Daniel: The Story of Josette and Daniel, #2

By Katherine Korkidis

The story begins with the birth of Daniel and his early life. Daniel's early years with Jonathan and Katherine Ellington were wonderfully loving years. His parents supported his love for music and encouraged his desire to play the piano. He soon became a virtuoso at the age of 7 years old. He was welcome to the international stage and his talents were renown. He attended the Royal Academy of Music and furthered his career and social life. He met two young men with similar passions and desire to succeed. They became his best friends and influenced his young life. As years passed Daniel confronted tragedy in his life, first with the death of the mother of his dear friends, and then with the loss of his own mother and loving father. He was able to move on from his loss and attended The Juilliard School for his undergraduate studies. Upon completion of his degree he continued his studies for a doctorate in music at Columbia University in NYC.

 

As a young and inexperienced young man he was fated to meet and marry a young woman, Priscilla, that took advantage of his wealth. He was offered a teaching position at The Juilliard School and his fate changed when he met Josette Ann Harrington, a young and talented student. Their relationship grew over the four years they spent together. They became good friends and a strong bond of love developed between them. Daniel was named the Dean of The Juilliard School, a dream come true. Unfortunately for Daniel, Josette chose to leave to avoid terminating his dream through potential gossip. As Josette traveled the world and succeeded in her career, Daniel began to fail and fall into depression. A bottle helped him get through the day and his drinking led to the loss of all, his position at Juilliard, his marriage, and his ancestral NYC home. Priscilla saw to it that he had nothing left but to live on the streets of the city. A pastor of a local church, Father Edward found Daniel and helped him rediscover who he was. He followed Father Edward's teachings and example and became the "angel of the streets". With time he found his calling. He helped and adopted a young man in need of a father called David. He continued his work with the homeless and his music. He found Josette or more so she found him and they planned their life together

• Language: English
• Publisher: Katherine Korkidis
• Release date: Mar 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798836590031

Katherine Korkidis

My name Dr. Katherine Korkidis. Over my many years in teaching my students have affectionately called me Dr. K. I currently have three master’s degrees, two in the physical sciences, a master’s in chemical physics and a master’s in physical chemistry, in addition to an MBA in International Business and Marketing. I received my PhD in Biophysical Chemistry and did two years of Postdoctoral work in Experimental Hematology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. After completing my postdoctoral work, I began to work in Industry. I was paid to do my own original research. As part of my position I taught at many universities and developed new technologies while having the opportunity to travel throughout the US/Canada, Europe, Russia, and the Far East. It was a wonderful experience, and I could teach and write at every turn. Eventually I realized how much I enjoyed teaching and writing and returned to my passion. Today I am a writer of sweet contemporary romance and  historical fiction as my genres of choice. Josette is my first novel.

Book preview

Prologue

The story begins with the birth of Daniel and his early life. Daniel’s early years with Jonathan and Katherine Ellington were wonderfully loving years. His parents supported his love for music and encouraged his desire to play the piano. He soon became a virtuoso at the age of 7 years old. He was welcome to the international stage and his talents were renown. He attended the Royal Academy of Music and furthered his career and social life. He met two young men with similar passions and desire to succeed. They became his best friends and influenced his young life. As years passed Daniel confronted tragedy in his life, first with the death of the mother of his dear friends, and then with the loss of his own mother and loving father. He was able to move on from his loss and attended The Juilliard School for his undergraduate studies. Upon completion of his degree he continued his studies for a doctorate in music at Columbia University in NYC.

As a young and inexperienced young man he was fated to meet and marry a young woman, Priscilla, that took advantage of his wealth. He was offered a teaching position at The Juilliard School and his fate changed when he met Josette Ann Harrington, a young and talented student. Their relationship grew over the four years they spent together. They became good friends and a strong bond of love developed between them. Daniel was named the Dean of The Juilliard School, a dream come true. Unfortunately for Daniel, Josette chose to leave to avoid terminating his dream through potential gossip. As Josette traveled the world and succeeded in her career, Daniel began to fail and fall into depression. A bottle helped him get through the day and his drinking led to the loss of all, his position at Juilliard, his marriage, and his ancestral NYC home. Priscilla saw to it that he had nothing left but to live on the streets of the city. A pastor of a local church, Father Edward found Daniel and helped him rediscover who he was. He followed Father Edward’s teachings and example and became the angel of the streets. With time he found his calling. He helped and adopted a young man in need of a father called David. He continued his work with the homeless and his music. He found Josette or more so she found him and they planned their life together.

Chapter 1

The Early Years

Dr. Daniel John Ellington was born into wealth, position, and opportunity, but not in the usual way. Daniel’s biological mother was the younger cousin of his father in an unfortunate situation. His biological father had died well before his birth and their marriage. To protect the reputation of his cousin, Jonathan Edward Ellington made arrangements to adopt the child as his own. Katherine Ann Elliott knowing that her husband was unable to give her a family she so desperately desired, accepted the boy as her son. She was thrilled to hear the sound of an infant in her home and fell in love with Daniel from the moment Jonathan brought him home. The following called The Adoption Creed is often said—

Although social attitudes about adoption had not improved with time, Katherine was determined to be honest with her son. She wrote a book for Daniel that she would read to him every night. It was the story of how Daniel came to live with them. The story is given at the end of this book.

Daniel knew this story well and never doubted how much he was loved. He knew all about his biological mother but chose not to ever contact her. His mother was Katherine, and his father was Jonathan. It was that simple. He asked his biological mother never to contact him and she agreed. She was happy not to do so since she was now married with a family and her secret was buried in the past. It was public knowledge that Daniel was adopted but as promised by Jonathan, the biological parents were never identified except to Daniel when he was of age. His origins were protected for Jonathan’s cousin, Kristina’s reputation.

Katherine and Jonathan spent many years and much money with fertility clinics. All possible fertility options were tried. They came to the conclusion that no current medical procedure would be successful, so they decided to pursue adoption. Katherine always wanted to adopt since she was a young teen. She had planned a family of four children, two adopted and two biological. When Katherine was a teen of 12 years, her parents had decided to adopt a son after the loss of their son, someone that can carry on the family name and maintain the family estate. When her parents went to choose a child, she went along. Her brother, that her mother identified was to be named Nicolai. Katherine fell in love with him at first sight and was thrilled to bring him home. Nicolai was five years old with much exuberance. He was to be an asset to the family. At the very last moment, influenced by her uncle, her father’s older brother, her father refused to sign the papers. Katherine was saddened as she saw the look in her potential brother’s eyes. She promised herself that when she was financially stable that no child would be left behind. One day when she could, she would, adopt a child. Jonathan agreed early on.

As Jonathan and Katherine pursued the adoption process, they found many obstacles, some that involved long waiting periods, time, and some high cost, financially. In addition, they encountered aspects of the Black Market. The Black Market for adoptive couples is alive and flourishing. The more desperate the adoptive couples, the easier they become a target.

The first opportunity for this couple was an adoptive agency called Easter House located in the East End of London. It was recommended by an acquaintance with a successful adoption. Jonathan and Katherine did some preliminary research, and all seemed on the surface to be in order. It appeared to be a legitimate agency, so they decided to pursue it. The first meeting was to be held in a rural area far from London and they were asked to bring $25,000 with them. There was no court involved just an exchange of a child for the money. It immediately raised a red flag for Jonathan, the solicitor, so he began to dig deeper into this agency prior to meeting. He uncovered outstanding arrest warrants from the US. The agency had their original office in Chicago and the Illinois attorney general had issued those warrants. Jonathan called Mr. Williams for his advice and found out that this agency was bogus. Girls were paid to give up their babies and then this agency would sell them to the prospective adoptive couples. Jonathan and Katherine never met with the organizers of Easter House and passed on all the information as to their activities to the British authorities.

After this experience it was suggested by friends to try Christian based adoption agencies. Although very legitimate, they had few babies, and the waiting period was 4-6 years at best even for couples of their religious denomination. The wait was too long yet they kept their name on the list. They were never contacted.

As with most adoptive couples the wait and failures along the way lead to desperation. Jonathan and Katherine were willing to consider other agencies and even private adoption. It was shortly after Easter House that a friend suggested talking to a woman from Romania that wish to do a private adoption. She was seeking a couple with financial means for her child. She was due in two months and wanted to resolve all before the birth of her child. Her name was Alexandrina Constantinescu, a young attractive woman of 28 years old. She told the couple about her pregnancy and how she wanted to give her child a safe and good home. She asked that they cover all medical and legal fees, which is not unusual, but in addition she wanted $50,000. Although high it was a possibility for this affluent couple. So they agreed to meet again for a second time prior to the child’s birth. During their second meeting a young man, Kristoff, joined them. He said he was the father of the child and would not sign off on his paternal rights unless they paid him $50,000 independently of Alexandrina. He also made it clear that he would need $50,000 every year of the child’s life or he would challenge their parental rights. This was definitely blackmail. Jonathan and Katherine did not meet with them again. Again they contacted the authorities.

They decided to go back to an adoption agency and avoid private adoption. It took another year on the list and finally they were chosen by a young woman called Samantha after seeing their profile. She was 25 years of age and had a 3 ½ years old daughter called Fantasia, named after the Disney film. The young mother could not provide for her daughter, so she decided to give her up for adoption. Jonathan and Katherine drove to meet Samantha and Fantasia and they all bonded almost immediately. Fantasia was a sweet little girl and her mother seemed sincere in her wanting her daughter to have a better life. The adoption was completed for the first phase and Fantasia was placed in Katherine and Jonathan’s home. For six weeks they were a family. Fantasia loved her new home and adapted very quickly. Katherine spent much time with her. There was much that Katherine wish to teach Fantasia. She would read to her every night and stayed with her until she fell asleep. Fantasia was used to being alone as her biological mother would often be gone for days. Yet she was afraid and asked Katherine to not leave her. Samantha was a heroin addict and often used prostitution as a way to pay for her habit. As Katherine came to know Samantha’s family it became obvious that Fantasia was not their priority. Katherine decided that she would be there for this little girl. It was Monday morning of the 7th week Katherine and Jonathan were getting Fantasia ready to go to the park when they received a distressing call. Samantha had changed her mind and wanted her daughter back. It takes up to 10 months to one year before an assigned court date is set to legally adopt a child. Until that time the biological mother or father or both can take back the child. Katherine explained what was to happen and tried to help Fantasia to understand but she did not wish to leave. Katherine tried to dress her in her favorite clothes, but she would refuse to get dressed. The social worker was at the door and Fantasia held on to Jonathan’s leg and would not let go. The child was taken crying and screaming from Jonathan and Katherine. It was heartbreaking for all. This was the first time Katherine saw Jonathan cry.

Six months went by with little or no word on the wellbeing of their adoptive daughter. One day Katherine received a phone call from the agency. Samantha gave her daughter up for adoption once again and Fantasia only wanted to live with Katherine and Jonathan. Would they take her again? Katherine called Jonathan and they both agreed that they missed her and wanted her back. The adoption phase two started all over again after Samantha relinquished her parental rights. More home visits and paperwork but for this couple it was well worth it.

The next ten months were perfect for this little family. They spent much time experiencing the joys of being a family. The court date was set for Wednesday of the following week as all the legal documents were completed, in order, and filed. The court date is at that point a formality. Fantasia selected the dress she wanted to wear. At four years old she was quite aware that this was a special day for her and her family. She was so excited that this home was to be her home and that Jonathan and Katherine were to be her parents forever. But forever did not last that long. It was the day before already late afternoon when the social worker from the agency that knew the family asked to come in. She appeared flustered and visibly upset. She knew this family well as she was the person assigned to their multiple unannounced home visits. She was biased for in all this time she could plainly see a happy little girl, full of life and curiosity. Fantasia ran to the door with her mother to greet her. Ms. Nancy Steward always wanted to be a social worker working for children, their advocate. Placing children into a proper adoptive home was her priority. She was highly focused and dedicated to creating successful families. Working with two lovely people such as Katherine and Jonathan was a pleasure. On this afternoon she appeared sad and regretful. She was the one that had convinced this couple to give Samantha a second chance. As she rang the doorbell and saw Fantasia playfully running towards the door, she began to cry. She could not hold back the tears. When Fantasia reached Ms. Steward, she gave her a hug and told her not to cry, everything was going to be okay. Katherine knew as she saw the tears on Ms. Steward’s face why she was there that afternoon. Ms. Steward walked into the parlor following Katherine’s suggestion. Fantasia sat next to Ms. Steward until she was taken upstairs to her room by the housekeeper. Katherine and Ms. Steward spoke in private.

"Ms. Steward thank