Laje’s hands were shaking. “The couple…they were using aliases. Their forged paperwork looked legit, even under state scrutiny. They were family from his mother’s side, trying to adopt him illegally. When I told them the adoption couldn’t go through, they tried kidnapping Kayden. Police were already in place to protect him, so they didn’t succeed.

“After the couple was arrested, I noticed a woman walk by multiple times down the sidewalk. She kept getting closer to the building each time she passed.” Laje gripped her knees. “This went on for months. The police thought I was being paranoid. Then,” Laje shrugged, “she stopped, and things went back to normal.”

Roth offered her one of his hands.

She took it and continued, “Kayden had been pestering me about finding a family, so I set up another appointment…I don’t know what happened. The potential match ended up in a car accident a few blocks down. The husband didn’t make it. I chalked it up to a tragedy and put it out of mind. Then, when I tried a third time, the couple coming to meet him was ran off the road. Ended up hospitalized for weeks. I didn’t make the connection until the last time, when the couple coming was involved in a hit and run right outside across the street.

“Thankfully, neither were severely injured. But I had picked up the pattern by that point. The woman from before showed up on the front porch. She smiled at me the whole time. Wouldn’t leave until Mr. Heart chased her off. I canceled the paperwork and started encouraging all the bad things said about Kayden.” Laje let go of Roth’s hand, tears spilling from her eyes. “How could I prove my speculations to the police?

“I couldn’t. I can’t. All the reports in his file are true. He made people uncomfortable, at first.” She took a ragged breath. “It’s not to the extent of the articles…I know Kayden would make any family happy. But three couples were targeted because they wanted to adopt him, one even lost his life. I can’t put a target on innocent people. I exaggerated things to protect Kayden and anyone caught in the crossfire. The police ignored my worries, said it was stress and lack of sleep. I decided to label Kayden as unfit when he was eight. The thought of what could be…it endangered so many lives. His, the children under my care, strangers looking to adopt. I can’t have that on my conscience. I don’t care that it’s illegal. My job is to protect the children given to me and find good homes for them. It’s unfortunate I can’t do that with Kayden.” She stared at him, her pleading gaze breaking through his defense. “Please, keep this information to yourself. I’m not sure what would happen if it leaked.”

Roth crossed his ankles, settling in for a long, long night. The lawyer in him wanted to right this wrong. It was illegal, no doubt about that; even if Kayden had family willing to go to extreme lengths to keep him there.

He groaned, his foot tapping out an unsteady rhythm. Laje didn’t have evidence. If he reported on this, she would be the one to face all the consequences. Who knew what would happen to Kayden then?

He didn’t want to report her.

The worst she did was exaggerate the things people said about Kayden in order to protect him and everyone else…

He steepled his fingers, thinking. “Laje…there’s a lot we need to discuss. First, I think you should tell Kayden the truth. About everything. Your reasoning for why you lied, and why you’ve kept him here. If he thinks staying with you is the best option, I won’t push for adoption. However, if after learning the truth he wants to join my family, I think he should be allowed to. It’s his right to choose. Keeping all this from him…I can’t imagine how he must feel. No one knows we’re having this meeting. We can keep things on the down low, make sure only you and the government knows what’s going on.”

Laje stared out the office window for a long moment, chewing over his words. When she met his gaze, Roth saw the stubborn set of her mouth. “I don’t think Kayden should know. It would break him.”

“I think it’s already too late for that, Laje.”

“He will hate me. I know he will.”

“He might, or he might not. The truth is never supposed to be easy. You can’t control how he reacts to it.”

Laje’s chest rose and fell with every breath. “Fine. But you can’t tell your wife any of this. Not until he’s already adopted.”

Despite the situation, a chuckle shook Roth’s shoulders. “There are no secrets between me and my wife, Laje. She’s bound to find out even if I don’t say anything. Susan’s a smart woman. I don’t believe it would benefit any of us if Kayden decided to join our family and one of us didn’t know what was going on. She needs to know, or I won’t move forward with adoption. I won’t put that pressure on any of us.”

Laje uncrossed her arms, flipping back to the picture of Kayden in the folder. She stared at it, tears glistening and threatening to fall. “He really isn’t a bad kid. I want to see him thrive, like all the rest under my care. If, if he wants to go with you, how can I be sure you’ll provide him a stable life?”

“I’m a lawyer. I’m financially stable. Within the next few years, I’ll be opening my own law firm. I already have people in place to hire, clients willing to move with me. My wife is a reception manager at one of the Castlebrooke Inn’s. She’s been working there for about fifteen years. Our mortgage is almost paid off. We’re willing to go through any background checks, interviews, or meetings necessary for the adoption process. We’ll provide whatever documents you need. This must be done the right way. We won’t tell anyone we’re adopting until it’s already finalized.”

Laje nodded, getting to her feet. “I’m putting my trust in you, Roth. It’s been years since the last incident involving a potential match. You and your wife must be prepared to handle the consequences should his relatives get wind of his adoption.” She shook out her arms, hurrying towards the door. “If I know anything about Kayden, he’s probably still awake. I’ll bring him down. I’ll tell him the truth.”

Roth watched her leave, unsure how to pinpoint what he was feeling. When he thought about reporting Laje to the police, his stomach clenched with guilt. The children under her care would suffer the most. She did everything to protect Kayden from his relatives. Innocent people wanting to adopt got injured, one lost his life. He’d be the worst person alive if he undid all of Laje’s hard work over the years.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Susan’s number. She answered after the second ring, “Hi, dear, is everything okay? You’re calling quite late.”

Roth stood and started pacing around the office. “I think I found us a son—”

Susan exploded with excitement. “Really? That’s amazing! Why do you sound sad?”

“Are you willing to adopt a child with a complicated past, present, and possible future?”

“…complicated how?”

“His biological family gave him up to the state, then tried kidnapping him, and are potentially liable for the murder of a man and the injuries of several others. None of this can be proven in the court of law, and the caretaker hasn’t cleared him for adoption because of it.”

“How old is he? Have there been any recent problems from his biological family?”

“About to turn fourteen. And no, it sounds like everything wrapped up when he was eight.”

Susan sighed. “It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”

“I have,” Roth leaned against the wall, “I won’t force you to adopt him if you’re not comfortable with his situation. There are other children in need of a home, just like him. We can keep looking.”

“How about this? I’ll come back home tomorrow and meet him. And you can tell me everything about it when it’s not so late. How’s that sound?”

Roth smiled. “It sounds good, my dear, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Have a good night.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Roth ended the call. The worry clinging to him dissipated. Susan would be here in the morning and Laje was going to tell Kayden the truth.

He glanced at the office door when it opened.

Kayden walked through, hope dancing in his eyes.

Eight Years Later

Kayden Smith, who had declined changing his last name for personal reasons, let out a glorious sigh as he shut down his desktop and pushed away from his desk. He might need to join his mom on one of her spa outings soon. He was starting to feel the stress of late nights and long meetings.

He was a healthy, twenty-one-year-old who was still living at home, but that didn’t bother him. Far from it. His mother and father had been in his life for barely a decade, and that felt much too short.

Besides, he was working towards becoming a successful businessman and was glad he had the luxury of working from home most days. And it helped that he had two younger sisters to spoil.

Angela and Sam weren’t blood-related, but they were a package deal. Kayden and his parents automatically fell in love with them during their first time meeting. They were extremely pleased to see the strong bond between the young girls. The adoption process had gone smoothly and they moved in almost two months ago.

A knock sounded at his door.

“Come in,” he called out.

His mom poked her head inside. “Do you have time to join me on a little adventure at the grocery store?”

He laughed. “You just want me to lift all the heavy stuff you’ll end up buying before we even get groceries.”

“Nonsense, dear. I have a list this time and I plan to stick to it.”

“A list? Let me see.”

She crossed the room, holding a slip of paper like a sword. “See for yourself.”

After glancing at it, he failed to hold back his laughter. “Mom! That’s an appointment for your spa day! Not groceries!”

Grinning, she patted the side of his face. “I can tell you’re getting stressed. You work—”

“Too much, yeah, I know. You say that all the time, Mom.”

“Because I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Kayden passed the note back, full of excitement. “I was just thinking I should join you on one of your spa days.”

His mom did a little dance, grinning. “I already packed a bag for you. And, yes, I made sure to get everything extra, extra large just for you.”

“Mom!”

“And,” she went on, “we’ll be taking the girls with us, do a bit of family bonding. After, I was thinking we could take them to see that new kids’ movie Angela was talking about. Sam seemed excited about it, too. We can grab dinner at one of the nearby restaurants before coming back home.”

“Well,” Kayden began with a teasing lilt in his voice, “let me clear my schedule for the day. I didn’t realize I was already booked.”

His mom laughed, dashing to the door when he made to snatch her in a hug. “I know for a fact your schedule was clear. Your father told me ahead of time.”

“Look at you two scheming against your own son.”

She waved him off with a smile, leaving him alone in his office to wrap up what he was doing.

Grinning, he hurried to grab his wallet and phone. He’d been hoping for a chance to hang out with Angela and Sam outside of their house. His mom took care of his wishes without even trying.

He dashed down the stairs, excited for the promising day ahead of him.

Little did Kayden know his life was about to change…