has investigated and decided that what you have done is criminal. You violated multiple open-meeting laws in your actions and as such your actions are undone. Your choices for chief are voided, the arrest made them unsuitable for the job. They will stand trial and nobody can intervene- not the judge who has consistently let them off of the hook for assaults and drunk driving, not the town council who turns a blind eye to their actions, not the business owners whose own actions have hurt this town more than anyone else." The council refused to appoint Ian, appointing instead one of the men awaiting trial for their actions in the past three months against Deborah and Addison. The mayor just shook his head and announced to the assembled crowd, "The town council is powerless to do anything. They are of the belief that they still have the ability to hire, fire, promote, or demote people. They don't, that power lays in the hands of our receiver who has made the decision to hire Ian Bailey as chief of police and fire all of the officers with any criminal ties. The men standing trial are officially terminated effective last week. They forfeited all pensions and are barred from employment as police officers in the state." Addressing the other issues, he proclaimed, "This town is seeing a massive exodus of shoppers. All of it is directly linked to the actions of the owners of those shops. As it stands, any business in this town is going to abide by all state laws. Barring someone from your store is only to be done if that person has actually stolen from your store or has been convicted of a crime. You do not pick and choose who can and can't shop in your stores, you are choosing to send away shoppers who are more than happy to tell others to avoid your stores and give money to your competitors. This town owes its lifeblood to several people who are about to invest heavily in the future of this town: the very same people who are being shunned by the ones who are losing their businesses in the first place!" He had all but announced that Deborah, Addison, Zoe, and Ian had bought many of the buildings and businesses that were shuttered due to their bankruptcies. It was seen by several as a slap in the face of the town, but the majority were pleased that someone was trying to do something positive and help the town grow instead of keeping it stagnant. The town needed new businesses and new blood, it was one of the major things that caused New England towns to struggle in the recent decades. Alexandra smirked as she returned home, with Paul giving her a look that demanded to know why she had kept that secret from him. She sighed then told him, "It's because of the girls. I want Juanita to be able to work hard on her own but also not have to worry about things so I decided to propose a deal to start a company to manage properties in the town while giving Juanita her beloved restaurant. She can now own her own place and be on her own, with Carmen fully taking over the Somerville restaurant. It allows all of us to be free from the idiots who bully the townsfolk. The era of blood-bloods is over, we are leading the new era in this town even if we have to buy a chunk of it to do so." Paul asked for specifics, Alexandra happily told him, "The stores were good stores who just needed new management. We bought them out from under their owners and plan to reopen them under people who can be trusted to run them well. I have a list of names of people who could use the experience and who are ready to lead the stores but it requires some ownership oversight which Sheila can give. Now that she's no longer working at the library and the kids are on the cusp of going to school, she can use the job. As an owner, she'll have a lot of say and being from the town it's tough to hold any of the 'outsider' claims against her. She's the real money behind all of this, it is her way of getting back at Ian for going whole-hog into being an owner of the Red Sox last year." There was nothing else to discuss as it was a perfect plan: a mix of both revenge, investment for future sale, and great PR for both them and the town. The ladies had their side project to give them something to do other than motherhood, Juanita her dream job of owning a restaurant, and Sheila her distraction to keep her from fussing over the kdis. Everyone was happy with the deal, especially Paul. Ian's hiring was made official the next day by both the mayor and receiver. Town councilors tried to sue the state to stop the receiver from making decisions, but the judge who, "Heard" the case was overruled before she could make a ruling as the receiver happily pointed out that she had no authority to stop the rulings of him as he was appointed by the General Court through a legislative act of both houses and signed by Christian so he was legally in charge of the town. The mayor and council were really just a bunch of figureheads, with the mayor actually only being a, "CEO" of the town while nobody else had any say in any matters of the town but the two. The judge ruled anyway, only to be told, "So be it. The Governor's Council will be seeking your removal from the bench for abusing your power and issuing illegal rulings. You did this to yourself, don't blame anyone else. You chose to ignore the law and state constitution, you have to live with the results." She threatened him only to see court officers place her under arrest per order of the chief judge with the chief judge entering, overturning her ruling, then telling the town council, "I am ordering all of you to be removed. I am aware of your actions and what you have done to the town for years. Further, they have exercised a law that prevents the council from even existing as you ceased to be above the 6,000 resident threshold long ago. As such, the town is to have an open town meeting government with the mayor elected by the populace to oversee the government and moderate meetings as per the law." The town was in shock as they learned the truth. The council had ruled illegally for two decades and as such had no right to force anything on the people as they had no right to exist as a legal body. The town was a town of the people again, the majority rule- not the will of a few. Ian eased into being chief as the town rebuilt from the ground up. The former town council sued all of the General Court over their removal but the fact that the laws were ignored and helped by a judge and was done specifically so they themselves could retain power instead of the town's voters as a whole had the impact of getting the case tossed out. Ian simply ignored all of that drama and worked with the new police officers while letting the officers enjoy ticketing and arresting multiple prominent town officials as they started to invoke the very same ordnances that they used against people in the past. Ian's impact was immediate as people started to come back to the town now that they weren't going to be harassed. The businesses saw spikes in sales as well as interest in opening retail stores of their own to give some friendly competition as well as more variety to what was sold in the town center. A lot of interest was given to what was going to be built or opened, so much so that bidding wars broke out in town hall over which businesses got licenses to open first. Juanita and her restaurant were front and center as she opened a restaurant that catered to the town in a way that they hadn't been allowed to before: Latin food and live music. That was followed by a bakery and a coffee shop, with a book store and small boutique clothing store opening next. She had an eye for the needs of the town, especially as she knew just how many people in town actually wanted to shop there and how many in neighboring towns were itching to shop there wit the right merchandise. Addison helped her with the business and enjoyed seeing people forced to accept that she was just one of the ladies no matter how much certain people kept pointing out to them that Addison wasn't really a lady and was always going to be a man. Those who did that were banned from the shops, with all of the ones in buildings owned by the consortium that Addison and Juanita had invested in being in agreement thus banning those same people from most of the town's businesses. It was tough for them to extol their vitriol if they had nowhere to spout off anymore now that they were banned from most of the buildings in the town center with the few that didn't ban them struggling to get business to remain open. Time passed slowly, with Ian taking on more and more responsibility with the police while easing off of his work in Winnisimmet. The day before he was set to take the reins in Endicott he enjoyed all of the Winnisimmet Police giving him a rousing send-off with the Perez twins razzing him about working for the cream of the crop in the state. He laughed it off and told them that he was doing it for his kids, he'd be happy to let them take the job instead of him but he didn't want the town going to the dogs. He tearfully signed-off to a rousing cheer from the department, with the dispatchers from around the region acknowledging his departure and wishing him the best. He happily drove on to Endicott with a full police escort and entered the station, saluted Andy, and announced that he was reporting for duty as ordered by the mayor. Andy saluted him back then told him, "The town is in your hands. I'm going to enjoy not having to look over my shoulder for knives in my back. I know you'll do well." Just after midnight he officially signed-on and had the surrounding police dispatchers greeting him while his own officers acknowledged the change of leadership simply by changing his call-sign from the sergeant- on-duty to the chief. He drove home in tears and hugged Sheila, who happily told him that he was going to enjoy being chief and that he had another surprise: she was pregnant again. He cried at the news, weeping at fatherhood finding him yet again making the day even more special. Zoe and Juanita thrived as Juanita grew happier in her new job as chef/owner of the restaurant. She had a knack for finding talent and helping them before they moved on to better jobs elsewhere, something that Sheila had done in Winnisimmet Public Library before she moved north. The two worked hard to ensure that their company thrived, with Sheila knowing what to do to get people into stores and how to lease the properties that were sitting empty or were in need of development. The two bonded more as Sheila's pregnancy started to make her do less and less each day. That bond had the impact of making Zoe see that the time was right for them to use a sperm donor to get one of them pregnant. Juanita went one better and demanded that both undergo the procedure so they'd have a baby each and share the joys of motherhood- with Zoe happily agreeing to it without argument. Deborah and Addison watched the ladies grow while pregnant and felt the pangs of motherhood but it was countered by Carmen and Patrick easing them as they had four kids to deal with and it wasn't the right time to get pregnant for them. Neither could refuse that claim as it was right, they both knew that Carmen wasn't ready to take time off of work and Patrick was often busy with work that he didn't want Deborah overwhelmed with a baby at home. Even if they had plenty of help from in-laws, it was still a tough thing to argue against and would take a while to work around to overcoming. Zoe had a baby girl while Juanita had a baby boy. The trio shared a lot of time together and raised the kids as close as it was possible without crossing boundaries set by each couple. Sheila was more lenient among the ladies while Zoe was the tough taskmaster and Juanita was the one who set nutrition limits, Ian was simply Ian and a big softy to the kids- especially his young son. Little Ian Bailey Jr. was born in February of 2025 while Ruthie and Alexander James were born the next week- a full month early but why they were so early was found out immediately as Alexander was followed by his twin brother Adam, with both ladies in awe of a family curse following through on Juanita as she was just like her twin sister in having twins herself. The ladies gushed in awe over them so much so that they acted as if they were triples even if Ruthie was born two days later. All of women of their large family were happy for them and started to drop hints to the Perez twins to do the same for their wives, with the twins nor Sela and Isobel even trying to think about that possibility yet. The James family came together as one with Zoe's younger sister and triplet brothers all getting to see a side of the family that they hadn't fully comprehended just yet: multiple generations at once together as a whole. The triplets were too young for any of what happened to their sister so were kept in the dark as it was easier on them to just pretend that everything was alright while Phoebe, Zoe's younger sister and the only James sister who had given birth, was kept uninformed to stop her from fearing the worst as it was hard enough being a James when everyone in town knew she was adopted as an adult. She kept the triplets oblivious while not being told the full truth by Alexandra and Paul, even if she felt that she was able handle it and give her sister support. Phoebe was the one to carry the triplets as a surrogate for Alexandra and Paul, with her knowing how it felt to give birth and recover while feeling as though your life had changed forever. She did it to be able to afford college, but ended up being the newest daughter of Paul and Alexandra and being the favorite of the triplets simply by being around them more than their sisters. Zoe and she now had something in common that Sela and Isobel couldn't understand yet, with the two happy to talk to one another now that it was clear that Zoe needed Phoebe's advice in the same way that Juanita had Carmen's advice. For once, Phoebe was the center of attention as she was able to help Zoe and Juanita endure their nights of feedings and diaper changes, having stretch marks, breast milk that wouldn't dry-up, and guys giving looks of lust whenever they walked past them. She blushed at mentioning that, with Zoe happily telling her that she didn't need to pretend that she wasn't a sexy young woman whom Zoe wanted to ravish if not for being married to Juanita. Juanita happily told her the same, giving the three a stronger bond and a chance to air some feelings about one another that had been hidden for years. The pregnancies left the ladies feeling drained, with Phoebe happily helping with the three babies- she demanded to help, it was her sisterly duty. Phoebe's lack of a love life caused Zoe concern, but when it was asked about Phoebe happily told her, "I'm busy with school so I don't want love yet. Mom and dad have asked the same of me and wanted me to start looking for a boyfriend but I just want to learn so I can be a doctor. I know that Sela and Isobel might be thinking about being mothers soon, I don't want to be one until I'm ready. I love you for thinking about it, but I'm fine being friends with guys. Plus, I'm more than happy to mother the triplets if I'm feeling maternal. I know they aren't my sons, but it's tough to not feel a bond with them that nobody else feels even if I'm not their 'real' mom." She actually had a stead boyfriend who was in the military but didn't tell Zoe that. She wasn't lying as it was her plan to marry and get pregnant once she was finished with her residency, with her boyfriend at the cusp of retirement then allowing her to be able to focus on what she needed. Zoe wisely saw that it was all in the plans and left it alone, happy that Phoebe had her mind set on things even if she wasn't too happy that she felt that way about her sisters. After a lot of legal wrangling that delayed the trials, the men and women involved in the conspiracy to target Zoe, Juanita, Deborah, Carmen, and Addison finally faced trial. It was an easy win for the state as the group were more than happy to turn on one another trying to make themselves seem each was an unwilling participant in the whole series of events. The problem was that they were all interconnected to one another so they were actually guilty of multiple crimes even if not all of them. The trials were a mess as they were tried separately from one another at the same time and with each of them trying to blame the others for what happened. It ended up backfiring as they were convicted on all charges with the two who fired on Miles and David getting the harshest sentences. Each ended up with a total of 30 years in prison, with none of them able to get parole for 10 years. The state found mountains of evidence and dozens of disgruntled former town employees who openly admitted that they were fired by the town after they voiced concerns about how the town was handling a lot of things including developments and business expansions. The meat of the cases were multiple bad deals that started to collapse when Sheila moved the family to the former Patterson family home and gave the developers a hard pass on all offers to sell. The town couldn't force her out as they had to tell an angry populace why they needed millions of tax dollars to buy one property that was clearly not in a state of being sold just to develop properties on land that nobody wanted to develop on because it was not worth the money and hassle of demolishing homes and woodland around them. The trials took longer than the previous trials and led to a lot of shady deals being exposed with many in town having to explain to friends and neighbors why they wanted to get rid of them and why some of their former neighbors had been targeted. Their responses weren't pretty as wars of words broke out in the middle of town as many friendships ended and many families tore apart over the actions of greedy people trying to rid the town of, "Undesirables". That led to many being forced to move away in fear as they had nobody to support them and many people out for blood. The town was forced to admit that it was a longtime haven for racist, homophobic, and classist people giving it a public reputation that few wanted and all but ensured that Endicott was seen as a place to be avoided by anyone not willing to endure people looking down on them. The trials ended with multiple people begging for plea bargains and few getting them. Those who did get them were more than willing to air dirty laundry of everyone, realizing that it was safer to admit the truth than keep up appearances as it was already too late to save face and it was safer for them to just rebuild their lives once they had been released from prison or were off of probation. Ian and Sheila's new son was something else entirely for them as he wasn't like his brother in any way except that they were siblings. Ian Jr. played with the younger Deborah and almost ignored Wyatt, with Wyatt growing frustrated that his brother didn't want him around him. It started when he was just a few weeks old and continued on until he was three, with Wyatt hating to be ignored by Ian Jr. Ian Jr. struggled with being different than other kids and kept away from his 2nd-cousins despite being around them all of the time. He let Ruthie become his best friend and would always be around her to the point that it was tough to not find her without finding him close by. Phoebe was the only adult that he kept close to in the James family, with Phoebe shedding tears as he told her that she was the best aunt and better than all of the other ladies in the family. Eventually Ian Jr. had enough hiding and entered the Bailey family home in a dress and proclaimed that he was Megan and not going to hide anymore. He refused to listen to Sheila or Ian's pleadings and told them that he was a girl and wasn't going to stop being a girl. He ran off to his room before Wyatt could say something, with Wyatt knowing full well that if he opened his mouth Ian would punish him. The couple entered Ian Jr.'s room and found him shaking with a scissors in his hands. He looked down at his naked body and was in tears. Ian grabbed him into a hug and told him firmly, "Boy or girl, we'll love you no matter what. We'll get you help, you are our child and we love you no matter what." Wyatt watched and couldn't speak, Deborah led her twin away and told him that Ian Jr. was their sister and like their aunts Deborah and Addison and he couldn't be a boy anymore. It hurt Wyatt, but he knew that it was for the best that Ian Jr. be Megan and let Megan live on instead of Ian Jr. harming himself or worse- killing himself to escape the pain of being a boy. Wyatt was the big brother, he had to be strong for Megan even if it hurt him to lose his little brother to femininity and endure what people in school would say about him- not that it didn't stop them from taking swipes at him anyway. Megan got help, and saw Ruthie supporting her and even telling her that she was happy for her and was going to be her friend no matter what. The two were inseparable after that, especially at school and at the James home where the two loved tormenting the triplets while making poor Phoebe work hard to keep the five kids from terrorizing one another. Thankfully for her, both Adam and Alexander weren't into mischief and simply played in their room while the five made lots of noise and annoyed Phoebe. Megan couldn't be kept under wraps for long and once her parents went to the town's superintendent to have her allowed to attend school as a girl the old town blue-bloods came out of the woodwork again to protest someone, "Forcing diversity on their town". The irony of the complaints were that none of their own children attended public schools in town- they attended prestigious and highly expensive private boarding schools. Megan was simply another factor in showing that the blue-bloods were simply all hot air and appearances to, "Outsiders" and in reality didn't actually care about the town except when they could benefit from appearing to care about the town. There was little chance of kids going after Megan because Ian was so intimidating. Seeing just who she had as relatives also made things tough as the Peterson/Bollinger/James family was way too large and too powerful to take on just because someone was a target. Megan had the added bonus of being one of the richest kids in the state as her mother's personal wealth was more than everyone in town combined and left her never for want and able to focus on school and friends, particularly Ruthie. Sheila loved her job as the head of the real estate group, especially as she could make the town better in a way that was, "Hands-off" while still hands-on. She and Megan would spend hours trying to figure out ways of making buildings look like they weren't run down and falling apart yet still keep the rustic look that made the town so special in the region. Megan had a knack for getting her mom to focus more on a few places that would stand out for all of the right reasons, especially if they were kid-friendly. Megan's love of bouncing and toys caused Sheila to see that something child-oriented was perfect for a shop/small factory. She saw Megan tweaking her toys are realized that she had the right idea and built a shop that catered to the kids' imagination where they could build their own toys and make them work in their own way while fulfilling a large amount of time. A small fee to get into the door then the kids had hours of fun while also being able to make toys that they would cherish forever. Megan was in tears when Sheila talked with Zoe and Addison about it. The duo smiled as it was what's needed and also made Megan feel like she was doing something right. Sheila hugged and kissed her, it was why Megan was her favorite child and why they got along so well. Zoe eventually took over for Sheila when the business grew too big for her to handle, with Sheila now relegated to being a, "Soccer mom" for the kids as she endured the pains of the kids growing up. It was further painful to her when the kids eventually stopped needing her help so much and started to become independent. When Megan got to that level of maturity she had to fight feeling old and useless. Alexandra helped her accept that she wasn't useless, especially as she was still mom and was there for Juanita and Zoe whenever she was needed. Megan was simply a normal child, even with people always after her for being transgender she was perfectly normal. It was inevitable, with Alexandra happy that it finally happened for Sheila and made her proud to have helped her out. Sheila fought the budding feeling the one way that would both help and hurt her down the road: she got pregnant a third time, this time with a boy. She and Ian talked about it and he was fine with being a dad again just as long as it was her last- he didn't want her entirely focused on having kids and giving up on being her own person. It was Ian telling her that she had to stop fighting the inevitable, she was aging and if her family's curse held true she might make herself susceptible to health issues. Addison was a frequent visitor to both houses and was happy to get Sheila and Zoe's help dealing with Carmen and her issues. Over time Carmen was always frayed and bothered, with Addison unable to be the wife that she needed to be but dreading them splitting apart. Zoe saw what was happening and gave a big smile, then told her, "I think she wants to get pregnant again. Last time wasn't planned, now that it requires help from the storage company it's going to be planned down to the exact day." Addison was floored, and held off a few weeks before telling Carmen. Carmen was in tears and gave a big hug and kiss to Addison, then called Zoe to thank her for helping her and Addison. The two were in complete sync and worked like mad to get Carmen pregnant, with both happy that it only took one dose to get her pregnant- with twins no less. The couple had issues not long after that as Brady did something horrible to himself to prove that he's a girl and not a boy then endured humiliation by being arrested and forced apart from the twins. That was a huge issue that only made the couple feel like failures, nearly costing Carmen the babies and causing Addison to contemplate leaving Carmen for good to give her the real wife that she needed. She had a huge change of heart after talking with Zoe, but the idea that she wasn't good enough for Carmen was always going to stick around in her head and make her fear that she would end up all alone again. After Carmen gave birth to twins again, Addison started to soften and asked for help from Sheila and a happy Zoe. The two helped Addison see that she was needed and eventually became the mother to the twins that they needed most. Both twins were boys, with Sheila shaking her head at them being such a happy duo especially as they always wanted to be close to Addison. Ian thrived in his role as chief, so much so that other, larger, more, "Winnisimmet-like" cities and towns took notice and tried to get him to leave his position for a more prominent, better-paying job away from Endicott. His answer was always the same:, "I'm perfectly fine being the chief here in Endicott and am not going to move my family to your city or town. We have a fine life here and choose to rebuilt this town and want to remain here to see the town's rebirth completed." His real reason was simple: he didn't care about the money nor the power, the town was simply getting better and better and he didn't want to put Megan under scrutiny in a place that would push her aside to tout him and pretend that she didn't exist unless she was needed. Endicott knew not to make a big deal out of her nor anyone in his family, they were just the Baileys and were simply a branch of the James family. The job was, "Easier" but to him it was still a job and he did it well. The Petersons visited frequently, with Daisy and Claire making trips north to enjoy time with the kids and help Megan get used to being girly and enjoy time with people who knew girls like her more than she'd ever know. Megan loved going down to Winnisimmet and spending days with her great-aunt and grandmother, with her getting her aunt Avery to react to her being so cute. Avery was immune to her, it was something that Brady had caused in her and she honed it to the point that only Avery could get the mischievous girl to focus on doing her homework or cleaning the house. The town eventually started to grow beyond its means and caused family to sell parts of the land that it bought at a bargain rate from developers caught in legal traps by the state. The money went to fund the kids' futures, with each member of the James family getting a hefty amount all but ensuring that they'd go to college and have a nice home when they departed their parents' care. Paul used the money from the first of the sales to do something unthinkable: he ran for Senate as an independent and won handily over the established parties' candidates. He had no political ties except his own father, with Christian insisting that his son would do things on his own no matter how much he wanted to help Paul. Paul swore that he wouldn't use any outside help, paying for the campaign with a huge chunk of his trust fund and savings and showing that he was serious about doing the right thing. He helped propel Angela to another victory as the two were linked through the Endicott mess, she happily touted Paul's hard work then touted his devotion to the voters and not to special interests. She didn't bother trying to go after the other candidates, it was easy to show that they were just puppets for a national party and not running on any issue of their own while Paul had strong views on record. His victory was later accompanied by Angela winning the governorship after Christian chose to retire. Christian was all smiles as he endorsed her, with Paul telling the media that if they had to ask who he was endorsing then they didn't know him well enough. She was glad to have Paul's support, especially as he was exactly the kind of new-blood politician that the state needed. Christian played the doting great-grandfather to the kids, enjoying his retirement and the kids' activities as they grew-up around him and reaped the benefits of his presence. Nobody bothered them when he was around, and those who did saw their parents having to cower in fear as Christian's stern gaze and tough, predatory smile causes them to run off in fear. He didn't say a word, his look was enough. The Endicott branch of the vast Finn Family might not have had as much drama as the others had, but it was a drama that hit hard and for longer and was one that could easily have gone the other way if not for having people who were able to fight back fast and hard. It served as an inspiration for others in the family to take their little issues seriously and not let them grow into big ones. The family recovered and bounced back stronger than ever, but the lesson learned helped give new life to the family that would have reverberations for years to come. The End.