All Chapters of He Chose Her Son: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

In the bank's private-client lounge, I went through my husband's transactions one by one. Every new line made the pressure in my chest worse.Three years ago, Daniel Carter had donated an entire dormitory to Kingsley Prep so the son of Rachel Miller, the girl he had grown up with, could get in. The building had cost at least seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.I remembered exactly what Daniel had told our son before the Northview entrance exam."A man earns his own future, Noah. If you can't win a place at Northview Academy, you'll go to trade school. I'm not buying your way in anywhere."At the time, I had never hidden the fact that our family was wealthy. Noah had looked hurt."Dad, if we can afford it, why can't I just study abroad?"Daniel had slammed his fork onto the table. When he grabbed Noah by the collar, the designer label inside his shirt showed."That shirt costs more than some people earn in a month," Daniel snapped. "I ask one thing of you - work hard in sch

Evan had a chauffeur waiting at the curb.Before Noah got into the SUV, he brushed off his pants, then sprayed disinfectant over his clothes as if he were carrying something filthy.I stared at him.Evan crooked one finger at my son. "Fine. You look clean enough today. Get in."He spoke to Noah the way someone might address a stray dog.Rachel gave us a sideways look."Evan is very particular about germs. Public schools like Noah's aren't exactly clean. They let in anyone - janitors' kids, construction workers' kids. We can't be too careful."She smiled."Usually we make him take off his shirt before he gets in. Since his mother is here today, we'll let it go."Take off his shirt?It was nearly summer. Noah wore nothing but a short-sleeved school polo. She meant that my son had been forced to ride half naked.The insult rose to my lips.Daniel had grown up in a rural town, and Rachel had grown up beside him. What gave her the right to look down on working families?When we

The blow split the corner of Daniel's lip.He touched the blood and stared at me."Claire, what are you talking about? I don't have a..."Before he could finish, Rachel turned toward him.Their eyes met.Daniel froze for half a second. Then his expression hardened."You've misunderstood. Rachel and I grew up in the same town. That's all.""Daniel," Rachel protested softly.One warning look from him sent her back two steps.I raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Then explain the villa in Eastwood. Don't tell me you didn't know Rachel and her son have been living there."Parents waiting outside the testing center began to gather around us.Daniel seized my arm and tried to pull me away from the crowd."Claire, we can talk about this at home. What if all this noise gets to Noah?"I had swallowed every suspicion because I refused to endanger my son. But Rachel had come to the testing center to threaten him. If I did nothing now, how was he supposed to finish in peace?I shook off

"A bastard?" I stared at Daniel. "If my son is a bastard, what does that make Rachel's son? Your rightful heir?"I had wanted to ask that question from the moment I heard Evan use the word.Daniel and I were legally married. What gave Rachel's son the confidence to treat mine like an intruder?Daniel could not speak. He reached for Evan's mouth, but the boy shoved him away."Dad, you've neglected Mom and me for years. What's wrong with telling the truth? Noah doesn't even have your last name. How is he your son?"Evan's voice grew louder."You said I was the only one who'd carry on the Carter name. Did you forget?"At last, the timing made sense.Daniel's attitude toward Noah had changed just before the Northview entrance exam.That spring, Noah and I had gone to a Bennett family memorial. Daniel suddenly asked when I planned to change our son's last name.His company was stable now, he said. Business partners would laugh at a man whose own son carried his wife's family name.