Pia makes a terrible decision: she leaves her brothers hidden in a closet at home and goes out into the quarantined city to find food. While she is out, she collapses from the flu and wakes up days later in a makeshift hospital.
*The Villain:*
Across the street lives *Bernice Groves*. Her own baby just died from the flu. She is full of grief, bitterness, and racism. She blames immigrants for her baby's death, thinking doctors were too busy with immigrants to save her son.
Bernice sees Pia leave her brothers alone. She decides to become the "Orphan Collector" - she steals immigrant orphans and children from their homes when they are vulnerable. Her twisted mission is to take them and turn them into what she calls "true Americans," erasing their German heritage.
When Pia returns home 8 days later, her brothers are gone and another family is living in her apartment. She is taken to *St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum* against her will.
