Chapter 6 – The Woman Who Made the Report

“Because I believed Daniel would move.”

Vanessa’s answer came so quickly that I wondered how many times she’d rehearsed it.

Luca looked at the agreement.

“You believed it. Or you arranged for it?”

“The company wanted certainty before reserving the estate.”

“And you gave them certainty you didn’t have.”

Vanessa looked exhausted.

“I was trying to put together something worthwhile. Whitcomb wanted to host a series of private events here after the wedding. It wasn’t just about one afternoon.”

Daniel stared at her.

“My son’s home was supposed to become a business opportunity?”

“It would have brought considerable income to the estate.”

Luca closed the folder.

“My estate doesn’t need that income.”

Vanessa looked away.

I noticed her fingers move toward the silver bracelet again.

She’d been doing that since the previous evening, rubbing the clasp with her thumb whenever a question became uncomfortable.

Luca saw it too.

But he didn’t comment.

Instead, he looked at Daniel.

“You have a meeting with the agency today?”

Daniel nodded.

“Ms. Ortiz is coming to the cottage at eleven.”

“Would you like me there?”

Daniel hesitated.

“Yes. But I need you to let me answer the questions myself.”

Luca nodded.

“Of course.”

Before leaving, he turned to Vanessa.

“No more decisions about Cedar Cottage. No more instructions to staff. And no more contact with the adoption agency on my behalf.”

Vanessa’s face tightened.

“Am I being forbidden from speaking?”

“I’m asking you to stop representing my wishes when you already know what they are.”

She didn’t reply.

At eleven, Ms. Elena Ortiz arrived at Cedar Cottage carrying a worn canvas tote and a folder thick enough to suggest she wasn’t there for a casual conversation.

She was a woman in her late forties with sensible shoes and the patient expression of someone who’d heard too many adults promise more than they could deliver.

Daniel introduced her to Luca.

“This is my father.”

“I understand you’re the property owner,” she said.

“Yes.”

“And you’re aware we’re reviewing some concerns about the home’s stability?”

“I am now.”

Her eyebrows rose slightly.

Daniel offered her coffee.

She accepted water instead.

I stayed to help because Daniel had asked me to retrieve some of the estate’s housing records. Noah was in the living room with his colored pencils, close enough to see us but not expected to listen.

Ms. Ortiz began with ordinary questions.

How long had Daniel lived there?

How much rent did he pay?

Who handled maintenance?

What happened when he worked nights?

Daniel answered without looking at Luca.

He explained the arrangements with Mrs. Keating and showed the calendar he kept on the refrigerator.

Every shift was marked in blue.

Every school pickup in green.

The evenings Mrs. Keating stayed were highlighted in yellow.

Ms. Ortiz studied the calendar.

“This is consistent with what we saw during your original home study.”

Daniel exhaled.

“Because nothing has changed.”

“Something has,” she replied gently. “The property owner is getting married, and we’ve received conflicting information about whether you’ll be allowed to remain.”

Luca leaned forward.

“I have no intention of removing Daniel or Noah.”

“I appreciate that. But we need more than verbal reassurance.”

“You’ll have it.”

Ms. Ortiz looked directly at him.

“Mr. Moretti, a child’s placement cannot depend entirely on what somebody’s future stepmother happens to prefer.”

Luca absorbed that without protest.

“You’re right.”

I think the answer surprised her.

It surprised Daniel too.

Ms. Ortiz turned another page.

“There’s also a concern about Daniel’s availability.”

“I work at a hospital,” Daniel said.

“Yes. And by every record we have, you’ve arranged appropriate childcare.”

Daniel’s shoulders relaxed.

“But the report suggests you may be leaving your current position for a job requiring regular overnight travel.”

Daniel blinked.

“What?”

Luca frowned.

“That’s not true.”

Daniel shook his head.

“I was offered a training assignment in Milwaukee six months ago. I turned it down because it meant being away from Noah.”

“Do you have confirmation?”

“Yes. My department manager can provide it.”

Ms. Ortiz made a note.

Daniel looked genuinely bewildered.

“Who told you I was leaving?”

“I can tell you what was reported. I can’t treat every statement as established fact.”

“Was it Vanessa?”

She looked at him carefully.

“Ms. Bellini identified herself when she contacted our office.”

Daniel rubbed his forehead.

“I don’t understand why she’s doing this.”

Ms. Ortiz lowered her pen.

“Sometimes adults are so focused on what they believe is best for a child that they stop listening to the child’s actual needs.”

Noah looked up from his drawing.

“I need my blue blanket.”

Everyone turned.

He looked embarrassed.

“Sorry.”

Daniel smiled.

“That’s okay, buddy.”

Ms. Ortiz glanced at the blanket folded over the sofa.

“Is that your favorite?”

Noah nodded.

“Dad puts it in the dryer when it’s cold.”

She smiled.

“That sounds nice.”

Daniel quietly said, “It’s the first blanket he picked out himself.”

Ms. Ortiz made no note of that.

She simply looked around the room.

At the children’s books.

The repaired stuffed bear.

The worn chair where Daniel read bedtime stories.

Then she turned back to Luca.

“There’s one more matter I need to understand.”

“Go ahead.”

“When Ms. Bellini called, she didn’t present this as a possibility. She said the cottage had already been committed to another purpose.”

Luca nodded grimly.

“We discovered that yesterday.”

“Then perhaps you can clarify something else.”

She opened her folder to a page marked with a yellow tab.

“Ms. Bellini specifically said that you approved the change before Daniel’s adoption hearing was scheduled.”

Daniel stared at her.

“That isn’t true.”

“I understand. But when I asked why she was certain Daniel would leave voluntarily, she referred to an arrangement she’d made with him.”

Daniel’s face drained of color.

“What arrangement?”

Ms. Ortiz looked at him.

“She said she’d offered you alternative housing.”

Daniel nodded slowly.

“She mentioned an apartment. I told her no.”

Ms. Ortiz studied him.

“That’s not what she reported.”

Daniel stopped breathing for a moment.

Then she said the words that made Luca grip the arms of his chair.

“According to her statement, Daniel, you had already agreed to surrender Cedar Cottage—and were reconsidering whether to proceed with Noah’s adoption.”

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