Chapter 3

Just as the family's chatter refused to die down, the restaurant manager walked over and handed me a microphone.

"Today is both a birthday banquet and a celebration for these two young men's admission to university," he announced. "As their mother, perhaps you could say a few words—share some thoughts on raising them."

I accepted the microphone.

"Thank you all for coming to celebrate my sons, Scott and Sammy. Today—"

"Today your sons got into Corvell, but what kind of occasion is this without their real parents here?" A voice cut me off mid-sentence. A man and a woman entered, hand in hand.

I lifted my head and froze. Even after eighteen years, I knew them instantly. One was my long-dead husband, Jeremy. The other, his mistress, Janey.

The hall erupted into gasps and whispers.

Yet my in-laws, seated in the place of honor, didn't even flinch. Not only were they unshaken by their son's resurrection, but they actually pulled Janey to their side and gave her a seat of honor.

And Jeremy—the man whose ashes I had buried nearly two decades ago—strode right up to me.

"Alison, you were never much of a wife. But as a mother? I'll give you credit. You did well."

At last, Sammy and Scott seemed to grasp what was happening.

"What's going on?" they demanded.

Jeremy pointed at Janey. "She's your real mother. Alison is just a barren hen who couldn't give me children. If it hadn't been for her refusing to divorce me—threatening me with death—our family would never have been torn apart for eighteen years!"

Before I could speak, the Grant family at the main table chimed in, one after another.

"That's right. Back then, Alison refused to let Jeremy go, and that's why you were separated from your true parents all these years."

"Don't be fooled by her raising you well. Her heart has always been twisted."

"But now, everything's worked out. You boys have grown up, and you've made it into Corvell. At last, you can be reunited with your real parents."

My sons stood frozen, confused and dazed, not knowing what to believe.

Janey broke into tears, clutching their hands while fumbling with her phone.

"I am your real mother. Every year, I send you gifts. I even watched you secretly after school."

Then she turned to me with glistening eyes. "Alison, thank you for raising my sons so well."

Jeremy slipped his arm around her shoulders, casting me a mocking glance.

"Now, come with me to finalize the divorce. It's been eighteen years. I'm going to marry Janey. She deserves that."

Everyone expected me to explode, to weep and rail against them. The Grant relatives leaned forward, eager to watch the drama unfold.

Instead, I smiled. "Very well. Tomorrow, I'll divorce you. Then the four of you can finally reunite."

Gasps rippled through the hall. Stunned silence followed. No one could believe it—not the guests, not the Grant family, not even Jeremy and Janey.

Eighteen years of sacrifice—just handed over, like nothing?

Even they stared wide-eyed, at a loss. They had expected tears, screams, and desperate pleading. The last thing they imagined was my calm agreement.

Jeremy's face twisted in disbelief. "Are you out of your damn mind?"

I met his doubt head-on. "Are you not happy with my answer?"

Janey tugged at his sleeve. He caught on immediately, fumbling in his bag and pulling out a contract, rushing as if afraid I'd change my mind.

"Sign the divorce agreement. From now on, the boys have nothing to do with you. You'll never see them again."

I didn't even glance at the pages. I signed my name at the end.

"Mom? You're abandoning us?" My sons' eyes brimmed with hurt. They couldn't understand why I signed so quickly and easily.

Janey tucked the agreement safely away.

"Alison, thank you for making this possible. Without you, we could never have lived so freely all these years."

Grinning triumphantly, she looked at my two tall sons. "Eighteen years, and now they're ours again. You've done your part. You can leave."

My father-in-law waved his hand impatiently, dismissing me like a servant. "That's enough. Leave."

I didn't move. Instead, I drew a slow breath. The moment I had waited for, the truth I had carried for eighteen years, had finally come.

"Since the agreement is signed," I said, "it's time you all learned the truth."

"What do you mean?" Janey frowned.

Relief washed over me as I exhaled. At last, it was ending.

I clapped my hands sharply and turned toward the entrance. "Come in."

A few seconds later, two figures stepped into the hall.