With Stewart''s power and social standing, not to mention the fact that the child is now registered as a Wentworth, Briony hardly stood a chance. Even if the child were still officially under her care, Stewart could easily im custody if he truly fought for it-and Briony would almost certainly lose.
From a judge''s perspective, when a couple divorces and both parties are equally well-off with no ns to remarry, the fairest solution is to split the children: one for each parent.
Besides, sons are more often awarded to fathers.
And, frankly, the Wentworth family needed a boy to carry on the family name and legacy.
Of course, all this was simply Attorney Hughes''s assessment, based on years of experience handling simr cases.
Laws may be written in ck and white, but judges are only human. At the end of the day, legal decisions hinge on both human nature and practical realities, so long as the letter of thew is upheld.
Briony understood all of this.
The bottom line, ording to Attorney Hughes, was painfully clear: her current financial resources fell far short of Stewart''s. The odds of her gaining full custody of both children were slim to none.
But even so, Briony had to fight.
She''d gone through so much to find her son; she owed him four years of a mother''s love. She would do everything in her power to make up for that lost time.
For a full week, Gwendolyn White and Carney had been staying at Skybreeze Retreat.
The house was filled withughter and joy all week long.
Mario, though technically the older sibling, had always been frail and a little timid, quite unlike his independent and outgoing sister, Nina. In this new environment, he often needed Nina to guide him and help him adapt.
The adults didn''t see any need to stress who was the elder sibling. After all, the two children were born just minutes apart. Did it really matter who was "older"?
The kids themselves seemed perfectly content with their roles as sister and brother, so the grown-ups decided to leave things as they were and not interfere.
But the situation didn''t escape Nina''s notice.
She was a clever little thing, always listening in on adult conversations while pretending to y nearby, her ears perked up, taking everything in.
She listened. She remembered.
On Monday morning, as Briony drove her to preschool, Nina piped up with a secretive question.
"Mommy, is Mario my big brother?"
Briony was caught off guard. She nced over at her daughter.
Nina grinned and winked. "I overheard you and Grandma talking!"
Briony sighed in exasperation. Sometimes her daughter''s sharp mind was a real handful.
"Mario was born a few minutes before you, so technically, yes, he''s your big brother."
"But he seems younger than me!" Nina protested.
"That''s only for now," Briony exined "When Mario was born things happened and he couldn''t stay with Mommy. Without me by his side, he''s be the way he is now."
"That''s so sad," Nina''s voice was of sympathy. "Don''t worry,
full
Vol.new
Mommy-I''ll be the big sister from
now on. I''m stronger and I eat more, so I''ll protect Mario!"
Briony couldn''t help but smile. "You''re amazing, Nina."
After dropping Nina off at preschool, Briony headed back to Skybreeze Retreat.
Mario still wasn''t ready for preschool, so today she nned to take him to an early childhood ss to see how he''d do.
But as she pulled into the driveway, she immediately spotted Stewart''s Maybach parked out front.
Her heart sank.
She got out of the car and strode purposefully inside.
In the living room, Gwendolyn, Carney, and James were all there.
Stewart was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, a woman Briony didn''t recognize rose from an armchair as she entered.
The stranger gave a polite nod.
"Ms. Kensington, hello. I''m Lorna Riley."
She met Briony''s gaze, offering a
of
smile. "I''m here on
Srt. He''s asked me to met
Mario home."