Then the wedding doors opened.
Caroline Hastings entered in a breathtaking designer gown, holding her senator father’s arm proudly.
But instead of admiration, she found hundreds of guests staring at me and my children.
Her smile disappeared.
She looked at Ethan.
Then at the boys.
Then back at Ethan.
“You have children?” she whispered.
Her father exploded.
“You humiliated my daughter!” the senator shouted, grabbing Ethan by the tuxedo collar. “You hid an entire family?”
“They are not illegitimate,” I said sharply as I stood.
“My sons were conceived during a legal marriage. They are Ethan Montgomery’s lawful heirs.”
Eleanor nearly collapsed into a chair, clutching her chest.
Nobody moved to help her.
Caroline dropped her bouquet.
Then she turned and fled the estate in tears while cameras flashed around her.
The wedding of the year was officially over.
I checked my diamond watch calmly.
“Well,” I said lightly, “that ended sooner than expected.”
Then I turned to my boys.
“Say goodbye, kids.”
I started walking toward the exit.
Behind me, Ethan ran after us.
“Sophia, wait!” he called desperately. “Please don’t take them away from me.”
I helped the boys into the SUV before turning back to the man I had once loved.
“They are my sons, Ethan,” I said quietly. “I carried them. I raised them. I stayed awake through fevers, nightmares, and every hard moment while you were absent.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“You were only the donor.”
Days later, Eleanor filed for custody.
Fraud.
Parental alienation.
Full custody demands.
She hired the most vicious lawyers in Chicago.
But by then, I already knew something she did not.
The Montgomery empire was drowning in debt.
At a legal meeting downtown, Eleanor slid a check across the conference table.
