Chapter 11
Standing by the window, looking out over the plaza with his hands clasped behind his back, was Dante Moretti.
Beside Dante, sitting on a leather sofa, was Mia.
She wore a crisp navy-blue pleated dress, polished white patent-leather shoes, and a red cardigan with mother-of-pearl buttons. Her brown hair had been combed and braided into two neat plaits tied with blue silk ribbons. In her lap, she held a picture book about deep-sea creatures, though her eyes were watching the adults with that same intense, ancient gravity she had carried into the lobby six weeks ago.
In a bassinet beside the sofa, little Lily was happily babbling, kicking her feet into the air, her cheeks round, rosy, and healthy, clutching a silver rattle that bore the Moretti family crest.
"Mr. Moretti," Director Reynolds began, her voice tight with professional resistance. "I don't think you appreciate the absurdity of this petition. You are an unmarried forty-five-year-old man with... significant corporate and reputational complexities. The state has protocols. We have licensed foster homes. We have vetted families who have spent three years on waiting lists to adopt infants."
Dante didn't turn around from the window. "Are those families willing to keep them together?"
Reynolds hesitated. "We always attempt to place sibling pairs together, but in cases where there is an age disparity and an infant requires specialized post-nutritional care—"
"You split them," Dante interrupted, turning slowly. His eyes locked onto Reynolds like two gun barrels. "You place the baby with an affluent couple in Naperville who want a clean slate, and you dump the seven-year-old into a group home in Cicero where she learns to survive on institutional stew and fear."
"That is an unfair characterization of our foster network!"
"It is the reality of your budget, Mrs. Reynolds," Dante said, stepping toward the desk. He placed a thick, gold-embossed leather portfolio on the blotter between them.
"Judge Thorne has already reviewed those documents," Dante said. "Inside, you will find the charter for an irrevocable family trust established at Northern Trust. One hundred million dollars, fully funded, designated for the sole benefit of Mia and Lily Vance-Moretti. You will also find the deed to a ten-acre residential estate in Lake Forest, staffed with two licensed pediatric nurses, a private governess, and a full-time tutor certified by the state board of education."
Reynolds looked at the document, her mouth parting slightly. "A hundred million..."