My Son Wanted His Fathers Last Name and They Cried When I Agreed Chapter 09
The moment I answered, all the strength seemed to drain from Nathan and Ethan. Their faces went deathly pale.
Nathan was far more mature than Ethan. He knew I wasn’t joking.
“No,” he muttered in disbelief. “This can’t be happening.”
Ethan rounded on Claire and cursed at her. “You don’t even know who your real father is, you bastard! Get the hell away from us and give me my mom back!”
Claire’s eyes reddened. “I’m not a bastard! My father’s name was Daniel Foster!”
Daniel’s name had been chosen in the hope that he’d enjoy a lifetime of happiness, yet he’d died at
only twenty.
Remembering the young man he’d been, I covered my mouth and sobbed quietly.
If that car accident had never happened, would we have had our happy ending?
Great–Uncle Henry Bennett had carried himself with dignity his entire life, but even he couldn’t resist lashing out at the Carters.
“You tried to take the entire Bennett estate because you thought there were no heirs left. What good are two sons when not one of you knows how to act like a decent human being?”
Linda jumped to her feet. “What did you say, you old bastard?”
The Bennetts had them badly outnumbered. Alarmed, Frank grabbed Linda and tried to hold her
back.
“That’s enough. Let’s leave for now. She won’t really abandon both her sons.”
Linda understood the situation better than he did.
“She already has! Are you blind? I knew from the moment I first saw that woman that she was no pushover. Rich people are all the same. They can destroy a poor family’s entire future with the snap of their fingers!”
Someone picked up a bucket of dirty water and dumped it all over Linda.
“Who schemed against you? You spent the Bennetts‘ money, Evelyn gave birth to two sons, and
those boys were raised in comfort. Now they’ve even taken your last name. So who took advantage
of whom?”
“That’s right! Take your precious boys and get out. This is Bennett family property. Nathan and
Ethan changed their last names and gave up their place in the Bennett family trust. They’re no longer beneficiaries.”
he Carters were chased off in disgrace, leaving a mess behind.
It didn’t matter.
Better days lay ahead for us.
Nathan drove us back to the city.
The tension in the car was suffocating. Aside from Linda’s nonstop insults about me, no one saida word.
Suddenly, Nathan growled, “Enough!”
Linda jumped, clutching her chest. “What’s wrong with you? You nearly scared your grandmother to death!”
Nathan pulled over to the side of the road.
“Dad, answer me. Were the things Mom said true?”
The question caught Walter off guard.
His eyes darted around as he searched for an excuse. After a long pause, he finally said, “You really believe your mother? She’s always been a liar. She hid the fact that she had a daughter with another
man-”
“I don’t want to hear about that,” Nathan interrupted. “Just answer the question. Was it true or
not?”
Nathan closed his eyes.
Deep down, he already knew the answer.
When Nathan was a child, Walter would announce as soon as he woke up that he was heading to work at Bennett Manufacturing. Yet Nathan had caught him countless times playing cards at a local
card room.
The only thing Walter was ever remotely on time for was dinner. Even then, he usually strolled in after everyone else had already started eating.
Given Walter’s behavior, it made perfect sense that Grandpa and Grandma Bennett disliked him. They rarely treated him warmly, and during the holidays, he was always the last to receive his holiday gift.
Whenever the Bennett family held its annual memorial gathering, Walter used Nathan and Etharyas an excuse to avoid helping. He would drag the boys around town instead of taking part in any of the tedious preparations.
On the day of the gathering, he complained about how long the private family service lasted. Instead, he sat outside and refused to take part.
Nathan couldn’t understand why he’d ever believed Walter’s version of events. The truth had been there in his own memories all along, if only he’d stopped to examine them.
When he opened his eyes again, he didn’t press Walter for an answer.
It no longer mattered what Walter said.
Nathan pulled back onto the road. After a brief silence, Linda spoke again, still unwilling to give up.
“Nathan, you’re educated. Get a lawyer and take your mother to court for fraud. She hid the fact that she’d already had a child when she married your father. She was the one in the wrong!”
Nathan’s hands clenched around the steering wheel.
“What exactly do you think we’ll accomplish by suing her for marriage fraud?”
Linda declared without hesitation, “She should walk away with nothing! We’ll take the entire Bennett estate. That money is your future–yours and Ethan’s. It’s the Carter family’s future!”
“None of the Bennett estate is in Mom’s name anymore. Claire owns it all now. Even if you take Mom for every last cent, it won’t do you any good.”
Linda gritted her teeth. “Then we’ll force that little bitch to give it back!”
“I’m done helping you stir up trouble.”
Nathan floored it.
1 For the first time, he realized changing his last name might have been a mistake.
Everyone else went silent in fear and clutched their seat belts.
A month later, I got a call from the new owner of my downtown condo.
He told me my oldest son had come looking for me. When Nathan found out I’d sold the condo, he
walked away looking completely lost.
I just said I understood. After hanging up, I didn’t contact Nathan.
I had blocked him long ago.
I didn’t need him to take care of me when I got older. He was already an adult, and I no longer had any obligation to support him.
done everything a mother was supposed to do for him.
I hadn’t expected Nathan to be resourceful enough to go straight to Bennett Manufacturing and corner Claire.
Terrified, Claire hid in the restroom and called me.
“Mom, Nathan came looking for me! I’m hiding in the restroom at the factory!”
I rushed there as quickly as I could.
Nathan was waiting outside the restroom. I grabbed him and dragged him into the office.
“What are you trying to do?”
Without my financial support, Nathan had been struggling since he started his first job.
All his old confidence was gone. Even his white dress shirt was rumpled.
“Mom…” The moment he called out to me, tears streamed down his face. “I was wrong.”
I wasn’t moved in the slightest.
“You don’t actually think you did anything wrong. You’re just scared because you finally
understand that I meant every word.”
“I won’t forgive what you did today. You frightened my daughter.”
“If you don’t leave right now, I’ll call the police.”
