My Son Wanted His Fathers Last Name and They Cried When I Agreed Chapter 05
After leaving the restaurant, I returned to my downtown condo.
My parents had bought it for me when I got married. It was a beautifully renovated two–thousand–square–foot unit in a prime location.
Walter had lived there for free for more than twenty years, yet he still wanted to take half of it when
he left.
The first thing I did was call a locksmith.
Once the locks had been changed, I hired people to remove everything belonging to Walter and our
two sons.
After everything was settled, I sat down in the rocking chair my father had loved and dialed a
number.
A young woman answered.
“Mom, is everything taken care of for Grandpa? Can I secretly visit his grave and light a memorial
candle?”
The strain I’d been carrying for so long finally broke me, and tears streamed down my face.
When the young woman heard me sobbing, she panicked.
“Mom! Did I say something wrong? I won’t go, okay? Please don’t cry. Your heart can’t take this.”
I struggled to pull myself together.
“Claire, you’ve suffered enough over the years. You don’t have to stay hidden anymore. I’m going to have you formally recognized as a beneficiary of the Bennett family trust.”
The other end of the line stayed silent for a long time.
Then she answered firmly, “Yes.”
Claire Bennett was the only one of my children who still carried the Bennett name.
She was my own flesh and blood.
She was also my first child.
When I was young, I had a boyfriend. My father had a terrible temper, and I was so afraid he’d find
out about us that I didn’t tell him, even after I got pregnant.
I secretly left home to give birth.
When complications arose during labor, my boyfriend finally went to ask my father for help.
He was killed in a car accident on the way there.
When my parents arrived at the hospital, they didn’t blame me. They simply brought Claire and me
home.
Claire’s father had been an orphan with no relatives of his own.
When he died, he left nothing behind but Claire–the only proof he’d ever existed.
Later, my father sent Claire to be raised by distant relatives. The Bennett family paid all her
expenses.
My parents arranged a new life for me and found a man willing to accept the Bennett family’s marriage terms. Then they buried every trace of my past.
My father had always cared deeply about appearances, and he had planned my entire life for me.
His death hadn’t just freed Walter and our sons. In a way, it had freed me too.
I no longer had to protect the Bennett family’s reputation by hiding my first child.
By the time Walter and our sons returned to the condo, I was out shopping with my daughter, Claire. Walter called and demanded, “Did you change the locks? Building management said all our belongings are sitting at the security desk. What the hell is this supposed to mean?”
