Such a fucking waste.
His sister had chosen to waste all her potential, chasing a never ending high. Now she’d given birth to a baby and abandoned him like he was an old pair of Gucci shoes or a Marc Jacobs bag she had lost interest in. Noelle would never be caught dead wearing the same accessory twice. Why would she bother to care for the same baby for eighteen years?
His sister had spent years of making headlines for acting out. All of those youthful indiscretions, he and his mother used to sweep under the rug, had culminated into an unplanned pregnancy and child abandonment. The fact Noelle had done something so reckless was just the icing on the cake. He still couldn’t believe she had managed to keep the secret for months.
“Judge Adams knows I want all of this kept off the record. No paper trail.” Alex inquired.
“You have no idea how much convincing and money it took to get her to agree to stop the adoption.”
“I don’t care how much it costs. I can’t afford a scandal outbreak right now. Not with the IPO coming in a few months. Scandal scares investors.”
“This is a kid we are talking about. You can’t hide it forever.”
“Not forever. Just long enough for the market to stabilize.” He’d devoted years to growing his family’s private business into a powerhouse. The last thing he needed was his sister derailing all of his plans. They were on the cusp of entering the market on a high. Their valuations were through the roof. His company and family were set to make billions.
“What about the foster mother?”
“What about her,” Alex asked coldly with a frown.
Derrick stopped in his tracks and touched Alex’s arm. “I know you think in terms of numbers on a spreadsheet, but I need you to take a moment. Really think about what you are about to do in there.”
“I am going to fix yet another one of Noelle’s mistakes.”
“Noelle abandoned her son nearly eight months ago.” Derrick pointed out cautiously as he looked his friend in the eyes. “This woman has been caring for him all of that time. She has, in all likelihood, fallen in love with him. We are about to walk in there and crush a woman’s dream of a family.”
Alex finally looked up from his phone and looked over at his friend. Derrick was not usually one for lots of emotions. A corporate lawyer by trade, he spent his time caring less about people and more about numbers. It was why they were such good friends.
“What has gotten into you?”
“Nothing. I just need to make sure you understand what we are doing here. There is a woman just down the hall who is about to hear that the child she loves and thought would be her son isn’t going home with her. You are that woman’s worst nightmare. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“What’s the alternative?”
“We walk away and let this woman continue taking care of her child. It is possible Noelle’s secret will never come out.” Derrick offered softly. “I could barely figure out what happened. How could a stranger figure things out or make the connection?
Alex shook his head. He couldn’t let a ticking time bomb like that continue. He’d worked to hard too let Noelle flush things down the drain.
“You tell me what’s worse? Let’s say we let that woman adopt the baby. We let her live happily for a few years, and then when she least expects it we drop a bombshell on her happy home when Noelle changes her mind? We both know my sister, she does anything and everything that she wants to do. Who is to say she won’t turn around and go to this woman and demand her son back?”
“Noelle doesn’t want to be a mother.”
“For right now, but we both know she has a habit of changing her mind and making scenes.”
“Isn’t that even more reason for us to let sleeping dogs lie?”
Alex sighed, “Not when those dogs can wake up at any time and bite me and everything that I have built in the ass at anytime.”
Derrick sighed, “if you are sure?”
“About stopping all of this in its tracks before it all spins out of control?” Alex looked into his friend’s eyes. “Definitely.”
****
“Your petition for adoption has been denied.”
Those words echoed with a roar. Today was supposed to be the day she became a mom. Today was supposed to be a formality. Isn’t that what the social worker and her attorney told her? They had reassured her that it was rare for something to drop in unexpectedly this late in the process. Kier was her son.
Sitting in the Judge’s chambers, she had tears coursing down her cheeks as she looked down at his sleeping face. Cradling him in her arms, she could not believe this was happening. She needed had already given her heart to this small boy. How could anyone expect her to let him go?
This was supposed to be her gift from the universe. She had always wanted a baby and India had given up trying to make it work when Kier was left on her doorstep. He was her gift from the universe.
“A blood relative has come forward. He has provided the court with sufficient explanation as to how the child ended up on your porch and has reassured the court that it will never happen again.”
“But your honor,” her lawyer attempted to argue.
“The reason I brought you and your client into my chamber’s to issue my ruling is because I recognize the sensitive nature of what is about to take place. Ms. Dare, you have taken amazing care of that little boy. If not for the appearance of this relative, he would be going home with you today.” Judge Adams leaned forward and laced her fingers together, “it is my job to think of what is in the best interest of the child.”
“I’m his mother. I have been his primary care giver for months.”
A look of pity fell over the Judge’s face, “I know you love him. I know this is going to be hard, but it’s time for Kier to go home.”
“You can’t just give him to strangers.”
“They aren’t strangers, they are his family.” Judge Adams looked down at the watch on her wrist. “I know this isn’t easy, but I have invited one of the relatives and his attorney here to see the boy and introduce themselves to you.”
India scoffed through her tears and looked at the Judge in disbelief. How could this be happening? She may not have given birth to Kier, but she had been the one to take care of him since the day she found him at her door. Nothing about this day had gone as planned.
“How could you do this?”
“Kier has been in my care since the beginning.” She argued not quite believing this was happening to her.
“Ms. Dare, you knew from the beginning there was a possibility, the adoption would not work out in your favor. You were facing an uphill battle. While I understand your frustration, I cannot just ignore the facts.”
The door behind her opened and two well-dressed men walked in carrying briefcases and looking like they had just walked out of an edition of “GQ”. Confused, she had to blink a few times to really get what she was seeing.
She knew one of the men. He had been a major part of her life through most of high school. At one point India had thought they would be in their lives for the rest of their lives.
“Alex?”
He frowned and looked back at her looking equally as confused. “India?”