Chapter 2
Bianca DeLuca had been trying to become a mother for almost nine years.
Roman knew the outline.
He had not known the details.
Three failed IVF cycles.
Two miscarriages.
One adoption match that ended when the expectant mother chose to parent.
A second adoption process that collapsed after the agency discovered the prospective birth father had never been properly notified.
Bianca withdrew after that.
Stopped discussing children.
Turned a half-finished nursery into a dressing room.
Roman believed she had finally made peace with it.
Vivienne had not.
The matriarch spoke about Bianca’s childlessness as though the universe had made an accounting error.
When Elena became pregnant naturally with triplets, Vivienne’s first response was not joy.
It was:
“Three?”
Elena laughed because she thought Vivienne was overwhelmed.
Vivienne repeated:
“All at once?”
A week later she told Roman:
“God has no sense of proportion.”
Roman told her to stop.
He thought that ended it.
Then Vivienne started visiting Elena without him.
She brought vitamins.
Helped organize the nursery.
Sat beside Elena when pregnancy complications forced her into partial bed rest.
And repeatedly asked strange questions.
If one baby needed more care, would Roman and Elena consider a long-term family caregiver?
Would they ever let Bianca take one infant for extended stays?
Could Bianca become one child’s godmother?
Could a child legally have “two maternal homes”?
Elena answered no every time the question became serious.
She told Roman once.
He dismissed it too quickly.
“My mother talks like every family decision is a treaty negotiation.”
Elena answered:
“She isn’t joking.”
Roman said he would handle it.
Then did not.
That failure stayed with him.
The police investigation found another layer quickly.
Bianca had completed a private adoption home study four months before the triplets were born.
Nothing illegal about that.
She was still eligible to pursue adoption independently.
The problem was the child named in a confidential supplementary file.
Identified intrafamily placement — Baby C, expected DeLuca triplet pregnancy.
Roman read the line twice.
“Baby C?”
The attorney representing the adoption agency nodded.
“The file was never approved for placement.”
“Who opened it?”
“Bianca.”
Bianca had supplied financial records, references, a home inspection, and background checks.
The file included a statement that the expectant parents were “considering voluntary placement of one child within the paternal family.”
Elena had never said that.
Roman had never said that.
Then came an unsigned draft letter.
Roman and Elena DeLuca believe permanent placement with Bianca DeLuca may best preserve stability given the extraordinary demands of triplet parenting.
Roman looked at his sister through the conference-room glass.
“She knew about this.”
His lawyer answered carefully.
“She knew a file existed.”
“Did she know our consent was fabricated?”
“That is what investigators need to establish.”
Then the agency produced an email from Bianca.
I will not proceed unless Roman and Elena agree after birth. Mom says they already understand, but I want direct confirmation.
That helped Bianca.
Then another email, eleven days later.
Vivienne:
Stop demanding ceremony around something the family has already decided.
Bianca:
They have not told me that.
Vivienne:
Because Elena is emotional and Roman avoids unpleasant conversations.
Bianca did not withdraw the file.
That hurt her.
She allowed it to remain open while knowing the parents had never personally consented.
May you like
The scheme had not begun at the christening.
Vivienne had been constructing an adoption path before Gabriel had taken his first breath.
