All Chapters of My Wife's Money Went to Another Man's Son: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The interview was split into two segments. The second one took place at home.When Elise Berton walked in with the crew, I'd just gotten our daughter, Leona Aldridge, to sleep. She didn't spare me a glance. She shrugged off her coat and scooped up Gus Berton, who was watching TV on the couch.She pinched his chubby little cheeks and smiled. "Did Daddy give you a hard time today?"She asked him that every single day. I used to think she was joking, but after what I'd seen in that interview, the question landed differently now. She was genuinely afraid that the moment she stepped out the door, I might mistreat the son of Rowan Hale, the man she'd never gotten over."Your husband is wonderful with your adopted son, Ms. Berton," the host said. "I'm sure Mr. Hale would be so happy looking down and seeing his only boy raised with that kind of love. If he hadn't had that accident… honestly, the two of you would've been quite the story."Elise's expression went soft and distant, and a sma

Chapter 2

I had to either swallow my disgust and raise Rowan's son, or take my sick daughter and walk out with nothing. I couldn't stomach either option.Five years of marriage, five years of holding her life and her career together, and she wanted me and my daughter to leave with absolutely nothing to show for it.So I stayed.But five years had passed, and she hadn't shown me or Leona a shred of affection. Whatever capacity she'd had for love and devotion seemed to have died right alongside Rowan. The only warmth she had left, she saved for his son.It hit me all at once that everything I'd endured over the years had just been a joke to her. A decade of love and devotion had gone up in smoke, burned away by accusations she never stopped making because she'd never once trusted me.I looked her in the eye, my voice steady and calm. "I want to choose again. This time, I'm taking Leona and leaving."Elise stared at me and let out a thin, dismissive laugh."Leaving?" she said. "Ian, if you l

Chapter 3

"Every time Gus is upset about something, Mommy gets that cold look on her face and yells at me," Leona said. "If we both want the same thing, she always buys it for him. The toys I play with, the books I read, they're all stuff Gus didn't want anymore and tossed to me."She was counting on her fingers, her whispered voice shaking with how much she'd been holding in. "If we leave here, does that mean my things will actually be mine?"The sting behind my eyes was so sharp I could barely see. My daughter should have been the center of everyone's world, but instead she'd spent her whole life suffocating under Elise's favoritism.She wasn't happy here. The last reason I had for trying to hold this marriage together just disappeared.This divorce was happening, no matter what Elise had to say about it.After I worked out the terms of the divorce agreement with a lawyer, I slept in Leona's room.I'd barely closed my eyes when the door slammed open. Elise was white as a sheet, and she g

Chapter 4

The moment I walked out of that room, something in my chest loosened. The truth was, I'd been done with this marriage for years.I started packing that same night. Elise was genuinely angry. After she got Gus to sleep, she went straight to the bedroom without a word to me.Ignoring me came as naturally to her as breathing, the same way it had for the entire length of our marriage. And I was just as used to being ignored.Once I'd packed everything for myself and Leona, I went to the study. Back when the company was first getting off the ground, I'd held a significant chunk of the original shares.Even after Elise had quietly diluted my stake over the years, what I still had was more than enough to cause serious problems for the company if I wanted to.I pulled out what belonged to me, and that was when I found the drawer stuffed full of letters. I opened one at random.It was written to Rowan. Every single letter mentioned me and my daughter, and once I started reading, I final

Chapter 5

Leona's cheek had a red crease pressed into it from sleeping, and it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. I leaned down and nuzzled my face against hers."We're going home. Just the two of us."Leona's face instantly lit up with excitement, but underneath it, I could see the worry."What about Mommy and Gus? Won't she be mad?"I shook my head, unbothered. "From now on, you don't have to care about what they think. Everything that should've been yours, I'm going to get it back for you. Nobody else is getting a piece of it."I'd been stuck behind a kitchen counter for so long that Elise had completely forgotten one thing. I was far more capable than she was.Once Leona was settled into our new place, I called my dad back home and asked him to come help look after her. Then I set up a meeting with a few of the company's original partners.I didn't waste time with small talk. I put the share certificates right on the table."Elise and I are getting a divorce, and the company is goin

Chapter 6

"Go by yourself. I have work. Just tell me what the results say."I swallowed the hurt and went alone. The tests came back with dozens of allergens. I left the reports on Elise's desk, but they sat there collecting dust. She never opened them.And now she was blaming me again."You should've reminded me," she said. "I'm busy every day. I forgot, that's all."I let out a dry laugh. "It's fine. Take your time learning them. After Gus has a few more reactions, it'll come naturally.""What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped. "Ian, you raised him too. Are you telling me you don't feel anything for him at all? He called you 'Daddy' for five years, and you're just going to walk away?"My voice was very quiet. "Don't you hold up Rowan's photo every night and tell him that's his real dad? His dad is dead, so naturally it falls to you, his biological mom, to take care of him. We're getting divorced. You and Gus have nothing to do with me anymore."She started screaming on the other end

Chapter 7

"What do you actually want?" Elise demanded. "First you're throwing tantrums, threatening divorce, and now you're bringing it to the office. Ian, have you lost your mind?"I watched her fall apart in silence. When she'd finished shouting, I let out a quiet laugh."Elise, what are you so angry about? What are you afraid of? That the househusband who waited on you and your son for five years might come and take your spot at the company?"The color kept shifting in her face, less like fear and more like the fury of someone who'd just been called out."I'm not afraid of anything!" she snapped. "I'm just worried about who's going to take care of the kids."She continued, "Fine, Gus isn't your biological son, and you don't want to look after him anymore. But what about our daughter? Who's going to take care of her? She's only…"She trailed off. She couldn't finish the sentence.I laughed out loud. "Go ahead. How old is she? Elise, the only time you ever remember you have a daughter is

Chapter 8

"Elise, the truth is, you were never really suited for the corporate side of things," I said. "You'd be much better off at home, taking care of your son."The look on her face soured the instant the words left my mouth."Ian, have you lost your mind?" she spat. "Do you even hear yourself?"I smiled. "I do. When I first decided to divorce you, I thought you might fall apart trying to take care of Gus on your own. But you proved me wrong. You've done just fine with him these past few days."So for the sake of giving your son a mother who's actually present, why don't you stay home and focus on him?"Elise was shaking with rage. The way she looked at me could have cut me to ribbons.I smiled back, unconcerned, and pressed the button on the desk phone."Could you send security up, please? There's someone here who no longer has any business being in this building. Please escort her out."She fought back with everything she had, screaming the whole way, but the guards dragged her out

Chapter 9

"I've been thinking a lot these past few days. Ian, I've gotten used to living with you. Without you, I can't function."Listening to her, all I felt was how absurd the whole thing was."Elise, can you take some responsibility for once? I'm divorcing you because you lied to me, because you checked out of this marriage, because you were unfaithful and you never stopped pining after Rowan. What does any of that have to do with a six-year-old? Where did you send Gus?"Elise flinched, her lips pressed tight together.I took a deep breath and tried to reason with her. "This marriage was never going to work. But the kids are innocent."Elise, you spent years talking about Rowan like he was sacred to you. Now you sent his child away. How do you think he'd feel about that?"That, finally, got through to her. The tears she'd been holding back spilled over."How much more am I supposed to do for him?" she sobbed. "He's been dead for years, and because of what he asked me to do, I've lost

Chapter 10

The squabbles between him and Leona had never been anything more than normal kid stuff. When it came down to it, it was Elise's influence that had warped him.I wiped his tears away, little by little, and spoke to him gently."You know that your real father is someone else. That means your legal custody belongs to your mother, not to me. But if you want to stay with me, I'll fight to make that happen, okay?"He grabbed onto my fingers and nodded hard.I brought him home. Leona came running the second she saw him. She gathered up her own toys and shoved them all into his arms."Don't cry. You can have all of these."Gus thanked her between hiccups. The two of them were getting along well, and I didn't say anything about it. I just told the nanny to keep an eye on them.The officer who'd helped find him sat down with me on the couch."Mr. Aldridge, this child was abandoned by his biological mother. If he goes back to her…"I rubbed my face and kept my voice firm. "I'm going to p

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