My Adoptive Son Was Husband and Best Friend’s Bastard

After my son was abducted, my husband took me to an adoption center to bring home a baby boy born the same year as the child we'd lost. I poured every ounce of love I had into raising him. He had a sensitive stomach, so I pushed through my chronic back pain to cook him special meals every single day. When he spiked a fever in the middle of the night, I carried him twenty miles through the rain to the nearest hospital. When he couldn't focus in school, I was constantly at his classroom door, flattering his teachers and bringing them gifts, just to get them to pay a little extra attention to him. Fifteen years of grinding sacrifice, and it all came down to one moment at his college acceptance party. "I couldn't have gotten into Harvard without my mother's love and hard work," he said into the microphone. He raised his glass, eyes drifting toward where I was sitting. The cameras flashed as I started to rise from my seat, matching his silent lip movements. And then I heard a name I didn't expect. "She is Rachel Lynch." I froze. That was my best friend's name. Chapter 1 My adopted son Ethan's lips curled into a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. And then I heard a familiar voice right behind me. "Oh, Vivian. You really are something else, you know that? You handed your husband over to my bed, and you spent fifteen years raising my biological son." "I should actually be thanking you." My best friend Rachel pressed both hands down on my shoulders and breathed the words against my ear like a ghost. I spun around and caught the exact moment my husband Derek locked eyes with her. My stomach lurched. I pressed my hand to my chest. "No," I said, shaking my head. "That's impossible. Ethan misspoke. Derek told me our son was gone, so we adopted." Rachel let out a cold laugh and handed me two documents. One was a photo of Derek at the grocery store, holding the son who had supposedly disappeared. The other was a paternity test confirming Derek and Ethan as a match. The blood drained from my face. Derek stood there with a smirk, silently mouthing: You stupid little fool. From up on stage, Ethan watched every flicker of emotion cross my face. "Mom," he said, voice bright and easy, "I can finally thank you out in the open." He reached out and took Rachel's hand. The look he gave me was pure contempt. Something snapped inside me. I shoved through the crowd, got up on stage, and slapped him across the face. The crack of it silenced the entire room. Derek's expression went dark immediately. "Vivian, what the hell is wrong with you?" "What's wrong with me?" My eyes flew wide. I pointed at him, then at Rachel. "You two absolute—" Before I could finish, a full glass of red wine poured over my head. Through the red haze, Ethan's voice came out cool and detached. "Mom, how could you talk about Rachel like that? She's the one who risked her medical license to get you your prescription migraine meds all these years. Or did you forget that?" "And Dad has worked hard for this family. All you've ever done is cook and shop. Today is supposed to be a celebration. Stop making a scene." The boy I'd bled and sacrificed for turned out to be my husband's son with his mistress. And in a few sentences, he erased everything I'd done and painted me as the villain. I snapped. I threw the documents Rachel had been gloating over right back at her. In return, she burst into tears. "Vivian, I know being a stay-at-home mom isn't easy. But you can't try to steal my son just because you're jealous. I was kind enough to let you be his adoptvie mother since you couldn't have kids yourself, and now you're trying to twist it around and say you're his real mother? I can't take this anymore." Rachel wailed, then lurched toward the wall like she was going to bash her own head in. Derek caught her, pulling her close, then turned to me with undisguised contempt. "If you want to have a breakdown, have it at home. Get over here and apologize to Rachel." Chapter 2 Ethan piled on. "Yeah, say sorry to my mom, or everyone's going to think you've lost your mind." He grabbed my arm and started hauling me across the floor, ignoring the wine soaking through my clothes and my sharp cry of pain. I stood my ground in front of the whole crowd and spat three times in their direction. "Rachel, drop the act. You were loving every second of it. What happened? Can't keep going?" Before she could answer, Derek lit up his phone screen. A naked photo of me stared back at everyone in the room. He leaned in close, voice low and threatening. "Vivian. Unless you want these pictures everywhere, you're going to sign the divorce papers. Right now." "Give up custody, leave with nothing, keep your mouth shut, and I'll let you walk away with your dignity. Otherwise..." His breath was warm against my ear. Every vein in my body went cold. The whole room was watching, soaking up every second. I smiled. "Fine. Let's do it." My easy agreement seemed to catch Ethan off guard. Derek practically dragged me into a corner, giddy. The emcee was still up front doing damage control. "Our Ethan really is extraordinary. Everyone wants a Harvard scholarship kid for a son!" When I signed the last line, I looked up at Ethan and Rachel. Derek, satisfied, made a show of generosity and invited me to say a few words. "You raised Ethan for years, so you're practically his adoptvie mother. Say a couple words before you go." "I never had a son." I walked out laughing to myself. Outside, a thin rain was already falling. My phone buzzed with a number I almost didn't recognize anymore. For the first time in years, I made a different choice. The voice on the other end was worn, hesitant. "Vivian? Is it really you? Are you actually answering?" My voice cracked. I nodded hard. "Mom. It's me." "I want to come home." --- Meanwhile, Ethan was celebrating with Rachel and Derek. "Mom, that woman who was in the way finally got what she deserved. After all these years, I'm finally back where I belong." Ethan was practically glowing, sitting between the two of them, raising his glass again and again. Rachel dabbed her eyes and pulled a Rolex out of her bag. "Baby, you worked so hard to get into a Fortune 500 company. When you're out there in the world, a man needs to look the part. Consider this your internship gift from mom." Ethan slipped it on and couldn't stop calling her mom. Derek was beaming, laugh lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes. The three of them traded warm words by candlelight. The image on the tablet, this perfect little family reunion, hit me like a punch to the chest. My mother came over with a glass of warm milk. "Sweetheart, your father and I tried so hard to stop you from running off with that broke nobody when you were fifteen. You just wouldn't listen." "And then he turned around and used the antiques he stole from our house to reinvent himself as some collector, and tricked you into raising his love child. At least now you can see who these people really are. Maybe some good will come out of it after all." My mother stroked my hair. My father slammed his cane on the floor. "That son of a bitch. How dare he treat my daughter like this. I'll have his gallery shut down so fast he won't know what hit him." Years ago, I had fallen stupidly in love and walked out on everything, a wealthy family and a real life, to follow Derek and eat ramen in a basement apartment. And all I got for it was total, absolute betrayal. The anger was still burning when I quietly arranged for a company-issued black card to be sent to Ethan's office, framed as a reward for his internship. Chapter 3 Ethan was thrilled. He immediately dragged Derek and Rachel to a luxury boutique to go on a shopping spree. They ran right into me. I was there buying a power suit. Derek was dressed to the nines in a made-to-measure suit, head tilted back like he owned the place. "Well, well, Vivian. What's it been, a few days? Already working retail? Oh wait, don't luxury stores require a bachelor's degree minimum? Didn't you drop out of community college?" Rachel had Hermès bags stacked up both arms, barely able to hold them all. She sauntered over, fake-annoyed. "Derek, don't be like that. Vivian's still my best friend. If she can't hack it in retail, she'd make a great cleaner. Honestly, if it weren't for her babysitting Ethan all those years, I never would've landed a Harvard son for free." She covered her mouth and laughed. Ethan looked around the room, then deliberately stepped away from me like I was something that might contaminate him. "Why are you still following us, Vivian? You signed the papers. Here." He pulled out a twenty and flicked it onto the floor. "Get lost." The bill floated down and landed at my feet. I turned away without a word, finished my selections, and walked to the register. Derek assumed I couldn't afford anything and had run off. He had no idea I'd already bought out half the store; my housekeeper had everything sent back to the estate. I changed into the suit and walked into an auction house. My plan was to bid on the crown jewel lot and make an entrance. Naturally, the three of them followed me in. Ethan stood there with the black card and that smug, I've-already-won smile. He didn't know I'd set a delay on large transactions. As the card's owner, I had full authority to reverse any payment. The auctioneer worked through the lots one by one: "A Georgian-era emerald necklace set. Opening bid, one hundred thousand dollars." "A seventeenth-century Dutch still life. Opening bid, two hundred thousand." "An 1933 Double Eagle gold coin. Opening bid, five hundred thousand." Ethan had his nose in the air, pretending none of it was worth his time and whispering snide remarks to Derek and Rachel about how unimpressive the whole thing was. Then the auctioneer unveiled the final lot, and every person in the room sucked in a breath. An eighteen-carat pink diamond, freshly unearthed from South Africa. Opening bid: ten million dollars. The paddles went up like a wave. The price rocketed toward fifty million. No one dared push further. Ethan raised his paddle. "Fifty-five million." I raised mine. "Sixty million." Rachel burst out laughing the second she heard my voice. "Are you serious? Since when can cleaning ladies come to auctions? Vivian, putting on a blazer doesn't make you a businesswoman. A cheap knockoff is still a knockoff." Her voice was sharp enough that the auctioneer stepped in. "Ma'am, every guest at this event has been vetted for their assets. As for your party, you came in as walk-ins, which means—" "Excuse me? My son has a black card, the only one of its kind in the country. You clearly have no idea who you're dealing with." Rachel jabbed her finger at Ethan's shoulder, ordering him to get the diamond. With the whole room watching, I'd already made my splash. I threw out a few more bids just for show, then let it go. Final price: Ethan won the pink diamond for seventy million dollars. "Vivian, done pretending to be rich? What happened, run out of money and had to leave?" Chapter 4 Rachel clucked her tongue. Derek sighed. "Vivian. We were married for years. I get it, you don't have money. But stop overextending yourself. You snuck in there, couldn't afford anything, and made yourself look like an idiot. Why do that to yourself?" Then he offered her some unsolicited advice, with a leer that turned my stomach. I didn't bother responding. Give your enemies enough rope. When the auctioneer came out a few minutes later with a miserable-looking Ethan in tow, Derek and Rachel finally got the news about the card's payment hold. "Dad, Mom, the auction house says the large transaction on the card is delayed three days. They're saying I bid too high for a standard hold, and I need to pay three-point-five million up front as a deposit before they'll release it." "What?" Both of them shrieked. Derek went dark. "What kind of operation is this? You don't get the item, and you still have to pay a deposit? That's insane." Rachel nodded vigorously. "Exactly! It's a scam. My son has a black card; he's not going to run off on a seventy-million-dollar purchase. Keep this up and we'll walk. Good luck finding another buyer." The auctioneer called security and held firm. "Mr. Hall, Ms. Lynch, your son purchased our most significant item. All sales are final. If he fails to complete the transaction, you'll be liable for fifty percent of the hammer price in damages." "No deposit, and we'll be filing a police report against Ethan." Ethan went white. "Dad, Mom, please, you have to help me. The card is just temporarily locked. Cover the deposit and I'll pay you back." Derek and Rachel just stared at each other. They had come here to spend Ethan's signing bonus, not their own money. I stepped in, my voice perfectly sympathetic. "Oh, Ethan. I can't watch this. These are your biological parents. How could they let you go to jail? If I were your real mother, I'd sell the car, sell the house, whatever it took." I let a beat pass. "Too bad Derek got everything in the settlement." Ethan's eyes lit up. He turned to Derek and demanded he liquidate the house and car immediately, or he'd cut them off. Rachel caved on the spot. Before they left, I reached out and touched Ethan's face, sighing like a concerned mother. "Ethan, I raised you all these years. You've barely been anywhere. Honestly, a trip to Vegas would do you good, and you don't even need a passport." Ethan sniffled. Despite being held back by the auctioneer's security, he managed to stretch out one hand toward me. I spotted the flicker of hollow sentiment in his eyes and walked away before I gagged. Then I called the casino floor manager in Las Vegas and had a personalized VIP invitation texted directly to Ethan's phone. Free three-day trip for three, billed as a lottery win. No passport required. Three days from now was exactly when the auction payment would process. I swirled my wine in the back of the plane, watching the three of them practically vibrating with excitement in their seats. I couldn't wait to see their faces. Everything went exactly according to plan. The moment Ethan landed in Vegas, the casino had him. Derek and Rachel tried to rein him in, but they had no choice but to stick to his side and babysit. Chapter 5 The floor manager, following my instructions, started him off with a few complimentary chips. Once Ethan was hooked, they offered him more at a "discounted" rate. He was gone, day and night, eyes bloodshot, barely eating, locked on the roulette wheel. Security footage showed him screaming at Derek and Rachel. "Give me your chips. The table's about to open. Move out of my way or I swear to God—" "Ethan, have you completely lost it? That's how you talk to your father? Gambling is addictive, and don't forget, your dad sold the house and both cars to get you that three-point-five million. You keep this up and there's nothing left." "Ethan, please," Rachel begged. "We're your parents. We're not trying to hurt you." "I got into Harvard on a full ride. I deserve to blow off a little steam. Three-point-five million? That's nothing. I have a black card, I just spent seventy million without blinking. Out of my way." He shoved them both to the ground. Derek hit the floor hard. Rachel cracked the back of her head against the wall. Blood ran from her temple to her jaw. Ethan didn't look at either of them. He pried the chips out of her hand and walked away. When he finally lost everything, they tried to use the moment to drag him home, but I had already arranged for the manager to let him sign a credit account based on his Harvard credentials. The terms included a predatory interest clause he'd agreed to without reading. Ethan looked straight into the security camera and nodded. He even threatened to hurt himself to get more chips, which got Derek and Rachel roped into the debt too. When the three-day trip ended, casino collectors followed them all the way back to the city. "Ethan. You've been ignoring every call. Think you can just skip out? That black card is worthless; the three-day transfer window you promised brought in not a single dollar." "That's impossible. You must have done something wrong." Ethan was still half-asleep, yawning, rubbing his eyes. The auctioneer snapped and slapped him across the face. "This is an auction house, not a charity. You're broke and you've got the nerve to play high roller? Besides the three-point-five million deposit, you still owe thirty million on the balance. Pay up." The casino manager looked stunned. "What do you mean you can't pay? You walked into my casino with nothing and you expect to walk out free? Get him, take him back to Vegas." Men in black closed in on all sides. Rachel panicked and went on the offensive. "That's impossible. My son is a Harvard graduate. That black card was issued by his company; it has no limit. You people clearly have never dealt with real money before." Derek kept his voice even. "Let's all calm down. My son is a serious person. He's not going to skip on a debt. How about this, let me take him to the office and we sort this out." The manager and auctioneer exchanged a look, then climbed into a cab with the three of them. I'd decided against making a grand entrance. I stepped out of the town car at the corner and walked the last block on foot. Which is exactly where I ran into them, Derek and Ethan unshaven and hollow-eyed, Rachel's hair a disaster. Chapter 6 Ethan blinked like he was seeing things. "Vivian, what are you doing here? Didn't you go off to scrub toilets somewhere?" Rachel looked like her head was on fire, but she still couldn't resist. "You think dressing up in designer clothes makes you someone? You're still a nobody, Vivian." Derek didn't even speak. He pulled two crumpled dollars from his pocket and dropped them on the sidewalk between us. "Today is Ethan's first day at his internship. Stop embarrassing yourself. Take a bus to the police station and turn yourself in, and don't come crying to me when I stop playing nice." Ex-husband. The thought nearly made me laugh. Ethan was already speed-walking toward the building entrance, too anxious about being late to deal with me. All three of them were a mess, father and son dark-circled and ragged, Rachel wobbling in heels that were one step from snapping. The security guard at the door didn't even look up from his watch. "No appointment, no entry. New staff and family need to register first." While the three of them stood there sputtering, I walked calmly to the entrance and waited. Rachel, still catching her breath, completely lost it. "Are you blind? My son is a top graduate, this company recruited him, and they gave him a black card. We're not just anybody. Get your CEO out here right now." Ethan lost his patience too. "Let me in. This company's card doesn't even work. I need to find out what's going on." Derek still hadn't said anything to me. He finally looked my way, arms crossed. "Vivian, give it a rest. Do you seriously think you belong here? I'll have you know they require a master's degree to clean the bathrooms in this building." He enunciated each syllable slowly, deliberately. "You didn't even finish high school." Rachel, already pissed off from the security guard, spotted me and found a new target. "Vivian, will you stop following us around? I will call the police and have you committed." She barked like a cornered dog. I didn't blink. The street-level guard had just been transferred in and didn't know me. But the office line had been alerted. My secretary came through the lobby doors leading a group of shareholders. Ethan's face lit up. He stepped forward, hand extended, nodding eagerly. "Oh wow, I'm so honored you came down personally to welcome me—" His outstretched hand stopped mid-air. The entire group walked right past him and stopped in front of me. They bowed in unison. "Good morning, Ms. Ashford." Derek and Rachel made a sound like all the air had been punched out of them. They pointed at me, mouths hanging open. "You... you're the CEO?"