My Son Wanted His Fathers Last Name and They Cried When I Agreed Chapter 07
Life was peaceful for a short while.
Walter and our sons didn’t bother me. They were still waiting for me to give in first.
Great–Uncle Henry called from the Bennett family home and told me that everything was ready for Claire’s formal family introduction and trust announcement.
I took Claire there immediately.
The ceremony was elaborate. Even Bennett relatives who had moved away from the city came back
just for the occasion.
Claire cried throughout the entire ceremony. I couldn’t tell whether she was mourning all the years
she had spent hidden away or crying for some other reason.
Only one final step remained. The family attorney had to formally confirm Claire as a beneficiary of
the Bennett family trust.
Before she could finish, a commotion broke out outside the family chapel.
Linda’s shrill voice echoed through the building.
“Tell that bitch Evelyn Bennett to come out here! She lied to my son! She slept around and had a bastard before they got married, and now she has the nerve to bring that bastard here and make her a beneficiary of the Bennett family trust!”
I hadn’t expected the news to reach them so quickly.
Too many people knew the truth, and I had no way of knowing who had told them.
At that point, it no longer mattered.
Claire was frightened, but she still stepped in front of me to shield me.
Great–Uncle Henry moved forward to take control of the situation.
“All of you Carters, quiet! What are you doing here?”
Linda forced her way to the front, spittle flying as she shouted.
“We came to demand justice! Evelyn Bennett deceived my son for more than twenty years! She’s nothing but a filthy whore!”
“Don’t talk about my mother like that!” Claire shouted.
The sight of Claire only made Linda angrier.
Linda rushed forward and raised her hand to slap Claire.
I yanked Claire aside, and Linda’s palm struck my face instead.
Nathan and Ethan instinctively started forward, but Claire reached me first.
“Mom! Are you all right?”
The brothers stopped short.
They stared at me, anger and determination in their eyes. They clearly wanted answers from me
I took several deep breaths until the burning in my cheek eased.
Then I looked over every member of the Carter family who’d come to stir up trouble.
“You want justice? Fine. Let’s talk about the justice you think you’re owed.”
Claire’s recognition ceremony came to a halt, and the family chapel turned into a courtroom.
The Bennetts stood on one side, the Carters on the other. The tension between them threatened to
boil over.
Sharp–tongued Linda took charge as the Carter family’s spokesperson.
She stood in the middle of the chapel and launched into a dramatic list of my supposed crimes.
“I always wondered why a wealthy family like the Bennetts would choose people like us—why
they’d ask Walter to accept their marriage arrangement.”
“Now it all makes sense. Evelyn was damaged goods! The Carters weren’t the ones taking advantage of anyone. The Bennetts were the ones who deceived us!”
“If we’d known what kind of woman she was, we never would’ve agreed to have anything to do with
her!”
I stopped Claire before she could respond.
“It isn’t too late. Walter can divorce me whenever he wants.”
“The Bennett family has supported more than a dozen members of the Carter family for over
twenty years. They also raised Walter’s two sons for him. By any measure, your family has lost
nothing.”
Linda hadn’t expected me to remain so calm.
“You’re the one in the wrong here! You need to understand that!”
I shrugged.
“On our wedding night, I told Walter that I’d had a boyfriend and had planned to spend my life with
m. Walter said he could accept that.”
“I admit that I hid the fact that I had a child. For that, I’m sorry.”
“If Walter wants a divorce now, I won’t object.”
Linda glared at me.
“You think you can get rid of us that easily? Not a chance!”
“Listen to me, Evelyn Bennett. This won’t be over until you give Walter half of the Bennett family estate as compensation!”
I had expected them to try this.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.““All I have left in my name is the five thousand dollars in my bank account. Every other asset has already been transferred to my daughter, Claire Bennett.”
