June 15th, 2025

It had been a rough year for Anthony Russo. His parents had perished in a horrific crash due to drunk drivers hauling dangerous chemicals crashing into one another and sandwiching their car killing the couple instantly. He was left to care for his eight-year-old sister while finishing his high school diploma and fighting social services off as they tried to his sister into custody.

Anthony and his sister Rose inherited a large sum of money from their parents. With their life insurance policies, the proceeds from their lawsuit against the trucking and chemical companies who owned the trucks that killed their parents, then their parents' own trust funds the two were not for want. They each had about $10 million in their bank accounts, enough to live comfortably for years to come.

Anthony was accepted into and moved to Amherst, MA to attend college while enrolling his sister into a local school so she could get away from the pain of their former hometown in western New York. He had to spend his freshman year as an online student then attended classes as a mixed online/in-person student while Rose went through third through sixth grades. He did well in college and earned a degree in chemistry, parlaying that into a master's degree program.

Rose attended middle school while her brother worked on his master's degree. She was a great student but suffered at times when her hormones got the better of her and she couldn't focus on her work. The reason was quite simple: she was fighting her sexuality and eventually she came out to her brother.

He accepted that she was in love with women and bonded with her over his own failed pursuits of the fairer sex. She loved to needle him about his choices, with her happily telling him that his girlfriends were airheads who used him to get what they wanted. She never told him that she knew, but it was clear to her that they had zero interest in him as a boyfriend when she found them having sex with his friends next door while he was out with his other friends.

Once Anthony earned his master's degree he was approached by Vera Bradley, a research scientist in the UMass- Amherst chemical engineering department about continuing his education and studying at the school under her tutelage as part of a team she had assembled to help her newest PhD student in his new research and development project. It was a strong offer, with him getting a small amount of pay to work under her as well as develop from his new colleague, a young boy by the name of Sydney Powers who was a true genius when it came to engineering.

Anthony didn't hesitate to agree to join her team, knowing that it was a gift he wasn't likely to receive again. Rose was happy for him, she didn't want to leave her school especially now that she had her first girlfriend. They were a secret couple, but it was the first time she was getting attention from a girl.

Things were too good to be true, as that October Sydney caused Vera to be exposed as a fraud who was trying to get her students to sign horribly unfair contracts with companies while she got paid a kickback for diverting them to the companies. He was left with a huge dilemma as he would have to start from scratch with another instruction who would look down on him, accept a transfer to MIT to be part of the team Sydney was now building to continue Sydney's privately-funded work, or move to another school and have Vera's black mark held against him.

Rose told him to stop being stupid and do what was needed: take the job with Sydney and work at the foremost scientific university in the world. Rose was happy to move with him to the Boston area, her girlfriend was just using her to get another girl jealous. She had no reason to still remain in Amherst.

Anthony worked with his new academic adviser, a man named Shea Porter and who carried multiple PhDs and a strong reputation in the engineering field. Shea was blunt and told him "if you are going to be conducting your research and refining your designs based off of Sydney's designs, then you must accept that she is transgender and will be presenting as female from now on. She is an amazing young woman who is built wrong and whose family I am proud to be part of."

Anthony needed time to think and told his sister about Sydney. She didn't believe him, demanding to see a picture of her before she believed a word about her. When he showed a picture of the two she blurted out "she's hot" which got his interest piqued.

Rose blushed deeply as that came out too fast. He demanded to know what she really felt because her face showed something different from what her mouth was saying. Finally, she confessed "so what if she has a dick. She's hot. She's better looking than the girls in school and is wasted on guys. I hope that she doesn't fall for their tricks because she will get used by guys looking for quick lay without fear of making her pregnant."

Anthony could see that she was smitten with Sydney and would seek to know if Sydney was into guys or girls. He hoped it was girls, his own research showed that a large percentage of them are lesbians who just happened to be born wrong. It made him proud that Rose was so accepting of Sydney but it was feared that she might be trying to overcompensate for her own issues with girls.

Over the next three months, he talked with Sydney about her personal life and listened as she told him about being the only person among her friends who wasn't dating anyone. Then shit hit him hard, she told him that it was nearly impossible to find a girl who would accept her for herself and not get upset that she had a penis. It was what he needed to hear- she was perfect for Rose.

He slyly asked if she would consider a date with his younger sister, as she was going stir crazy in their Bradford house because she couldn't deal with the girls in her own school. Sydney blushed and asked if she was alright with her "secret" to which he happily told her "she knows and she is hoping that you find a good girl. I think she has a crush on you, she knows what you look like and had a tough time not drooling over your picture. She asks about you all the time."

Sydney agreed to the date provided he get her father's permission first. Anthony gulped as he asked her father Justin for permission, with him glaring at Anthony until his wife Savannah happily corrected him about what Anthony was really asking about. Anthony nearly fainted, telling him firmly "she's way too young for me! I'm asking for my sister's benefit, not because I am trying to date your daughter!"

The date was a smashing success and led to more dates. These dates led to more and over time, the two girls were inseparable on the weekends. Anthony would have to drive Rose to Winnisimmet then make his way to the lab to work, with Rose running from the car to hug and kiss Sydney while Anthony had to look away in shame at the couple being so smitten with one another so quickly.

They were together for four years as Rose bloomed into a beautiful young woman who Anthony had to hide his tears from as he recalled their mother's own beauty. Sydney had to fight her urges whenever she saw Rose, so much so that they were never allowed to be alone up in their bedrooms as they would not stop at simply kissing. With Sydney "intact" despite being on blockers and hormones they didn't want to risk any pregnancy despite the girls ignoring Sydney's "growth" between her legs.

Rose had constant boy and even girl issues in high school as boys thought they could "turn" her back into a straight girl while TERFs in her school claimed that she wasn't a real lesbian because she was dating a "boy". She happily verbally jousted with both groups and got many of them suspended and several expelled for violent behavior and threats, she just didn't care and let them show their real selves to the school. She was a borderline hero to the outcasts of the school, and unlike most other girls in the school she had a real relationship that was going to last beyond graduation.

Prom was a pain to Rose as her school fought tooth and nail to keep Sydney form attending. It made the local news and thanks to the fact that Justin was a fellow teacher any teacher who tried to stop Rose from bringing Sydney found themselves in deep trouble with their union. The school finally went too far and outright banned both girls, leading to the prom being called off and a large fight among the parents, the school, the students, and finally the city over their blatant discrimination.

Rose just ignored it, while Savannah happily worked with legal representatives from the city to accept a legal settlement on Rose's behalf allowing her to have a nice nest egg on top of her already existing inheritance. She didn't care about the money nor did she care about the prom. What she really cared about was dancing with her beloved Sydney and making things right with her.

Rose received something better from Sydney's friends and family: an invitation to the Winnisimmet High School prom as a guest of Sydney, who was going as part of their faculty. During the course of the four years since coming to Winnisimmet to live with her father she had gotten a side job as a tutor and substitute teacher at the high school and had earned a reputation of respect and admiration from the other students. The fact that eight of the graduating students were friends of hers and her father was a teacher was beside the point, Rose was being given the chance to participate in a prom where she could be among people who actually cared about her.

As the prom finished, Sydney and four of her friends dropped to one knee in front of the other seniors and proposed to their beloveds. Rose was in tears at the sight and let out of tearful "yes!" that caused Justin to need air as his daughter had just gotten herself engaged. The five couples went off together as Justin struggled to process the scene but was genuinely happy that both girls had taken their love to the next level and were going to be serious about one another.

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Watching your kids grow up is never easy. For Justin Stoner, it was exceptionally hard. He was a father of two and watched his two daughters blossom into beautiful young women right in front of his eyes over the past four years.

Sydney was the spitting image of her birth mother, right down to her beautiful amber eyes and wavy dirty-blonde hair. Piper was a precocious girl and developed early, with breasts that had every boy in middle school drooling over but who had developed mentally at the same rate, giving her a strong sense of what she didn't like in people. Piper had the indignity of being tall and slender, making her body almost model-like in appearance causing men to leer at her whenever she entered a room and who had most women jealous of how she looked to the point of treating her like a leper.

Sydney had to endure four and a half years of growing into her body, while at the same time struggling to deal with her immense intelligence and inquisitive nature. She was a genius who at the age of 18 earned PhDs in chemistry and engineering. On top of that, she also earned four patents for her designs with a fifth patent being shared with her research assistants, including Anthony Russo.

She was lucky to have found love with the younger sister of one of her assistants, with Anthony giving his full approval of their coupling. Rose was just coming to terms with her sexuality and upon meeting Sydney on that first pity date she fell for Sydney hard. The two had a strong bond as they dealt with their isolation, with Rose bringing out the inner teenager in Sydney and forcing her to act her age instead of her normal intellectual self.

Rose had no idea that Sydney was transgender until the end of their third date, with Rose not believing it for a minute until Sydney tearfully dropped her skirt and panties to show her that she was deadly serious. Rose burst into tears at Sydney doing that for her, she hated making Sydney feel horrible that she had to acknowledge something that she hated but it was a reaction that Sydney loved in Rose.

Justin had to fight his urge to stop Sydney when he saw her dropping her skirt, but once Rose accepted the truth and got closer to Sydney in a caring embrace his anger subsided. Rose looked up and saw his reaction, with Sydney insisting that she be blamed as it was her own fault and not Rose's fault. Justin didn't punish Sydney, instead he set ground rules for them and let it go.

Rose kissed his cheek over being so sweet about it, Sydney should have been punished for being alone with Rose and showing her her private parts. Sydney went downstairs to her mother's waiting glare while Justin talked with Rose about what happened and why, knowing that she needed to talk with an adult that she respected. He was the closest that she had to a father ever since her own parents were killed, he cared about her beyond being Sydney's father and wanted her to let out her true feelings even if it hurt Sydney's own feelings.

Rose somberly told him "I love her. She's the perfect woman for me. She has a penis and testicles, but she is all woman and I love it about her. I don't care if she has them, I just want her."

She burst into tears, with Justin hugging her tightly then explaining "she's going to have surgery to be whole. What she has isn't going to remain, she will be all woman like you. It's only another couple of years, but it'll be like she was born like you."

Rose sniffled then quietly asked "doesn't she want kids?" Justin grinned and happily explained to her "she has saved her sperm. She will be able to give you children if you want. She banked enough to have four children, it cost a pretty penny to store so much but her future needs matter most."

Rose lost it again. Sydney was the woman of her dreams, even if she had the genetic curse of being born with "y" chromosomes she was the woman of Rose's dreams. The fact that she could not only be Sydney's wife but bare her children gave Rose the biggest bit of happiness she could receive.

Piper felt bad for Rose as she was just trying to be normal but endured a lot due to being from a broken family. Piper understood her and sought her advice and gave Rose a shoulder to cry on and vent her frustrations as only orphans who endured the same can understand. Piper lose her parents due to their own drug making, few in Piper's extended family could understand her pain at times like Rose could.

Piper was lucky in that she had found the perfect boyfriend by accident by his needing someone to be a friend to him who was a girl but ended up falling for one another as their friendship bloomed into love. As she entered 9th grade, the couple were the strongest among their grade and made them the top of the group of incoming freshmen. Logan Finn was a force to be reckoned with on his own, but coupled with the beautiful 14-year-old potential model who happened to be the daughter of their English teacher put her into the "untouchable" and "most sought-after" among students.

Rose graduated with high grades but few prospects for her future due to having no contacts at any of the local colleges. She kept refusing Sydney's pleas to let her pay for Rose's education, with Anthony trying hard to get her to accept that it was for the best as it was a genuine offer of love. Rose felt like she was a freeloader, she wanted to make it on her own without the need to rely on Sydney just in case the two fell out of love and broke up- something nobody believed was possible.

Rose had a decent amount of money that she had inherited from her parents' death, but it was still tough to accept the genuine offer of help from her beloved fiance. Her brother was struggling to find work and his research prospects were grim as he wasn't as brilliant as others and his range was limited thanks to Vera Bradley's tainted touch on his academic record, so she was on her own at age 18. She didn't want Sydney to feel obligated to provide for her, her pride wouldn't let her accept any help.

Sydney paid for her education anyway, with Sydney proposing to her at Rose's prom out of the blue but not beyond expectations of Anthony as Sydney had gone all out and gotten the ring of her dreams for the proposal. Her brother gave his blessing, with Sydney offering him a dowry of a job with the heavily sought after Peterson Manufacturing. It wasn't actually much for her to do as the company was in the process of looking for someone with his skills and had been purposely kept away from him as the few who were similarly qualified had stronger connections and more family wealth than him.

Sydney wouldn't let him go without a job and kept at him for not accepting her proposal, Peterson was looking for someone with his credentials and all he had to do was apply to secure the job. His pride was too strong, his stubbornness was even stronger and he kept applying to other places before he gave up all hope of a job. Despite Sydney's efforts, he knew he was blackballed from the industry.

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Piper was growing older and was finding herself spending more and more time with Logan at his house as she helped his younger sisters and brother with school and mentoring the young Ella and Cat Finn as the two dealt with boys and periods while also keeping Logan from going overboard with protecting them from the ravages of hormonal boys and a few girls. Ella had her own issues to deal with as she fell hard for her best friend and longtime confidant Flora Nelson, with Piper sharing her advice and guiding the young girls through their newfound love for one another while giving them a chance to see if it was love and not lust as some claimed it to be.

With Piper entrenched as Logan's girlfriend and Sydney on the cusp of leaving the nest to join Rose as her wife, Justin and Savannah were feeling the pangs of growing older and seeing their kids become their own people. Savannah felt it even more, she had to come to terms with her daughters becoming independent and no longer needing their mother to guide them. With Sydney now on the verge of being 18 and having her surgery in five months, she felt like she wasn't needed as a mom anymore.

Seeing other parents become parents caused Justin to want to give Savannah a child of her own, but as she was like Sydney in that she was born genetically male it was impossible. He thought about the two trying to adopt, but it was going to be a long time coming and they didn't want to risk the child being upset that their new mother was transgender. He was at wit's end until he was given an idea: using a surrogate and donor eggs to become a parent again.

Savannah was sat down and saw Justin explaining what he wanted to do and why. She was in tears as he told her, with Justin knowing just how much it meant to her to become a mother of her own doing. It was then suggested by her that he do the same, as he deserved to raise a baby of his own blood even if he was the biological father of Sydney already and had been raising Piper since she was 10.

Justin hugged and kissed her, with Savannah loving that he was willing to endure years of frustration and sleepless nights because he needed to give her what she had desired. The two hammered out plans for how the surrogacy would go, with the two using a service that was used by Paul and Alexandra James when they chose to become parents four years before. The couple enjoyed triplet boys, with the trio being the spitting image of both parents and their surrogate becoming part of their family as well.

The couple kept their plans from Sydney and Piper, but did let their friends know what was going on. It was a big stir among the ladies as Savannah blushed deeply at them insisting on her using the frozen semen that she had been forced to save by her birth parents years before when she started to transition, with Justin contributing samples for use on the surrogate causing him to be embarrassed by the ladies. They had a good time riling him up, but it was all in good fun as they offered him their utmost support.

Savannah's adoptive mother, Cynthia Byrne, reined-in the ladies when they got too over the top about the situation as they nearly blew the secret to their children. Cynthia realized early that this was far too important to go overboard over, insisting that they not talk about it in front of anyone else and to leave Savannah and Justin alone until things progressed far enough to tell the others.

Cynthia loved Savannah deeply and was happy to rule over her friends and extended family with an iron fist, it was needed at times as they forgot about Savannah in their baby-mania fog. Savannah was a deeply scared person, without someone to keep things in perspective she might lose herself in the mix. Cynthia was proud to help her daughter, it was something that she had lost out on when her own son had his two children back before he himself transitioned from female to male so Savannah was giving her a motherhood moment that she deeply respected and was paying her back in full without realizing.

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June 2025

It took four months of planning and finally vetting perspective surrogates, but the couple found a young lady who was willing to donate her eggs and carry their child to term. She didn't need the money that she was going to receive, she was actually well-off and in a loving relationship with a woman who was herself was doing the same for a couple who were going through infertility but her surrogacy was simply her being implanted with a child instead of becoming pregnant herself. The couple were happy to help the Stoners, especially as Savannah was able to settle the couple's long dispute with their parents over their relationship and their rightful inheritances from a caring grandfather as the "mother" was giving the family an heir even if the child wasn't going to be their grandchild at all.

Justin and Savannah arranged for Savannah's sperm to be used first, with Justin happily going the next year as it meant more to Savannah than to him. The facility that her sperm was stored at required the couple to visit in person, with Justin making his deposits during the visit while Savannah signed all of the required paperwork. It was a trying day as the couple endured the humiliation of the attendants not really liking what was happening but not daring to say anything to the couple for fear of their jobs as well as the threat of a lawsuit once they heard just what Savannah did for a living.

During this time period, the paperwork got mixed and as they scrambled to fix the issues the deposits were mixed together. Savannah's and Justin's semen were used during the days of insemination leading to issues where they didn't know who would be the biological "father". There was a strong chance that Savannah wouldn't be the one to take hold, with Justin ending up as the father and Savannah unable to produce any additional samples essentially ending her chance at "fathering" a child herself.

That was only the start of things. Their surrogate ended up pregnant with twins making things get a bit complicated as they needed to wait until the babies were developed enough to do a test to see who was the one who fathered the babies. It would take months, months that Savannah would spend in a funk as she felt like her dreams were shattered by the fertility center's errors.

The wait was just as hard on Justin as he couldn't bear his wife being so upset at someone's mistakes. He knew this was a tough time for her, but this was the worst news she could ever receive and the wait was destroying her fragile psyche. There was nothing that he could do to help her, she needed to hear the news and it wasn't happening until early September.

During that long wait, the girls were finally told what was happening. All three were happy for them and saw Sydney weeping at becoming a big sister again while Piper was stoic but happy for both of her parents even if Savannah was preparing for the worst. Rose was seeing the future in the pregnancy, she was proud of Justin and Savannah and prepared herself for when she herself would undergo the same.

The trio discussed things in private as they prepared for Sydney's surgery, with Rose insisting that she was going to be a model sister and the perfect mother in the future. Piper kept quiet, only adding that she was happy that their parents were thinking about themselves and their needs and were fulfilling a desire in both that was near and dear to their hearts. Rose was simply happy for them, with Rose asking Sydney to marry her so they didn't waste any time or risk losing the other to suitors now that both were 18 and Sydney was coming into her wealth in full.

Sydney was too teary to say yes, but her deep kiss and hug gave Rose her answer. Piper just grinned and texted their cousins to tell them that Sydney was moving up the wedding, leading to their aunts and cousins to call them to demand a reason why they had done so without telling anyone. Rose was caught in a tough situation but Piper hugged and kissed her, reassuring Rose that she wasn't in any trouble.

The only real trouble came when Anthony was told. He was upset that they wanted to marry so young and hadn't experienced being themselves yet. He couldn't stand in Rose's way, but he was not happy that she was limiting her possibilities especially as she hadn't chosen a field of study yet.

Sydney knew better than him, she knew that Rose wasn't cut out for academic life and would only earn her bachelor's degree before entering the workforce. By marrying Sydney, she didn't need to even earn her degree as Sydney was happy to be the breadwinner. Sydney didn't even need to work, her wealth was enough to live a life of luxury until they died and still leave a huge fortune for their children.

Piper listened to Rose explain her brother's reaction and countered with a firm "he's upset that Sydney is going to be around you all of the time now. It hurts him to be out of the job now that he has his PhD and nobody wants to hire him. The sins of his first adviser tainted him academically, he doesn't want to be a pity case and he doesn't want to ask for him when he needs it most."

Rose looked at her oddly, with Sydney smiling and explaining "she means I'm moving in with you to be close to you since I don't need to be around the lab so much. I can even teach at your school while you earn your degree, but being around him is like twisting the knife in him since I'm the reason why he has no job. He will get a job, I am calling Uncles Graham and Zachary right now. He needs it even if he refuses to ask for help from us to get it."

Graham Pierce and Zachary Phillips were the CEO and CTO at Peterson Manufacturing, a call to them and their approval was a guaranteed job for Anthony. Anthony was the kind of person they would pick up in a second, but the actions by the disgraced Vera Bradly nearly five years before had caused him to be among the blacklisted people in the industry. He was an innocent bystander, but he was still one of the people who suffered because Vera spoke so highly of his abilities before her disgrace.

The stage was set, Piper called Graham and Zachary and got them to agree to look into Anthony and give him a chance. The worst that would happen was they didn't like what they saw from his academic works that were on record, the best was they saw him as a potential money-making missing link to their next big product. Anthony would have his fair shake and would get the needed second chance that he had rightfully earned, even if he didn't deserve the scrutiny in the first place.

Anthony was called by Lindsay Reagan, the Peterson Manufacturing COO and the head of the business side of the company, and asked to meet with them regarding possible employment. He was reluctant to accept the job, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to work for one of the biggest companies in the world and one that was perfect for his educational background. He agreed to go but told her firmly that he was going to defend himself against any false claims based on his knowing Vera Bradley in the past.

Piper was called and told what happened and relayed it to Rose. Rose just smiled, it was her brother's stubbornness showing and he would never admit that he needed the job as much as he really did nor that he was happy to accept it without a fight. He'd be upset at his sister for doing that for him, but deep in him he knew that she did it out of love for her brother and need for him to work.

The girls kept Justin and Savannah from getting anxious about the babies. When the twins are finally developed enough to perform the DNA testing they were barely able to sleep as all five were awaited the reveal. Savannah was the most distraught, with Justin barely better than her at hiding his anxiety.

Inside the office, the prenatal doctor revealed shocking news: both of them were the "fathers" of the two babies. Through a twist of fate and extremely interesting luck, sperm from both had hit their marks as one egg each had been fertilized. It was a literal one in a 50 million yet both of their ejaculates had taken hold of the two eggs.

And things got even more stranger as there were three babies instead of two, with Justin being the father of one and Savannah the other two. Justin was the "father" of a boy and Savannah of a boy and girl. What was a major error might have been a blessing for them as there was no more of Savannah's sperm as all of it was used in the insemination despite it only supposed to be one dose, she was going to be the "father" of a second baby making her not need the additional sperm at all.

Justin asked how it could be possible that both were "father" to the baby, with the doctor explaining "it's call heteropaternal superfecundation. It's extremely rare but it does happen, many cases occur in the time when a woman is taking fertility medications and produces multiple eggs instead of just one. It's not much different than homoparental superfecundation, which is when the same sperm does the impregnation- both result in multiples, in your case it's triplets."

The doctor let it sink in before continuing "they are healthy and there isn't anything wrong with them. I checked with the donor's doctors and she is clean genetically and has a family history of great health and longevity. The babies are progressing nicely and by November you should be parents again."

The two left to speak with Savannah's legal partner at their office to discuss actions to be taken against the fertility center. Savannah had a strong case and likely would win despite her low sperm count. The fact that she is the genetic "father" of two is irrelevant, their error caused her to lose her only chances of being a genetic parent in the future. She was too numb to talk, so Justin listened for her.

Ricardo smirked while explaining "we treat this as a joint surrogacy. The donor mother signed over all rights to the two of you, she ensured that her wife had no objections and had all restraining orders in place to prevent her family from seeking the children when they are born. She happily explained that you two are their parents and even though they are her children genetically all she did was donate."

The two needed to let it process, Ricardo simply let their colleague, Savannah's elder brother Cameron Byrne-Toro, explain to them "you have a solid lawsuit against the center, as does the donor. All of you are suing for the costs of raising additional children as well as the loss of Savannah's semen. It's likely to bankrupt them, but it needs to happen to ensure others don't experience similar issues. The cause was entirely their fault and was done due to blatant errors in record keeping and inept staff. They don't have any way to claim otherwise as their director admitted such to our investigator when he fired the staff."

Cameron showed the amount sought, then filed the lawsuit alongside the donor's lawsuit for issues that were already being experienced due to three children instead of one. She was going to need surgery to fix her body after the births, but it was mostly due to the loss of income due to being unable to work for three months before and after the births. She only worked due to boredom as her wife made money from her job as a consultant but it was beside the point as she lost the money due to the center's error.

The money being sought by the Stoners was $25 million, with the donor seeking an additional $1 million plus medical costs. It was a lot of money, but with Savannah being unable to create new life from her genes it was a pittance. The couple knew that the money was going to go to the three kids, with Piper and Sydney not needing it as the two had their own money that was sitting in the bank.

The lawsuits were filed in court and saw the fertility center fighting back with every dirty tactic that they could think of. None of them expected them to go for the donor's family but the center left nothing to chance and alerted the donor's in-laws as a last ditch effort to go after them. This was a huge issue as the in-laws saw what their daughter-in-law was doing as immoral and fought for custody of the triplets despite the agreement with the Stoners and having no genetic link to the children in the first place.

Savannah was distraught as she couldn't face anyone after reading the order to appear at a court hearing in regards to custody of the triplets. Ricardo assured her that they didn't have a leg to stand on, but it was like her world was falling apart. She knew that her gender change would destroy any chances of the couple obtaining custody, the kids would be sent to live with their grandparents-in-law.

Sydney and Rose tried to make her see that things weren't as bad as they were, going so far as to make her act as Anthony's lawyer while he sought a job even if Peterson Manufacturing was giving it to him. She gave in as she couldn't hurt Anthony because of her own issues, and Rose was tough to say no to as her pleading look was tough to deny. She loved Rose like a daughter and was happy that she cared about her brother enough to get him help from her future in-laws.

Anthony's meeting with Peterson was exactly what she needed as she spent more time talking with the various family members instead of actually representing Anthony, with Anthony annoyed at her lack of focus but realizing that it was likely a good thing for him. Inside the conference room he met with the COO of the company, Lindsay Reagan, and was told firmly "you are about the best possible candidate to come across my desk since I have been in charge. You have a quality thesis and your paper on the new design for the Stoner Valve interlocking system is revolutionary. Sydney was right in helping you make her third generation design come to fruition as you solved countless issues that arose."

Anthony was dumbfounded but his shock only grew as his PhD adviser and mentor, Shea Porter, came into the room and sat with Lindsay then shook his head in disappointment. He looked over at Anthony and demanded "why are you here? You should have had a job with several companies out in Atlanta as I had several companies lined up to take you on."

Anthony looked down in shame and mumbled a timid "Vera Bradley. As soon as I went for my second interview with them the offers were rescinded and every answer was the same: she made me untouchable and anyone trying to hire me was given a suspicious look. They only paid you lip service, they had no intention of ever hiring me. I spent money on plane tickets for nothing. You might have been my mentor yet Vera's reputation lingers on four years later."

Shea smirked then told him "you are hired here. And it's not because of your connection to me and Patrick Peterson- it's because you are a true gem who will be an asset to the company for years to come. Patrick alone will be pleased to have someone he knows so well working alongside him, you should be his #2 before the year is out as he can trust you to tell him what he needs to hear and not what is best for yourself. The others just don't have your understanding of him nor do they have the trust that had been built over the years."

Shea just smirked then added "I'll have a long talk with my so-called colleagues down in Atlanta. They lied to me and likely lied to their personnel office about you. I think it's retaliation for embarrassment at being exposed at possibly being connected to Vera so they are going to be out of the job and if they aren't then I'm going to send my own hounds after them as their shareholders will not stand for their actions. We need you and your sister needs you, as much as she is maturing she still needs her big brother. She's 18, but she's always going to need her big brother to help her."

Anthony hammered out an employment contract as well as salary, which was double what he would have gotten from working in Atlanta or even out in Silicon Valley. Peterson wanted him badly and it reflected in the signing bonus that they gave to him. He tried to refuse it, but meeting with Peterson's chairwoman, Patrick's mother Lilly Peterson, he saw that they wanted someone who was staying put and not there until he found a better deal with another company.

Savannah looked over his finances and told him that he should sell his old house and move closer to the company's headquarters. She strongly suggested Winnisimmet as it was where Rose and Sydney were going to live, he had to think about it but her pleading eyes were tough to deny. She also had ulterior motives for asking him to move closer, Rose would need him to help her as Sydney underwent her final surgery the next week and dealt with some of her depression that came with fulfilling her dream of being a complete woman.