Chapter 6 - Corinne Had Wanted an Adoption Because She Was Afraid of Being Temporary
Corinne’s motive was not money.
She had enough of her own.
Before marrying Ethan, she sold a minority stake in her property-management company and retained investments worth approximately $2.1 million.
The Carter estate belonged mostly to Ethan through family inheritance and business earnings.
Their prenuptial agreement protected both sides.
Adopting Maisie would not make Corinne rich.
It would not automatically give her Ethan’s estate.
It would not transfer Maisie’s trust interests.
So why push so hard?
Permanence.
Corinne had grown up in a house where adults left.
Her father remarried three times.
Corinne lived with two stepmothers.
One disappeared from her life after divorce even though she had helped raise Corinne for six years.
No calls.
No birthday cards.
Nothing.
Corinne learned an unhealthy lesson.
If the law does not define the relationship, the relationship can vanish.
Then Ethan.
Widower in everything but legal status at first.
Baby.
House.
Grief.
Corinne found herself caring deeply about Maisie.
That part was real.
She fed her.
Bought clothes.
Walked the floor during colic once when Tessa? Different story; no caregiver in current story. Here Ethan/household nanny maybe. We can keep no named nanny. Corinne helped.
Then Ava.
Still legally:
Mom.
Still able to return.
Corinne felt the ground under her role move every time Ava’s name appeared.
Instead of accepting uncertainty, she began trying to eliminate it.
First emotionally.
“Ava chose treatment.”
Then:
“Ava chose absence.”
Then:
“Maisie needs consistency.”
Then:
“She shouldn’t be dragged through a revolving door.”
Each sentence made the next one easier.
Then marriage.
Corinne believed becoming Ethan’s wife should move her closer to maternal authority.
Legally it did not.
She remained stepmother.
Important household figure.
No automatic custody rights over Ava.
No adoption without process.
That frustrated her.
Then the first adoption lawyer told her Ava’s continued requests made abandonment theory inappropriate.
Corinne heard:
Ava can always come back and take my place.
The lawyer had said nothing like:
that.
Then she contacted a second firm.
No petition filed.
She kept gathering.
Timeline.
Returned letters.
Treatment records Ethan had shared.
She selectively organized them around absence.
Then hid the contradictory letters.
Corinne later told her therapist:
“If I could get Ethan to see the abandonment clearly, he would choose the adoption.”
The therapist asked:
“Why did the evidence need to be hidden if it was clear?”
Corinne could not answer.
Then another motive.
Control of identity.
Corinne disliked saying:
stepmother.
She thought people heard:
temporary.
At preschool enrollment planning, she once wrote herself as:
Mother.
The administrator asked whether she was adoptive mother.
Corinne changed it to:
Stepmother.
She was furious for two days.
Not at the administrator.
At the category.
Then Ava’s letters started arriving.
Each one reminded Corinne that Maisie already had a mother who remained legally present.
So Corinne blocked them.
Not because she believed Ava was dangerous after reviewing current clinical evidence.
Because contact threatened the future Corinne imagined.
Then the bruise.
The hair pulling.
The living room.
Control had moved from documents into physical behavior.
That changed Ethan’s decision completely.
Understanding Corinne’s fear did not make Maisie safe around:
her.
Ethan asked Corinne to leave the house.
She did.
No dramatic eviction.
She owned another property.
Then separation began.
Not because she wanted adoption.
Because she concealed parental contact and physically handled Maisie in ways Ethan no longer considered safe.
Corinne said:
“You’re choosing Ava.”
Ethan answered:
“No.”
“Then Tessa? No, there is no Tessa. The baby?”
He answered, “I’m choosing Maisie’s safety and the truth.”
Corinne laughed bitterly.
“Ava gets everything back because I made one mistake.”
Ethan stared.
“This was not one mistake.”
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The locked cabinet contained months of choices.
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