The Rise of betrayed husband Vol.1

Chapter 1: A Man Without a Backbone

Ethan Hale sat frozen behind the wheel, staring at the three paternity reports on the passenger seat. Beneath each lab’s official letterhead, the words No Biological Relationship stabbed at his eyes.

All three daughters.

None of them related to him by blood.

The eldest was fifteen, the second eleven, the youngest six. He had raised them for all those years, and not one of them was his own flesh and blood.

It was insane.

A chill ran through his whole body. He gripped the steering wheel so hard his hands shook, pain and anguish twisting together in his chest.

He and his wife, Claire Lowell, were the same age. They had met at twenty-four, fallen in love, married, and shared sixteen sweet years together.

In that time she had given him three daughters, which was no small sacrifice. Most women lost their figures after giving birth, but not her. Three pregnancies had only made her body riper and more perfect, with curves in all the right places. There wasn’t a single wrinkle on her face, and her skin was fair and delicate. It was as if she had stopped aging at twenty-eight.

Her family was powerful, and she was an only child. Five years ago she had inherited the family business, taken over as chairwoman of the Lowell Group, and become the richest woman in Easton overnight.

A wealthy beauty for a wife and three angelic daughters. For a long time, Ethan had believed he was the happiest man in Easton.

Who could have imagined…

Then there was his own background. He came from a family of commercial fishermen, about as ordinary as it got, and both his parents had died of illness five years ago. He had almost nothing left to call a background at all.

He was just an ordinary doctor on the inpatient floors of Easton University Hospital. Eighteen years on the job, and he was still an obscure attending physician.

Maybe his wife had treated him like a fool all these years, like an obedient dog she could order around, betray, and humiliate. Maybe all her kindness and patience had only ever been charity handed down from on high.

Even if he went home and confronted her, a woman that rich could toss him a few bucks to go away and keep quiet, and he might never even learn who the other man was. And even if she did tell him the name, there was nothing he could do about it. The thought only made him more miserable.

So he ran. Instead of going home, he walked straight into the first bar he passed.

From the moment he slid into a back booth, he never stopped pouring.

Ethan was handsome and clean-shaven, and in his dress shirt and slacks he had a refined, bookish air. But the way he was drinking, he might as well have written his whole sad story across his face. It didn’t take long for the women who worked the bar looking for free drinks to set their sights on him.

The first to try, a smoky-eyed older woman in a tight pencil skirt, got nothing but venom for her trouble. “Get lost, you slut.”

After that failed seduction, the other bar girls held back. They were all more than happy to wait until he was properly drunk, then swoop in and pick him clean.

Ethan had no idea, and he wouldn’t have cared if he had. All he wanted was to get thoroughly, gloriously drunk and forget everything about his wife: the past, the present, and the future. In that haze of liquor and oblivion, he would hold a little funeral for his wasted youth, his absurd marriage, and a life that had turned into a soap-opera joke.

At some point the DJ switched to an old country song, “The Prodigal Comes Home.”

Cigarette after cigarette after cigarette—light ‘em up!

Glass after glass after glass—knock ‘em back!

Please understand me!

I can’t hold my liquor—pour me the hard stuff!

…

Ethan drank even harder. After that last glass, his mind went fuzzy, and he blacked out.

Through the haze, he felt someone half-carrying him outside. The shoulder under his arm was soft, and whoever it was didn’t have much strength. They swayed from side to side. It was clearly a woman, but he couldn’t open his eyes to see who.

Then he was in a car. The gentle rocking felt like a cradle, and it soothed him. He forced his eyes open a crack and watched lights streaming past the window.

He looked at the driver and saw a waterfall of long hair. Ethan was sure it was his “wife,” and he launched straight into an interrogation. “Claire, why did you lie to me? Why did you betray me? Who’s the other man?”

The driver ignored him. He pressed on. “Don’t bother denying it. I’ve got proof you cheated. The second I make it public, your reputation’s finished.”

The front seat stayed silent. He raised his voice. “Say something! I loved you so much. I loved you with my whole heart! Why did you lie to me? Lies! Every damn bit of it was a lie!”

That seemed to take all the strength he had left. When he finished ranting, he passed out again.

When the car stopped, someone helped him out. Leaning on his “wife” was the only thing keeping him off the ground. He cracked his eyes open again and realized, dazed, that he was in an underground garage. He figured it must be some new property she had bought.

”Claire, now I see what you really are! Buying all these places—was it so you’d have somewhere convenient to meet your lovers? Was it? Answer me! Why won’t you talk? You had the nerve to do it, but not the nerve to own up to it?”

His “wife” said nothing. She half-dragged him inside, and they never made it to the bedroom. They both collapsed onto the living-room carpet.

The alcohol rose higher into Ethan’s head. He couldn’t open his eyes at all now. More muddled than ever, he sprawled out on his back. In the last flicker of consciousness before everything went dark, he was absolutely sure of one thing: his “wife” was undressing him.

He had no idea how much time had passed. When he woke up hungover, he was lying in a huge, luxurious hotel bed.

He was completely naked under the covers, and judging by the wrecked sheets, something good had definitely happened.

His head was still buzzing. He struggled to piece last night together. He had found out his wife had betrayed him, hadn’t wanted to face her, and had decided to drink himself under the table. Everything after that was a blank.

He had blacked out.

Had he brought some bar girl up to a room? Then he had cheated too, hadn’t he? So how was he any different from Claire?

No. It’s not the same. I’m already divorcing her. There’s nothing left between us. From now on, how I live is my own business.

Having talked himself into that flimsy excuse, Ethan tried to sit up. A sudden spike of pain shot through his skull and tore a groan out of him.

A moment later he heard water running in the bathroom. He turned his head—and saw his wife walk out.

Caught in the act? Claire, you lied to me for so long that I never once suspected you. I never noticed a thing about you and your lover. But me? One drunken mistake and you’ve already caught me red-handed. Damn it. Life really isn’t fair.

Ethan stared at her blankly, trying to figure out what to say.

His wife spoke first. “You’re awake. You drank so much, and you didn’t even go to sleep until dawn. You must feel awful. At your age, and still this reckless. You’re not allowed to do that again. I’ve got some hangover remedy ready for you. Get up and drink it.”

She wasn’t angry at all. Instead, she helped him sit up and fussed over him, which left him more than a little dazed.

”How did I get here? And how did you get here?”

In his foggy memory, he had ended up at his wife’s new place last night. He shouldn’t be here.

”You texted me last night and told me to come keep you company. I didn’t expect you to drink that much, or to get so wild afterward. You were a little scary, honestly. You went completely off-script, and I couldn’t keep up. Next time you want to play like that, warn me first so I can prepare. Otherwise you’ll hurt me.”

His wife smiled with her eyes half-closed, sweetness practically spilling out of them, her cheeks flushed pink with a mature, alluring charm. Last night Ethan had been ferocious. He had made her his all over again.

Ethan forced himself fully awake and checked his phone. Sure enough, he had texted her last night, and that threw him completely. He had no memory of it at all. He had been that drunk and still managed to send messages? Still managed to do that?

Fine. This is the last time I’ll ever share a bed with her.

Having accepted that, Ethan cleaned himself up and went to check out. He discovered the room had been booked under his own driver’s license, with a thousand dollars in cash paid for the room and deposit. He asked to see last night’s security footage, but the hotel refused, citing guest privacy. All he could find out was that the person who had brought him in was a woman with short red hair.

Ethan couldn’t make sense of it. His wife was already hurrying him along, so he left the lobby and went with her to eat.

The Riverside Grill was one of the best restaurants in Easton, and it belonged to the Lowell family.

Claire had them open a quiet private dining room. Along with a spread of exquisite dishes, she ordered a rich bone broth and a rare steak especially for Ethan to help him recover. After all, the passion he had shown her last night had left her thoroughly, exquisitely satisfied.

Ethan had little appetite. He ate a few bites, set down his fork, and stared at the message on his phone.

I’m drinking. I don’t want to go home. It’s been forever since we did it in a hotel. I want a rematch. Come on.

There was no way he would have sent his wife something like that, especially after finding out she had betrayed him.

Seeing how distracted he looked, Claire laughed softly. “Eat up. Sure, you’ve still got it, but you’re forty now. You need to pace yourself with that sort of thing. Slow and steady wins the race.”

The joke went right over Ethan’s head. Looking at the breathtaking woman across from him, he tasted only bitterness. His wife was so beautiful that even after more than ten years, he had never grown tired of looking at her. If he hadn’t found out she was cheating, he would have stayed obsessed with her for decades to come.

”Claire… you’re this gorgeous. Do you have admirers out there?”

”Of course I do.”

Claire chewed slowly as she ate, perfectly elegant.

Ethan’s stomach twisted. “Then… have you slept with any of them?”

Chapter 2: I Want a Divorce

Claire Lowell had once been known as the most beautiful woman in Easton. She was forty now, but between careful upkeep and a life of luxury, her looks hadn’t faded a bit. She still looked twenty-eight. If anything, forty had only given her the allure of a mature woman.

She was also the richest woman in the city, worth more than ten billion dollars, so naturally she never lacked for suitors.

But there was a world of difference between an admirer and a lover who shared her bed.

Paternity tests were science, and science didn’t lie. The daughters Claire had borne weren’t Ethan’s, which meant she had definitely cheated.

He didn’t expect her to confess to her sordid private life, but he trusted the science. That was what gave him the backbone to confront her.

Just as he’d expected, she admitted nothing.

She gave him a bright little smile. “What, no confidence? You’re selling yourself short—and selling me short, too.”

”Maybe. But I’m more and more sure you’ve been sleeping around behind my back. You’ve made a fool of me over and over.”

”What kind of nonsense is that? A joke only goes so far. Don’t throw words like that around, or I really will get angry.”

”There it is. You won’t admit anything until it’s staring you in the face. Claire, explain this.”

Ethan couldn’t hold back any longer. He pulled out the crumpled paternity report and handed it to her.

She read the conclusion, and the smile on her face slowly froze. In an instant, her eyes turned sharp as they swept over him.

Still outwardly composed, she tore the report in half, folded the pieces, and tore them again. “Honey, the joke ends here. I’ve had enough. Let’s go home.”

What’s that supposed to mean?

Ethan didn’t budge. He had expected this reaction, and he had no interest in going around in circles. “Do you know how many rounds of testing I did? I went to court-accredited DNA labs—Easton Genomics, for one. I also sent multiple samples anonymously to professional labs in New York, Boston, and Chicago. Every single result says the same thing. Natalie isn’t my daughter. She’s the result of you fooling around with some other man!”

”Ethan, you—”

Claire’s expression turned deadly serious, and she studied him even more harshly. “You went behind my back and pulled a stunt like this?”

A familiar pressure settled over him, the pressure of a wife who had always stood above him for more than a decade. In the old days he would have folded, flattered her, and swallowed his pride. Not today. He was done indulging her.

He didn’t flinch. He met her stare head-on. “Natalie is fifteen. Add the pregnancy, and that’s a full sixteen years. You’ve lied to me for sixteen whole years!”

”Ethan, I think the alcohol has fried your brain. Something this stupid is actually coming out of your mouth. You’re going home right now, and you’re not setting one foot outside that door again without my permission!”

”What do you take me for? I’m not going back. Not now, not ever. In fact—I want a divorce!”

Ethan gritted his teeth and forced the word out. Divorce.

”Divorce? You’re actually asking me for a divorce? You’ve completely lost your mind. Unbelievable!”

Claire’s overwhelming presence bore down on him. When she saw that he wasn’t budging, as if he had nothing left to lose, fury rose in her chest. She stormed out and slammed the door behind her.

Ethan took a deep breath and wiped his forehead. It was cold, soaked with sweat. This was the first time he had ever gone head-to-head with his formidable wife. He was an ordinary attending physician with no power and no connections. She came from a family at the very top of society, and she was the richest woman in Easton, with a reach that had no limits. In a world this unequal, demanding a divorce was practically an act of rebellion. If she truly decided to come after him, he wouldn’t be able to take a single step in this city.

But being made a fool of, being the chump left raising another man’s children—that humiliation was more than he could quietly swallow. He had already seen the ugly face behind her mask, and he refused to stay married to her. He would get a divorce, and then he would live his own life.

A moment later, though, the door opened again. His wife came back in and spoke softly, gently. “Hale, apologize to me. Admit that what you said just now was wrong. Promise you’ll never say that word—divorce—again, and promise you’ll quit drinking. Then I’ll pretend none of this happened. We’ll be husband and wife, just like before, and we’ll go home together.”

Faced with such an unreasonable demand, Ethan refused immediately. “No way. I didn’t say anything wrong. The test results are real, so your cheating is real. You haven’t been faithful. There’s no reason for this marriage to exist anymore. We have to get divorced—”

”Ethan, I spoke to you patiently, and this is the attitude I get? Do you even know who you’re talking to? Do you really have to keep pushing me?”

Claire’s tone had turned sharp again, and she bore down on him with all her lofty authority.

Ethan said nothing, but he was filled with disappointment. He had thought she would come clean and agree to a peaceful divorce, not bully him into giving in.

Taking his silence for surrender, Claire eased up a little. “Hale, I’m not here to fight with you. I came to the hotel and spent the night with you. I had a meal with you. I’ve even put my pride aside to talk things through properly. I’ve shown you more than enough respect. You should quit while you’re ahead. Apologize and come home with me.”

She wants me to do whatever she says—to be her obedient, pathetic little doormat.

Ethan kept himself in check. “Claire, I’m not the one who did something wrong. You are. So why are you forcing me to apologize?”

”No. You’re the one in the wrong.”

”I’m not! I trust those test results. If you don’t, go check them yourself.”

”I will! Ethan, do you have any idea how huge a mistake you’ve made? You never asked for my consent. You snuck off and ran those tests on your own—that was completely reckless! Do you know what kind of danger you’ve brought down on our marriage, our family, me, and the children?”

”I didn’t make it public. If I had wanted to, I would have gone straight to your parents and demanded answers, or sued you.”

Then Ethan almost laughed. “Claire, so now you understand that cheating puts a marriage and children at risk? Then why did you do it? If you didn’t love me, you could have just said so. I would have known my place and left. I wouldn’t have taken your money or cost you a thing. But you lied to me again and again. You never took me seriously at all.”

Claire could see he was getting worked up, stubborn as a mule and deaf to everything she said. If they kept arguing, the staff outside the private dining room would overhear, and the family scandal would get out. She held up a hand to stop him. “This isn’t the place for this. We’re done fighting. Come home with me first.”

”Home? What home? That’s your house. It has nothing to do with me!”

Ethan refused. His wife had cheated, and the three daughters in that house weren’t his. If he had a shred of dignity left, he would never go back. Besides, he had already made up his mind to divorce her, and the sooner he cut ties, the better.

”If you won’t come back now, then don’t ever come back!”

This time Claire was truly furious. She flung those vicious words at him and left for good.

Ethan’s head was still a little foggy. He checked into a nearby hotel, switched off his phone, and collapsed into sleep.

He woke at eight that evening, ate a little, and went back to the bar from the night before to pay off a debt. He had already worked out who the short-haired woman was, the one who had used his license to book the room. She owned the bar, and she had covered the room and deposit. He was here to pay her back.

What he didn’t expect was to run into Marvin Cole at the entrance. Marvin was an old classmate and a colleague of his, and he had a sexy young woman on his arm, her body pressed tightly against him.

Ethan started to say hello, but Marvin turned his head away, deliberately pretending not to see him. Only then did Ethan remember that for a man in Marvin’s position, a place like this really wasn’t appropriate.

Thinking back to the night before, Ethan felt an inexplicable chill run up his spine. If the woman who had taken him away had wanted to ruin him, his reputation would already be in ashes.

He watched Marvin lead the girl to a BMW and drive off, and a sour taste filled his mouth.

In med school, Marvin’s grades had never come close to his. Even after they joined the hospital, Ethan’s medical skills had far outstripped Marvin’s. Yet Marvin already held a senior title as associate chief of inpatient medicine, which made him Ethan’s direct superior.

In his marriage, Claire had lied to him for over a decade. At work, he answered to a man whose character was rotten and whose medical knowledge was nonexistent. The more he thought about it, the more spineless he felt…

Chapter 3: $160 Million

Ethan went into the bar and found the owner. One look at her thick, wavy black hair, and he started doubting whether the hotel’s description had been accurate after all.

Sure enough, when he offered to pay her back for the room and deposit, she refused. She denied ever taking him to a hotel and teased him that if she wanted to sleep with him, the bar’s private lounge would do just fine—no need for a hotel. Besides, she said, she liked fresh eighteen-year-olds, not greasy middle-aged men like him.

That left him completely lost. He asked to see the bar’s security footage, but she said the cameras were just for show and refused to indulge such an “unreasonable” request.

Ethan went back to his car, dejected. He looked at the message on his phone again. Did I really text Claire on some subconscious impulse?

He booked another hotel room and looked over the paternity reports again. Then he slapped himself across the face. The sting brought him back to his senses. This was real.

He texted the chief of inpatient medicine to ask for leave. In his current state of mind, treating patients would be a malpractice suit waiting to happen.

Thinking about the unremarkable position he held at the hospital, he was filled with regret and bitterness. He had graduated at the top of his class, earned full privileges within two years of joining the hospital, finished his master’s degree, and made attending physician. He’d had a bright future ahead of him.

Then he met Claire. Head over heels, he married her and started a family. The Lowell family had money and power, and Claire considered his job optional, so she had him focus on the home and the girls. He put his doctoral studies on hold after one year and stopped going after promotions. If not for a stubborn shred of professional pride, he might have taken her advice and quit altogether to become a full-time stay-at-home dad.

And what had it gotten him? His wife had cheated, the daughters weren’t his, and he had been played for a fool. More than a decade of blood, sweat, and tears had been for nothing.

His heart ached. He felt small and useless, and he didn’t want to see anyone.

He holed up in the hotel for several days. Then one night, someone swiped a keycard, the door opened, and Claire walked in.

”Ethan, you won’t come home, you won’t go to work—what are you doing hiding out in a place like this?”

Claire looked around the room. There was no trace of another woman’s scent, and the place was reasonably tidy apart from some leftover takeout on the coffee table, the smell of food still lingering in the air. Her husband was lying on the bed, watching the old Western miniseries Lonesome Dove.

Seeing him so defeated left her deeply displeased, and she felt anger rising for no clear reason.

Ethan wasn’t happy to see her either. “I’ll do whatever I want. What’s it to you? I told you last time, we’re getting divorced. We have nothing to do with each other anymore. Since you’re here, sign this. Tomorrow we’ll go to the county clerk’s office and finish the paperwork.”

He got off the bed, took two copies of a divorce settlement out of his briefcase, and handed them to her.

”You—you actually drew up a divorce settlement? You’re really serious about this?”

Claire hadn’t expected him to jab at that sore spot again. She hadn’t come here to divorce him. She had come to talk him into making up and coming home.

Ethan stood his ground, sure he was in the right. “Didn’t I already show you the paternity report? Natalie isn’t my daughter. She’s someone else’s. You cheated on me and betrayed me, and this marriage has to end. The terms are all here. Read them carefully.”

”Natalie is your daughter. I never betrayed you, and I never cheated. Ethan, you can think whatever you want, but you can’t just go around saying it…”

”I’ll say it, and I’ll say it again. Claire, you cheated. Natalie is a bastard you had with one of your lovers! I’ll take full responsibility for whatever comes of saying so. Claire, do you have the guts to own up to what you did?”

Ethan refused to back down. He didn’t owe her anything. If anything, she owed him a great deal.

Claire frowned. “Own up to what? I didn’t cheat, and I didn’t betray you. What exactly do you want me to admit?”

”There’s no point talking anymore. Read the settlement. If you don’t have any objections, sign it.”

Claire flipped through the settlement, too angry to bother with all the clauses. But when she reached the dollar figure, she went very still and stared at him in shock. “You want me to pay you a hundred and sixty million dollars?”

Ethan had been ready for that. He met her gaze without fear. “Claire, you’re the richest woman in Easton. Your fortune is worth at least eight billion dollars by a conservative estimate. I’m not going to get greedy and demand half, because I didn’t earn any of that money. But you really did deceive me for sixteen years. Ten million a year for emotional damages—sixteen years, a hundred and sixty million. I don’t think that’s excessive.”

Claire’s expression turned cold and clear. Her beautiful eyes locked onto him, trying to read his true intentions from every twitch of his face and every glance. She came to one conclusion: the man in front of her had suddenly become a stranger. In sixteen years of sharing a bed with him, he had never felt this foreign.

Ethan assumed she simply didn’t want to pay, and he laughed coldly. “Claire, the moment money comes up, your whole face changes. Well, that just shows me another ugly side of you. If you think I’m after your money, fine—I don’t want it. Let’s get divorced right now.”

”You—”

Claire had in fact taken the hundred-and-sixty-million demand as a ploy. She would never pay that much, and she had been about to scold him for it. But when he said he would walk away without a cent, she didn’t know what to say.

”Claire, you won’t admit to the affair, you won’t pay a settlement, and you won’t give me a divorce. What exactly are you trying to do? You think you’ve got me trapped? Let me tell you—not a chance!”

His voice grew colder by the second.

”Ethan, I’ll say it one more time. I did not cheat, and I did not betray you! If you keep slandering me and damaging my reputation, I can sue you. Don’t think being married to me will protect you. I can still make you pay.”

After the warning, she changed tactics and softened her voice. “Hale, let’s stop this. Come home with me. I need you. The kids need you. The whole family needs you.”

If she hadn’t brought up the children, Ethan might have kept his temper. But those kids weren’t his either. He had no obligation to wait on those three bastards and raise them.

Still, he wasn’t a man who liked making a scene. He wanted to handle this calmly, especially once he heard voices in the hallway outside. He forced himself to speak more gently. “Claire, I’ve already given you ironclad proof. How can you just ignore it? I’ll say it again: those kids are not mine.”

”Stubborn as a mule! I told you to come home and you won’t, so don’t! Stay here and rot!”

Utterly disappointed in him, Claire turned and left.

Ethan stood at the window and watched her luxury car down below. She waited there for about half an hour, clearly giving him a chance to back down.

You cheated. You had three bastards with other men. You trampled every bit of love I ever gave you.

Claire, what you did isn’t even human.

He drew the curtains, went back to the TV, and fell asleep without realizing it.

When he woke up the next day, his pillow was cold and damp with his own tears.

Damn it. Did seeing her last night really break me that easily?

Ethan had always believed he was strong. The truth was that as soon as he sank into the unguarded depths of sleep, his vulnerability crept in without a sound and soaked his pillowcase with tears before he even noticed.

He sat there in gloom for a long while. Then he left the hotel and went to his in-laws’ house. He stood at the front door for a long time before he finally pushed it open.

His father-in-law also lived in a mansion. The house was older, but the neighborhood was excellent. Everyone behind those gates was either a retired senior official or a retired business tycoon who had once dominated the corporate world. In short, they were all either rich or powerful.

Inside, he found his father-in-law, Richard Lowell, in the middle of a chess game with an old official. Ethan greeted them and learned that his mother-in-law was out socializing with her old friends.

The game was well into its endgame, and Richard was struggling, already on the verge of losing. He shot Ethan a look for help, and with a few pointers from him, Richard managed to scrape out a draw.

The old official was a little put out, since he’d had the winning position. He glanced at Ethan. “Richard, you turned a sure win around on me. I don’t accept that. One more game—and no more signals between you and your son-in-law.”

”Richard, I’ll go read for a while. We can talk when you’re done.”

Ethan could tell the old official was annoyed, so with his father-in-law’s permission, he went to the study.

About half an hour later, Richard called him back out. They saw the old official off together and returned to the living room, where Richard sat Ethan down for a game of his own. He noticed Ethan kept trading off pieces, angling for a draw, so he wrapped the game up quickly.

He also noticed Ethan send the housekeeper away so the two of them were alone. “What’s with all the secrecy? Just say what’s on your mind.”

Ethan asked a few questions about his father-in-law’s health. Judging from the older man’s color, Richard was still in good shape, and what Ethan had to say shouldn’t be too much of a shock for him. He took out a paternity report and handed it over.

Richard glanced at it, and his relaxed brow furrowed. A faint unease stirred inside him.

Chapter 4: His Father-in-Law Turns on Him

Under his father-in-law’s searching gaze, Ethan said, “It’s real. I couldn’t believe it at first either, so I had several more tests done. The results were all the same.”

Richard didn’t respond right away. He fixed Ethan with a piercing stare, studying him.

Ethan’s face filled with bitterness. “I showed the results to Claire,” he added helplessly.

”Oh? You told her? And then what?”

”Yes, I told her. But I have no idea what she’s thinking. She refuses to accept a scientific result. She won’t admit it, won’t confess, and won’t listen to reason. Richard, I haven’t made a public fuss about this. Right now, only the three of us know. I want to settle this peacefully.”

”This is no small matter. You were right to keep it quiet. But it’s so sudden—I wasn’t prepared for anything like this. As her father, I trust Claire’s character. She wouldn’t—”

Damn. Father and daughter really are two of a kind.

Ethan grew anxious. “You don’t know what Claire—”

He almost blurted out that the second and third daughters were bastards too. But then a thought flashed through his mind. What if Richard already knew what Claire had been up to, and was deliberately trying to calm him down?

So he said instead, “Now that things have come to this, I want the truth. Whose child is Natalie? Claire can’t possibly have not known she was carrying someone else’s baby. So why didn’t she stay with that man? Why did she choose me? And if she chose me, why hide it? Richard… do you know?”

”I don’t know either. I’ll have her come over and explain herself.”

As Richard listened, the composure drained from his face, replaced by confusion. At last he called his daughter and told her to come over immediately.

While they waited, he asked Ethan several technical questions about the paternity report. Ethan’s answers were clear and precise, and only then did Richard remember that his son-in-law had been a doctor for more than a decade. If Ethan had produced these results, then it was all but certain that his granddaughter Natalie wasn’t Ethan’s biological child.

He also called his wife and told her to hurry home.

Claire rushed in. She was a little surprised and puzzled to find Ethan there, but she also thought it might be for the best. She could use her parents’ authority to talk him into coming home.

Then her father handed her a paternity report and demanded an explanation. She went blank for a second before turning a furious, searching look on Ethan. “What are you doing? If you have a problem with me, say it to my face! Running to my parents to tattle—what are you trying to pull?”

Ethan didn’t back down. “Explain this.”

Claire tore the report to shreds. “What’s there to explain? Natalie is your daughter! If you think you can use this to smear me and get whatever despicable thing you’re after, dream on!”

She turned straight to her father. “Dad, do you know what he’s doing? He wants to use this fake report to divorce me and squeeze a hundred and sixty million dollars out of me! Asking for that kind of money—he’s no good!”

Richard’s sharp eyes locked onto Ethan. “So that’s what you’re really after?”

Ethan hadn’t expected his wife to twist things around so completely and paint him as a greedy little man. He thought for a moment, then nodded. “That’s right! Claire, I’m divorcing you, and you’re going to pay! If you’d signed yesterday, it would’ve been a hundred and sixty million. Now I want more!”

”You bastard!”

Richard exploded and slapped Ethan hard across the face. When Ethan didn’t hit back, he wound up for another, but his daughter pulled him away.

Claire hadn’t expected her father to actually hit anyone. She hurried over to Ethan. “Admit you were wrong. Apologize to my dad, and apologize to me. Get him to forgive you, and don’t you ever upset him like this again…”

Ethan let out a cold little laugh. He could feel his gums bleeding from the blow. He worked his tongue around his mouth and spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the floor. “I didn’t do anything wrong. What would I be apologizing for? Claire, this marriage ends today!”

”You ungrateful traitor! I’ll beat you to death myself!”

His father-in-law, still in a rage, moved to hit him again just as his mother-in-law opened the door. She froze in shock. “Oh my goodness—Richard, what are you doing? How can you hit someone? Stop this right now!”

”This heartless bastard is trying to extort money from the Lowells! Just watch me beat him to death!”

Still furious, Richard shoved his daughter aside and went after his son-in-law again, but Ethan blocked every blow.

His mother-in-law still had no idea what was going on, but she rushed over to break it up anyway.

”Enough! Haven’t you made enough of a scene?”

Claire’s shout carried real force. She held her father back and tried to pull Ethan out of the room, but he shook her hand off.

”Today we lay everything out on the table,” Ethan said. “And then we get divorced.”

He turned to his mother-in-law and asked her to look at the paternity report. “Margaret, see for yourself. The child isn’t mine. Claire cheated on me and betrayed me. We can’t go on like this.”

His mother-in-law didn’t need reading glasses. She read the conclusion clearly, then looked at her husband. “What on earth is going on?”

”This ungrateful wretch forged a paternity report,” Richard said. “He’s using it as an excuse for a divorce, but what he really wants is the Lowell family’s money. Claire, tell her again. Did he demand a hundred and sixty million dollars from you?”

His mother-in-law took her husband at his word and immediately shot her son-in-law a murderous look. “Ethan, you’re in the wrong here…”

Ethan quickly cut in. “What do you mean, forged? If you don’t believe it, go get the test done again yourselves! I can tell you with absolute certainty that the result won’t change. You’ll just be wasting your time, because Natalie is not my daughter!”

He stared at his wife. “Claire, I never expected this from you. Not only are you too much of a coward to own up to what you did, you turn around and make it look like I’m after your money. Fine. I don’t want a single cent. I still want a divorce. Why didn’t you tell them that part?”

Claire’s brows knitted tightly, her eyes filled with rage and resentment. She pointed at the door. “Get out. Get the hell out!”

”I wanted a clean break. But you still think you have everything under control. Claire, you blew it. You completely blew it! If you won’t sign, I’ll see you in court!”

Ethan left the divorce settlement behind, swept his gaze over his in-laws, and turned to walk out.

”Ethan, stop right there! We’re not done talking—you can’t leave! Come back here!”

His mother-in-law called after him, but her son-in-law didn’t even look back. She turned to her daughter. “Hurry up and bring him back.”

”Mom, let him go. Once he’s done throwing his tantrum, he’ll come around.”

Claire’s face was sour. She tore up the divorce settlement and looked at her unhappy parents. “I don’t know what’s gotten into Ethan. He forged this paternity report, he’s saying Natalie isn’t his daughter, and he wants a divorce and a share of the money. He won’t even come home—he’s been living in hotels. It’s like he’s possessed!”

Richard snorted. “Ungrateful wretch! He put on an act for over a decade, and now that he can’t keep it up, his true colors are showing! Claire, don’t indulge him. Even if you get divorced, he doesn’t get a single cent. Not one dime of Lowell money!”

”Dad, what are you talking about? I’m not getting divorced. Once he stops acting crazy and stirring up trouble, I’ll make him apologize to you.”

Claire still acted as though she had everything firmly in hand, calm and unconcerned.

But her mother picked up the paternity report again, her voice full of doubt. “Claire… as smart as Ethan is, he wouldn’t forge something like this. Even with ten times the nerve, he wouldn’t dare try to blackmail the Lowell family. I believe in your character, but shouldn’t you get a test done too?”

Richard agreed. “Exactly. Get a test, and show that ungrateful wretch how wrong he is! I was in such a good mood today, and he had to come and stir up trouble…”

”Dad, Mom, I haven’t done anything improper. I haven’t done anything to wrong Ethan. Natalie is his daughter. He won’t keep this up for long. I can handle it. You don’t need to get involved.”

Brimming with confidence, Claire reassured her parents, then went after Ethan.

Chapter 5: Playing Dumb

Back at the hotel, Ethan rinsed out his mouth in the bathroom, washed his face, and pressed an ice pack to the cheek that had been slapped. When he heard his wife open the door, he came out to meet her.

”Was all that drama really necessary? My dad didn’t even hit you that hard…”

Claire was annoyed at how theatrical he was being—until he lowered the ice pack and she saw the obvious bruise on his cheek. She quickly changed her tune. “Honey, I didn’t realize it was this bad. It must really hurt. Let me take you to the hospital.”

”You know what? Maybe I’m just pathetic, but taking that slap from your dad actually made me feel better. All these years, I may not have been the most devoted son-in-law or given him much to be proud of, but I never brought him much shame either. With that one slap, I don’t owe him anything anymore. I don’t owe the Lowell family a thing.”

Ethan handed her a legal complaint. “Read this. It’s the petition I’m about to file. If you agree to a divorce, I won’t take you to court—and you don’t have to pay a cent.”

”You… Hale, what’s gotten into you? We had a perfectly good life. Are you only happy when everything’s turned upside down?”

Claire had never imagined Ethan would actually sue her. It caught her off guard and left her deeply hurt.

”A good life? For you, sure. You get to have it all, at home and outside, and I even help you raise the kids. Of course you think it’s good! But what about me? The kids aren’t mine. You lied to me for more than a decade—more than a decade! How many decades does a person even get? Whoever wants a life like this can have it!”

He was so worked up that he wanted to explode and scream, but he forced it down. “Claire, how many times have I told you? Go get a test done. Once you see the result, you’ll understand why I’m acting like this. I’ve given you all these days, and you still haven’t checked. The only conclusion I can draw is that you have a guilty conscience.”

”Ethan, how many times do I have to say it before you believe me? I never betrayed you. Natalie is your daughter.”

”So the results I have are fake? All those accredited labs gave me false results? Do I really have that kind of pull?”

His wife was still stubbornly refusing to budge, and Ethan’s temper finally snapped. He stepped forward, grabbed her by the shoulders, and shook her. “Claire, wake up! Where’s your objectivity? Where’s your common sense? You need to cut your losses! A spineless, good-for-nothing loser like me isn’t good enough for you anymore. Go find Natalie’s real father. You’ve raised his daughter this far—make him pay something for it.”

”Stop shaking me!”

Claire wrenched herself free and glared at him. “Nothing but garbage comes out of your mouth! It’s all ridiculous nonsense! I’m asking you one more time—are you coming home with me or not? Aren’t you going to take care of the two younger girls?”

Damn it, those two aren’t mine either. They’re both bastards you got pregnant with behind my back.

Pain twisted across Ethan’s face, and this time he couldn’t hold it back. “They’re better off with you! I’m worthless. My whole life’s already ruined! Claire, you ruined my entire life! I’m beyond saving. I’m begging you—just agree to the divorce.”

”Fine—go ahead and wallow if that’s what you want!”

Looking at him, hopeless as he was, Claire felt both disappointed and heartbroken. When it was clear he wouldn’t leave with her, she stormed out.

That afternoon, Ethan went straight to the county family court and formally filed for divorce. He submitted his paperwork and was shown to a room to wait. About ten minutes later, Sophie walked in. She was general counsel for his wife’s conglomerate.

One of his wife’s most trusted people.

Of course.

”Mr. Hale, this isn’t a good place to talk. Shall we go somewhere else?”

”Is Claire here?” Ethan asked.

”Ms. Lowell is very busy. She really couldn’t get away, so she asked me to come on her behalf. Ethan, let’s talk first.”

Sophie led him outside to her car.

Ethan didn’t make a scene. “What’s Claire playing at? She can’t dodge this forever. Call her right now and tell her to come finish this divorce.”

Sophie read his expression, saw how upset he was, and hurried to calm him down. “Marriage takes two people. You can’t just walk out because you say so. When you went in to file just now, the clerk should have told you the petition needs real substance. All you wrote was ‘irreconcilable differences’ and ‘incompatibility.’ If she contests it, that alone won’t get you far. You must have more convincing reasons, right? And it’s not just the court and me you need to convince—you have to convince Ms. Lowell too.”

Ethan was annoyed. “Claire knows exactly what’s going on. She’s just playing dumb!”

Half an hour later, Sophie returned to the Lowell Group to report to Claire.

Claire set her work aside. “Did you talk my husband out of this ridiculous idea?”

Sophie gave a slight shake of her head and carefully took out the paternity report she had gotten from Ethan. “He has this. That makes things difficult.”

”This again? It’s obviously fake.”

Claire glanced at the report, sure that Ethan was just singing the same old tune. “My husband’s gone half-crazy over this. How could he just go get a test on a whim? Without my consent—deciding everything on his own—isn’t that illegal?”

”Mr. Hale is also a legal guardian. It isn’t illegal for him to exercise his parental rights and have a test done.”

”Then if I countersue him for defamation, can I get him locked up? Not actually thrown in prison, of course. I just want him to understand he can’t smear me like this.”

Sophie understood what Claire was getting at, but she still chose her words carefully. “If the result is false, you can definitely win a lawsuit against him. Even without jail time, you could force him to apologize and back down. But if it really goes that far, once the courts get involved, things could get worse.”

Claire frowned. “I gave birth to my daughter. Of course I know whose she is. Soph, are you saying I should arrange a test of my own? Use a new result to overturn his?”

Sophie nodded. “Exactly. Facts speak louder than words. Shall I set it up now?”

Claire didn’t decide right away. She called Ethan first, and when she found him just as hostile and unwilling to back down as before, she finally agreed to Sophie’s plan.

Sophie went back to Ethan and asked him for samples.

Once she had them, she didn’t leave right away. She sat down on the edge of the hotel bed. “Ethan, this is just between us. It has nothing to do with how you feel about Claire.”

”You don’t need to plead Claire’s case either,” Ethan said. “She did it. She lied to me for sixteen years. Nobody would just let something like that slide. She thinks I’m divorcing her for money—fine, I don’t want the money. I just want to get away from her as soon as I can.”

”Yes… if it’s true, you really have been wronged. Even I feel for you. Oh, by the way—Nat’s already so grown up, and you never suspected anything before? I was at your house just last month, and you two still seemed close. How did it suddenly come to this? What made you think of doing a paternity test?”

Ethan felt a surge of frustration. He took out a cigarette and lit it, his thoughts drifting back to the days before the tests.

That day, a sick child had been admitted to the inpatient floor and needed a transfusion. The child had an extremely rare Rh-negative blood type, so naturally they’d looked into donations from close relatives. But the father’s blood type didn’t match his son’s at all. The father suspected the boy wasn’t his, and sure enough, testing proved it. The mother had cheated and carried another man’s baby.

In more than ten years of practicing medicine, Ethan had come across cases like that several times, and he’d always brushed them off. But when he got home that day, his eldest daughter, Natalie, asked him for money to buy a car—a five-hundred-thousand-dollar supercar. Her reasoning was that she was old enough now, she had her learner’s permit, and she could have a car of her own.

His wife might be the richest woman in Easton, but Ethan had no say over the money, so of course he couldn’t come up with it. His eldest daughter was upset and threw a fit, saying things like he wasn’t her real father. She hadn’t meant anything by it, but he took it to heart. On a sudden impulse, Ethan went and had a test done.

The result: he and Natalie weren’t related by blood.

He exhaled a stream of smoke. He didn’t tell Sophie any of that. Instead, he said, “Soph, go back and tell Claire that the truth always comes out. If she didn’t want anyone to find out, she shouldn’t have done it in the first place.”

”Ethan, you still haven’t told me why you suddenly got suspicious of Claire.”

”You should ask Claire about that… Oh, right. You two are so close—how many suspects do you think there are for Natalie’s real father?”

”Ethan, don’t try to trap me! What I can tell you is that Claire is incredibly good to you. She loves you. Very, very much.”

”Please. You think I’m that stupid?”

Chapter 6: I Refuse to Accept It

That evening, Sophie got the rapid test results and was stunned. They also showed no genetic relationship between Ethan and Natalie.

Ethan was right. Did Claire really cheat on him?

This was no small matter.

Sophie didn’t dare handle it on her own. She hurried to the Lowell mansion, skipped the pleasantries, and went straight into the study with Claire.

Claire looked at the results and couldn’t hide her shock. She stared at Sophie in disbelief.

”This is a rapid test,” Sophie said. “It’s a little less accurate than the three-day or seven-day tests, and legally the seven-day results carry more weight. But Claire, you should prepare yourself. Generally speaking, rapid tests and seven-day tests don’t come back with wildly different results.”

Claire looked a little dazed. “How is this possible? Natalie is my husband’s child and mine. How could she be…”

”There’s another possibility,” Sophie said. “She could have been switched at birth. So we still need to take a sample from you and test it against Natalie.”

”All right. Do it as fast as you can.”

Now Claire was starting to panic, especially when she thought about how many times Ethan had waved that report at her. It couldn’t be completely baseless.

She gave Sophie her samples. Just as Sophie was about to leave, Claire called her back. “Soph… I’ve never done anything to wrong Ethan. But if the worst happens… what am I supposed to do? I don’t want a divorce. I don’t want to lose Ethan.”

Sophie’s heart skipped. Did Claire really cheat?

She thought for a moment, then tried to comfort her. “Even in the worst case, Ethan should still be understanding.”

Claire’s brow stayed furrowed.

”Honestly, Ethan can’t leave you,” Sophie went on. “I looked into his situation on the way over. His career at the hospital hasn’t gone well these past few years, and he’s forty. Without you, he has nothing. Look at the past few days—once he left your home, the only place he could go was a hotel. Right now he’s probably just too proud to back down. Once he thinks it through, he’ll come back and make up with you on his own.”

”That makes sense.”

Claire felt a little better. After talking things over with Sophie a bit more, she sent her off to get to work.

Another day passed. Claire had just finished a board meeting when a message from Sophie came through, and she had Sophie come up to her office.

Sophie looked grave. She handed over the results and spoke carefully. “It’s confirmed that Natalie is your daughter. But Ethan’s results aren’t wrong either…”

”How can that be?”

Claire read the results several times, but she couldn’t make sense of any of it. She only grew more confused.

”Should I go talk to Ethan again?”

As far as Sophie was concerned, Claire’s affair was now an established fact. All she could do was try to change Ethan’s mind.

”I don’t want a divorce. That’s non-negotiable…”

Just then, the desk phone in Claire’s office rang. It was her assistant, saying Ethan had arrived. Claire looked at Sophie, who nodded, and told her assistant to send him in.

She got up and opened the door herself. Ethan looked rough, his face covered in stubble, and he smelled faintly of smoke and alcohol. Clearly, last night hadn’t gone well.

He told Claire not to touch him, took a seat off to one side, and glanced at Sophie. “Counselor, are the results in?”

”Soph, give us a moment. I need to talk to my husband.”

Claire sent Sophie out, then went over to Ethan and tried to sit close to him, but he pulled away.

”The results are in,” she said. “But they don’t make sense. I refuse to accept them…”

Ethan laughed coldly. “Why? Because if you say it isn’t true, then it isn’t? Do you think you’re above the law?”

Claire was getting angry too. “I’ve never done anything to wrong you. What exactly am I supposed to admit?”

”We have the test results—”

”I already told you, it doesn’t add up. It’s not the truth. I refuse to accept it.”

”The child isn’t mine. You cheated on me. You betrayed me.”

”Cheated? You never caught me in bed with anyone. How can you prove I cheated? What evidence do you have?”

”Claire, do you have no shame at all?”

Ethan had never imagined his wife could be this shameless. The paternity test was the clearest evidence there could be, and she was still insisting he catch her in the act before she’d admit to an affair.

Claire ignored the question. “Ethan, I don’t want any more misunderstandings between us. You have to believe me. I love you, and I never cheated. The test result between you and Natalie is wrong. It can’t be trusted. If you keep clinging to this delusion, I really will turn on you. Divorce me, cross me—do you have any idea how that ends for you?”

Ethan felt the full force of Claire’s domineering presence, especially in those wide, glaring eyes that could make any man cower. In the past, he would have given in and backed down for the sake of peace at home. But now he had nothing left, nothing he couldn’t afford to lose, and he had finally seen Claire for who she really was. He had no reason to be afraid.

He squared his shoulders and met her gaze. “Claire, I wanted a peaceful divorce, but from the look of things, you don’t deserve one. I’ll keep fighting this in court. I’ll even go to the press and expose everything. Then we’ll see exactly who you’ve been sleeping with!”

”Ethan, you—”

Claire was stunned. If he did that, the world would brand her an adulteress even though she hadn’t cheated. The Lowell Group would take a hit too. Its stock price would plummet, the losses would be incalculable, and more than a decade of hard work could go up in smoke. At her level, a marital scandal could bring the whole house of cards down.

And looking at his unshakable expression, she knew that if she pushed him far enough, he really would do anything.

She had no choice. “Let’s talk this through properly. Family problems shouldn’t be aired in public. It would affect you, me, and the kids.”

Ethan didn’t want their marriage splashed across the news either, or to become the subject of gossip at work. He eased off a little. “Then why won’t you listen to me? The kids aren’t mine. That’s proof enough that you cheated. Our marriage is over. Do you really think I’m divorcing you for your money? I just want my dignity back!”

”Hale, you know what kind of person I am, don’t you? Don’t you know whether I’ve been with anyone else? And all these years we’ve been together—wasn’t that love? You love me, and you satisfy me. Why would I cheat?”

”You can never truly know what’s in someone’s heart. I used to think I understood you, but I was naive. You’ve had someone on the side. You always have.”

Ethan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. “Over the past few days, I’ve also dug up some of your prenatal records from when you were pregnant with Natalie. Not every appointment was on file, but what I found is enough to back up my conclusion.”

He took out photocopies of her archived prenatal checkups and pointed out several key figures and dates. “We didn’t sleep together until our wedding night. That was what you wanted, and I respected it. A month later, you started showing signs of pregnancy. Judging by these numbers, you may have already been pregnant with Natalie before the wedding—two weeks earlier, maybe a full month. If you count forward from there, Natalie wasn’t premature. She was born at full term. I hate how blind I was. I’m a doctor, and I completely missed all the signs.”

Claire shook her head. “Impossible. That’s impossible. You can’t say that about me. And Natalie is your daughter…”

”What’s impossible about it? The facts are right in front of you, and you’re still saying it’s impossible? You don’t want to talk this through at all. With that attitude, what’s the point of talking?”

Ethan stormed out and slammed the door.

Sophie hadn’t gone far. She wanted to have a word with Ethan, but he didn’t even glance at her. She went back into the office.

”Ethan looked upset. You two didn’t come to an understanding?”

”He still wants a divorce, and I won’t agree to it. So now he wants to go public with that report.”

”How can Ethan act like this? Should I try talking to him again?”

Claire gazed out at the city skyline. She clenched the paternity report in her fist, and her eyes slowly turned dark and hard.

I control a massive business empire. I own countless assets, and so many people bow to me. And I can’t even control my own husband? Being on the back foot like this isn’t my style.

She turned to Sophie and spoke in a low, heavy voice. “Stop being so nice to Ethan. I’m giving you three days. Make him come crawling back to me.”

Sophie raised an eyebrow. “By any means necessary?”

Claire didn’t say a word, but she gave a firm nod.

Chapter 7: You Have No Idea What Really Happened

Ethan left the Lowell Group building, found a restaurant, sat down, and ordered.

While he waited, he sipped his iced tea and started planning his next move. Claire had done a paternity test herself and still refused to accept the results. He had pointed out that Natalie had almost certainly been conceived the month before their wedding, and she still wouldn’t admit it. He had told her again that he’d walk away from the divorce without a cent, and she had played the love card.

Claire, do I have to make the results for the other two girls public before you’ll admit you cheated on me? That would strip away the last of my dignity.

He still wasn’t that ruthless. Or rather, the timing wasn’t right yet.

He also wondered why she was still refusing to admit anything at this point. After thinking it over, he concluded that she simply saw him as a fool—a man with no background, easy to control—so she could keep doing whatever she wanted behind his back.

Damn it. You make a chump of me while you live it up out there, making money hand over fist and enjoying other men on the side. Claire, you’re a monster, the most vicious woman alive.

Ethan decided not to let her off easy. If she still refused to agree to a peaceful divorce, he would blow the whole thing wide open, demand a large sum of money, and then leave Easton for somewhere nobody knew him to live the life he wanted.

While he was eating, he got a voice message from Marvin Cole telling him to come back to the hospital that afternoon for a medical knowledge exam, and to sit next to him so he could copy his answers.

Trying to ride my coattails again.

He texted back. “What medical knowledge exam?”

Marvin sent another voice message. “The hospital just announced it at the last minute. I asked around, and the scores might affect this round of promotions. Ethan, I haven’t cracked a textbook in ages. I can’t remember any of the key points. I need your help again this time. Same deal as always.”

You don’t know a thing about medicine, and you’re still out chasing women. You should’ve been demoted ages ago.

Ethan got the time and location and ended the conversation.

As he ate, he suddenly heard a waiter shouting. “Is there a doctor here? Is anyone here a doctor?”

Ethan looked around the room. When no one answered, he raised his hand. “I’m a doctor at Easton General. What happened?”

”Could you come take a look? A child’s choking…”

”Take me there, quickly.”

Ethan hurried to the private dining room. An eight-year-old boy was choking and already struggling to breathe. He was in serious danger. An older woman and a young woman were beside him, panicking, but neither was doing anything to help.

Ethan examined the boy and performed the Heimlich maneuver. The child coughed up the food stuck in his throat—a meatball—and his breathing cleared. After examining him further, Ethan turned to the young woman. “He’s fine for now. But his asthma isn’t looking good. I’d recommend taking him to the hospital for a full checkup.”

He glanced at the boy again. “Go now, as fast as you can. Don’t wait.”

The young woman trusted him, seeing how professionally he examined the boy and how he’d immediately identified the child’s chronic condition. She also noticed that he was handsome, refined, and dependable-looking, and she asked for his contact information. Ethan noticed that her phone was a custom model studded with diamonds and her clothes were high-end. This was no ordinary family.

A family like that, with a child in that condition, eating at a restaurant like this—something felt off.

He gave her a number without thinking much of it and told her not to waste any time.

As she thanked him, he felt a sense of comfort and self-worth, as though he had rediscovered the man he used to be.

My medical skills were always what I really had to stand on. Why did I let Claire run my life and waste all those years on a fake family? Thank goodness medicine is something you build up over time. My skills haven’t gone to waste or gotten rusty. I can live just fine without Claire.

Moved by the thought, he lost his appetite and went back to the hotel.

After a short rest, he went to the hospital for the exam. He didn’t sit with Marvin. Looking around at the people taking the test, it seemed like practically the whole hospital was there. He found that a little strange but didn’t dwell on it. He finished quickly and left.

That evening, Sophie knocked on his door, and Ethan let her in.

He got straight to the point. “Claire should have come around by now. She’s not still refusing to face reality, is she?”

Sophie sighed. “Ethan, I’ll be honest with you. Claire loves you very much. She can’t bear the thought of divorcing you.”

Ethan frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? What’s Claire up to now?”

Sophie hurried to explain. “Ethan, don’t get upset. Let me finish. Claire is in a very high position, and she’s under enormous pressure. Every second of every day, she’s responsible for tens of thousands of employees and all their families. And the industries tied to the Group affect hundreds of thousands, even millions, of ordinary people across Easton. She’s responsible for all of them. So even though she’s a woman, she can’t afford to be the type who’s all wrapped up in romance. But I can tell you this in all honesty: she loves you. She loves you very much—more than she loves herself.”

”Sophie, you have no idea what she did to me. That noble speech sounds great, but don’t waste it on me next time.”

”Fine. Then let’s not talk about Claire. Let’s talk about you.”

Sophie pulled out Ethan’s hospital résumé. “Ethan, right now you’re just an ordinary staff physician, aren’t you? If you divorce Claire, have you thought about your career? And about the child support you’ll owe…”

”What child support?”

”You and Claire still have two children. After a divorce, Claire certainly won’t give you custody, and the courts won’t grant it to you either. If she raises them, you’ll still have to pay child support as their father. Given the Lowell family’s standard of living, you might have to pay a thousand or two a month…”

”Sophie, what’s going on between me and Claire is a problem between a husband and wife. You’re an outsider who doesn’t know anything, so there’s no need for you to get involved. If you’re talking to me as a private individual, I’m not obligated to tell you anything. If you’re talking to me as Claire’s lawyer, then you’re representing the respondent and I’m the petitioner. We shouldn’t even be meeting.”

Ethan heard the threat behind Sophie’s words, decided it was complete nonsense, and told her to leave.

The other two girls aren’t even mine, and I’m supposed to pay child support?

He called Claire. It took her a long time to pick up, and there was a lot of noise in the background. “I’m discussing business with a friend. After that I’ll come pick you up and take you home.”

”Claire, I wanted a peaceful divorce, and I wasn’t going to take a cent from you. But you sent your lawyer to tell me I’d have to pay you three thousand a month in child support after the divorce. Fine! Then let’s forget about feelings and talk money. I’m not just filing for divorce—I’m demanding a settlement. Three hundred million dollars!”

”Three hundred million? That sounds like a nice little project!”

Claire laughed it off and hung up.

Just before the call cut out, Ethan heard a middle-aged man ask his wife what kind of project was worth three hundred million.

Is three hundred million a lot? If I demanded half your fortune, you wouldn’t even be able to argue!

He knew his wife well. The only way to get money out of her was if she was willing to give it. Otherwise, you’d never squeeze a single dime out of her. Getting three hundred million from her would be harder than climbing to heaven. But it was also a strategy to pressure her into agreeing to a divorce. He believed that if she had to choose between the marriage and her money, she would choose the money.

That night, his wife called and told him to come home immediately. He refused. Then the hotel staff knocked on his door, handed him a refund, and told him he had to check out.

At the hotel entrance, he found his wife waiting for him. “Even the hotel won’t let you stay, and you still won’t come home? How long are you going to keep embarrassing yourself?”

Ethan’s face darkened. “Claire, you did this?”

”That’s right. The owners of every decent hotel in the city owe me a favor. I put the word out, so you won’t be able to check in anywhere. So now you’re coming home with me. Home is so comfortable. There’s no need to go out looking for hardship…”

He laughed. “Claire, you may be rich, but you can’t control everything! All this does is make me even more determined to get a settlement out of you!”

Ethan laughed coldly, got into his car, and drove off. He tried several other major hotels, and sure enough, none of them would give him a room. Cursing Claire under his breath, he went to a cheap roadside motel instead.

At the start of the new week, he went straight to the courthouse, submitted his petition and supporting documents, and formally sued his wife for divorce.

After leaving the courthouse, he went back to the hospital to see the dean, William Lang. Since Dean Lang was on excellent terms with his father-in-law, anything Ethan told him would quickly reach Richard Lowell.

Dean Lang was delighted to see him. “Ethan, have you finished taking care of your personal matters? There’s something I need to discuss with you too…”

Right now, the divorce was the only thing on Ethan’s mind. “Dean Lang… the truth is, I’ve spent the past few days trying to divorce Claire. It’s going to take a while longer, so I still can’t come back to work yet.”

Dean Lang was taken aback. When he saw that Ethan wasn’t joking, the smile disappeared from his face. “Did I hear you right? You said you’re divorcing Claire Lowell?”

Chapter 8: His Father-in-Law Gets Involved

Ethan didn’t try to dodge the question. He admitted it outright and even showed Dean Lang the paternity reports. As a master physician and the dean of the hospital, Lang spotted the problem at a glance.

Dean Lang told Ethan not to overthink things and to take some more time off. After sending him on his way, he called Richard Lowell, set up a meeting, and went straight over.

After the usual pleasantries, once they were alone, Lang got right to the point. “That son-in-law of yours asked me for more time off. Turns out it’s so he can get a divorce. Should I fire him, ship him off to some rural clinic, or do you have something else in mind?”

Richard blinked, then snorted. “That ungrateful wretch is airing the family’s dirty laundry in public. Isn’t he afraid of being laughed at?”

Lang didn’t hold anything back either. He took out the report Ethan had given him and handed it to Richard. “This is what he showed me. Richard, what Ethan’s saying is that since Claire has found someone better, she should let him go.”

”It’s fake! Don’t believe him! I won’t let that ungrateful wretch get away with this!”

When he saw that it was another paternity report, Richard tore it up, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it aside.

Lang didn’t quite agree. “Ethan has been reliable all these years. He’s never made a mistake at work or falsified anything. If he faked test results just to get a divorce, he’d be asking for it. He couldn’t handle the consequences. So I actually think these results would hold up to scrutiny.”

That silenced Richard. If it was true, it was a serious problem—a serious problem with his daughter.

He frowned. “Did Ethan give you anything else? Say anything else?”

”Just this. He said these were his grounds for divorce and he needed some time to deal with it, and then he’d come back to the hospital… Oh, and it sounds like he’s already gone to court to file for divorce from Claire.”

”What? He went to court? Has he lost his mind?”

Richard immediately called his daughter and told her to stop the divorce suit at the courthouse. She reported back that the Group’s lawyers were already on it and the petition had been withdrawn. Only then did he relax a little.

But Richard realized Ethan might file again, and next time it might be in a different court, one where getting the case pulled wouldn’t be so easy. Whoever started this was the one who had to end it. He needed to find Ethan and ask him what exactly he wanted. If his daughter’s marital troubles could shake the Group’s stock price and cause massive losses, he might have to come out of retirement himself to keep the conglomerate stable.

A flood of thoughts ran through his mind. He asked Lang to keep Ethan in check and stop him from running around filing lawsuits. Lang had an idea. There was a special consultation that afternoon at the Integrative Medicine Center, and he would take Ethan with him.

Before leaving, Lang added, “Richard, if your family does end up letting Ethan go, send him my way. I’ll train him to be my successor. Doctors like him are hard to find.”

Richard snorted. “An ungrateful wretch like that, and you still want him as your successor?”

”His private life is none of my business. But as a doctor, he’s remarkable.”

Lang smiled, got into his car, and left.

As soon as he was gone, Richard called Ethan and told him to come over. Ethan refused.

That ungrateful wretch…

Richard couldn’t sit still. After a call with his daughter, he went straight to the Group headquarters.

He found his daughter in the CEO’s office and got right to it. “Get Ethan over here. I want to ask him what exactly he thinks he’s doing.”

”I called him, and he won’t come. I texted him, and he won’t come. Wait until this evening. I’ll go find him myself.”

Claire called Sophie in as well. “I just talked to Ethan. He’s determined to sue me again. He’ll go from one court to the next, and if Easton won’t hear the case, he’ll take it all the way to Washington. What can we do about it?”

Richard let out a heavy snort. What he had feared was about to happen after all.

Sophie had underestimated how determined Ethan was. “If he files in a higher court, we’ll have to respond, and we’ll be in an even weaker position than we are now. Ms. Lowell, the key is still the paternity test. Based on the current results, the court will side with Ethan.”

”How is that possible?” Claire said. “She’s obviously Ethan’s child and mine. How could they come back with a result like that? What are these labs even doing? I’m going to sue them for putting out garbage like this.”

”Ms. Lowell, you can’t! That would put us in an even worse position.”

Sophie hurried to stop her. Suing the testing labs would be major news, and those labs very, very rarely got things wrong. If they lost, there was no telling what the consequences would be.

”Claire, I’ll keep an eye on the Group,” Richard said. “You settle things with Ethan first.”

Claire looked at Ethan’s latest reply and felt a headache coming on. For now, she did as her father said and took Sophie with her to find him.

In the car, she showed Sophie the text thread. “What exactly is he getting at?”

”On the surface, it means he’s done arguing with us about the report and just wants money,” Sophie said. “That might be his ultimate goal. But it could also mean… Claire, are you absolutely sure the child is—”

”My daughter is Ethan’s and mine. There’s never been any man but Ethan. He may not have money, but I don’t need money. I was never with him for that. He’s a decent man, a doctor, good with the family, and healthy—I had no reason to cheat. And now this bastard has forgotten everything I’ve done for him. I gave him three daughters, and he has the nerve to demand a divorce and three hundred million dollars of my money! He’s the biggest bastard of all! I’m so angry I could scream!”

Claire was livid. If Ethan had been in front of her right then, she might not have been able to stop herself from hitting him.

Sophie was a little confused herself. “Then the test results…”

”The labs must have made a mistake and mixed up my child with Ethan with someone else’s. That kind of carelessness—I’m suing those labs.”

”Let’s find Ethan first and talk it over properly.”

As a legal professional, Sophie was more inclined to trust the authority of court-accredited test results: the child wasn’t Ethan’s, but Claire’s and some other man’s. But she couldn’t come right out and say it.

They went looking for Ethan, but he refused to see them and turned off his phone. Their search came up empty.

In reality, Dean Lang had pulled Ethan away to another hospital for a consultation.

The patient was a seventy-eight-year-old woman with a very special status. She was related to a retired Washington heavyweight and had come back to live out her old age in Easton, where her own family was from. She had recently fallen ill with severe, painless vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration, muscle cramps and spasms, peripheral circulatory failure, and more.

Expert doctors from New York, Boston, and Chicago, along with Easton’s most renowned physicians, had all taken turns treating her, but none of them had been able to help.

When Ethan arrived, he didn’t rush to share his opinion. It wasn’t his turn to speak yet anyway. He quietly reviewed the clinical and pathology records they had provided to get an overall picture first.

When the room fell quiet, he shared his theory with Lang. Lang was shocked by Ethan’s line of thinking, but it also matched the symptoms. So he had Ethan present it right then and there.

Ethan’s words caused an uproar. His theory was that the old woman had cholera. None of the other doctors had dared to consider that possibility. Once Ethan pointed it out, everyone perked up and went over the case again. The treatment team raised several questions, and when Ethan answered each one with solid reasoning, they went to run tests for cholera.

By evening, rapid testing had confirmed cholera. Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief, and the long consultation came to an end.

The patient’s family invited Ethan to Washington to help treat the old woman. He declined, claiming his knowledge was too limited. The real reason was that he needed to stay in Easton and deal with his marriage crisis with Claire.

After the dinner that followed, he went back to the motel. He had just gotten out of the shower when his wife swiped her keycard. If he hadn’t had the security chain on, she would have walked right in.

”You’ve been gone all day, playing hide-and-seek with me! Open up. Let’s talk about your breakup money!”

Ethan let his wife in. Toweling off his hair, he said, “Claire, if you’d agreed a few days ago, you’d be free by now…”

What he didn’t expect was for his wife to start undressing and climb onto his bed. He frowned. “What are you doing?”

Claire laughed softly. “Isn’t it obvious? If you want my money, you have to satisfy me first. Treat me right, and forget a hundred and sixty million or three hundred million—I’ll give you five hundred million. I’ll even hand over myself and my whole fortune. I’ll be your little baby from now on! Come on already. Win me over, and you get everything!”

Ethan was a little stunned. He could see playful teasing in her eyes, but also a real desire to sleep with him. From the flush of heat rising on her face, she was clearly aroused.

He thought about the last time, when he’d gotten blackout drunk and somehow ended up sleeping with her at a hotel. That had been quite a few days ago. Her body must be craving it. Forty was, after all, the age when a woman’s appetite was at its peak.

But Claire, you cheated. Your body is dirty. I’m never touching you again.

He spoke coolly. “You think I’m playing games with you? I’ve already mailed my petition to another court. Once they accept it, we’re going to trial for the divorce. And if that court is blocked, I’ll go higher.”

”Ethan, stop using divorce to threaten me. Don’t make me really angry, or I won’t be this nice anymore…”

He let out a short laugh. “Claire, let’s get one thing straight. You’re the one who got pregnant with another man’s child and made me raise her for fifteen years! Now that the truth is out, you still expect me to be grateful? I’m supposed to keep raising your bastards just so you’ll stay nice? Don’t push it!”

Claire lost it. She threw a pillow at him and snapped, “How can you say something like that? Natalie is your daughter—one hundred percent your daughter! How can you talk about your own daughter like that? What kind of father are you? Apologize to me right now and come home with me. No more of this!”

”Are you playing dumb, or are you actually stupid? A paternity test has already confirmed that Natalie isn’t my biological daughter, which proves you cheated. Claire, you cheated on me. You betrayed me. We have to get divorced!”

Ethan bit off every word, clear and forceful.

”Damn it! We can’t get three sentences in without you bringing up divorce! Ethan, you’re a real bastard! I’m so sick of you!”

Furious all over again, Claire was no longer in the mood. She got up, put her clothes back on, and stormed out, slamming the door.

Ethan had been calm enough until his wife’s little performance. Now his emotions were churning. A sudden wave of grief washed over him, and he felt bitterly wronged. Tears welled up in his eyes before he could stop them, blurring his vision.

Damn it. That woman is a con artist! Even now, she still won’t admit what she did. She still wants to lie to me?

Claire, you’ve gone way too far.

He smoked two cigarettes back-to-back before he finally calmed down.

The next day, Ethan was still at the motel when the door opened again. It was his three daughters. He was startled. How had they gotten here?

The youngest didn’t understand anything that was going on. She threw herself at Ethan, calling out “Daddy” over and over, completely happy.

The second daughter looked around the room curiously.

The eldest, Natalie, didn’t bother hiding how she felt. Her face full of disgust, she pinched her nose shut and complained outright. “Old man, you’re ridiculous. You have a home, but you won’t go back, and you’re living in this filthy dump instead? What are you trying to prove? Oh, and you’re smoking! I’m telling Mom when we get home. She’s definitely not letting you off the hook. You’re dead!”

Chapter 9: Coming Clean With His Daughter

In the past, Ethan would have found his eldest daughter’s lack of respect endearing, a sign that they were as much friends as family. Being friends with your kid narrowed the generation gap and made life together easy and comfortable. But after the paternity results, he saw it differently. She wasn’t his flesh and blood, so of course she would never feel close to him or respect him. Her rebellious streak was really just a sign of how distant she was.

He was about to say something when Dean William Lang called, asking him to come to the hospital to go over the latest news on yesterday’s cholera patient. It gave Ethan an idea: the perfect way to shake off the girls. He agreed, hung up, and turned to his eldest daughter. “I have to go to work at the hospital, so I don’t have time to look after you. Take your little sisters home.”

His eldest found the cheap motel even more disgusting now and didn’t want to stay a second longer. “I didn’t want to come either, but Her Majesty issued a royal decree. If we don’t bring you home, we’re not allowed back either. So, old man, be a decent human being for once and come home with us.”

The second daughter, Jenna, nodded along. “Dad, Natalie’s telling the truth. Mom’s angry. If you don’t go home, the three of us have to stay with you. Wherever you go, we go, and whatever you eat, we eat. As long as you don’t go home, we can’t either! Those were Mom’s exact words, and she looked really serious when she said them. I think she means it!”

The youngest had already kicked off her shoes and was bouncing on the bed. “If we don’t go back, that’s fine. I like Daddy’s place.”

Ethan frowned. This was one of Claire’s dirty tricks—using the girls to tug at his fatherly feelings and make him feel sorry for them.

Fine. Then don’t blame me.

He packed his things, left the two younger girls in the room, and took the eldest down to the front office with him to check out. On the way, he asked, “How did you get here?”

”Mae dropped us off and left. And don’t even think about trying anything! If you don’t come home with us, Her Majesty won’t let us off the hook. Please, just do us a favor and come back.”

”Nat, do you know why I won’t go back?”

”You’ve spent all these years und