Chapter 11 - THE CUSTODY BATTLE
“No,” I said, instinctively stepping in front of Leo, who was happily snapping a puzzle piece into place. “No, she can't do this. Isabella saved his life at the pier!”
“Isabella is a Romano,” Gabriel said bitterly, tossing the folder onto a side table. “Her father is dead. The syndicate is in ruins. The only leverage she has left in this city is Leo. The state recognizes her as his legal guardian because Elias filed the paperwork before we could finalize the adoption.”
“We’ll fight it in court,” I said. “We have lawyers.”
“It’s not that simple,” Gabriel ran a hand through his hair. “Elias’s lawyers submitted a dossier. It outlines my ties to the mafia, the shootout at the pier, the danger this house poses. No judge in the state will give a child to a known syndicate boss over a civilian woman with no criminal record.”
I felt sick. We had beaten the guns, the threats, and the violence. Now, they were using the law to tear our family apart.
An hour later, the doorbell rang.
Gabriel and I stood in the foyer. Outside, a black town car was parked in the driveway. A CPS worker stood on the porch, flanked by two police officers.
And standing behind them, looking pale but resolute, was Isabella.
She still walked with a slight limp from the gunshot wound. She wore a modest beige trench coat, looking every bit the respectable citizen.
Gabriel moved to open the door, but I put my hand on his chest.
“Let me,” I said.
I opened the heavy doors. The cold wind swept into the hall.
“Mrs. Moretti,” the CPS worker said, holding up a clipboard. “We are here to execute a temporary custody transfer for Leo Moretti. Miss Romano has been granted emergency guardianship.”
Isabella wouldn't look me in the eye.
“Isabella,” I said quietly, stepping past the social worker. “What are you doing?”
“I’m doing what’s right for him, Claire,” she said softly, clutching her purse. “This world... your husband’s world... it’s too dangerous for a child.”
“You didn't care about his safety when you helped your father hide him,” Gabriel growled from the doorway.
“I took a bullet for him!” Isabella snapped, finally looking up, her eyes flashing. “I nearly died on that pier! My father is dead because of what happened that night. I am not leaving the only innocent piece of my family in a house built on blood!”
I stared at her. I saw the grief in her eyes, the desperate need to cling to something pure after losing everything. She wasn't doing this for leverage. She was doing this out of a broken, misguided sense of redemption.
“Isabella, please,” I pleaded. “He’s terrified. He just learned to sleep through the night. If you drag him out of here with police officers, you’ll break him.”
“The judge has ruled, ma'am,” the police officer stepped forward. “We need the boy.”
Gabriel’s hands curled into fists. I could see the violence simmering beneath his skin. If he fought the police, he would be arrested, and we would lose Leo forever.
“Wait,” a voice echoed from the top of the stairs.
We all looked up.
Antonella was walking down the sweeping staircase. She wore her pearls and her immaculate black dress. She carried a small leather portfolio.
“There will be no custody transfer today,” Antonella said smoothly, reaching the bottom step.
She handed the portfolio to the CPS worker.
“What is this?” the worker asked, frowning.
“That is a finalized birth certificate and a legal decree of maternity from the state of Illinois,” Antonella said.
Gabriel and I stared at her in shock.
“Miss Romano’s guardianship claim is based on the premise that the child has no legally recognized mother,” Antonella continued, her voice dripping with aristocratic authority. “But as you can see, the boy’s mother is very much alive, legally married to his father, and fully capable of providing care.”
The social worker scanned the document, her eyes widening. She looked at Isabella. “Miss Romano, this document predates your father’s filing by three weeks. It’s ironclad.”
Isabella snatched the paper. She stared at the name printed under Mother.
Claire Moretti.
Answer One: Antonella had used her decades of influence to legally cement my status as Leo’s mother weeks ago, bypassing the slow adoption process.
Open Two: How would Isabella react to being outmaneuvered?
Isabella looked up at me, the fight draining from her face.
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“You... you legally claimed him?” she whispered.
“I love him,” I said fiercely. “He is my son. And I will not let anyone take him.”
