Chapter 12
Victor blamed Lorenzo.
At first.
Then Julian.
Then the lawyers.
Then the hospital.
Everyone except himself.
His deposition lasted nearly six hours.
Rebecca asked:
“Who told Natalie Greene that Sofia consented to the placement?”
“I did.”
“Had she?”
“I believed Julian had authority.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“No.”
“Who told Dr. Hart the placement was agreed?”
“I did.”
“Was it?”
“No.”
“Why did you physically remove Miles from the bassinet?”
“To begin the arrangement.”
“Over Sofia’s objection.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Victor’s patience broke.
“Because nobody could make a decision with her screaming.”
Rebecca waited.
There it was.
The reaction he helped cause became his explanation for ignoring her.
“Was she screaming before you picked up the baby?”
Victor stopped.
“No.”
“Was she physically threatening anyone?”
“No.”
“Was she trying to hurt herself?”
“No.”
“Was she threatening the newborns?”
“No.”
“What was she doing?”
Victor looked down.
“Refusing.”
One word.
That was the center of his conduct.
Sofia had refused.
Victor did not believe refusal ended the conversation.
Bianca’s admissions were more complicated.
She had wanted to help Julian.
She also liked the idea of caring for Miles.
Not because of infertility.
Not because she secretly believed the baby belonged to her.
Because she was thirty-three, single, and had spent years being treated by Victor as the family member who “had no real responsibilities.”
Taking care of one triplet made her feel important.
Necessary.
Trusted.
That vanity made her susceptible to the plan.
She knew Sofia had not signed the final agreement.
She told herself Julian had equal parental rights and Sofia would eventually accept the arrangement.
She knew the nurse was booked for ninety days.
She knew Julian expected a custody fight.
She knew her caregiving logs might be used in court.
What she claimed not to understand was the deliberate provocation at the hospital.
The messages partly supported her.
She had objected to using Miles as “evidence.”
But she had not withdrawn.
When Victor said the court could decide if Sofia refused, Bianca kept preparing the nursery.
Rebecca summarized it harshly but accurately:
“You didn’t design the trap.”
Bianca looked down.
“You agreed to stand inside it.”
The legal consequences reflected those differences.
Julian and Victor faced the most serious scrutiny for the attempted unauthorized removal, coercive conduct, false representations to professionals, and the scheme surrounding the custody petition.
Bianca faced separate consequences tied to her participation, false representations in caregiver paperwork, and conspiracy-related allegations where evidence supported them.
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Nobody treated all three as identical.
Nobody treated any of them as innocent.
