Chapter 1The Final Heir

“The ‘child-free’ decision was a mistake. Mom’s getting old; there’s no more time to wait.”

“How many months?” I looked up at my husband, Eason Reed.

“What?”

“Your bastard child.”

Eason’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “I was planning to find someone to have a baby. If you mind, once the child is a little older, I can bring them home for you to raise.”

“Pfft…” I scoffed. “What a coincidence! A bastard child, our dad has one already. Why not just bring that one home?”

* * *

“What did you say?” Eason’s pupils constricted. “What do you mean, ‘our dad has one’?”

I didn’t rush to answer. Instead, I slowly pulled a stack of photos from the drawer. Each one showed a mother and child.

“This woman originally planned to cause a scene with Mom, but Mom just had heart bypass surgery last month and can’t handle stress. I stopped her.”

Eason’s face turned ashen. He snatched the photos. “Nonsense! Dad, at his age, how could he be so foolish! We absolutely cannot let Mom find out about this!”

I looked at him, feigning innocence. “Our dad has a child in his later years. Aren’t you happy for him? That’s your biological brother, after all. He’ll inherit the company someday too.”

“Brother?” Eason’s mouth twitched. “Do you hear yourself? That’s an illegitimate child! A shameful bastard! What right does he have to be on equal footing with me?”

I met his gaze, a smile in my eyes. “Honey, are you perhaps a little too nervous? Having a brother could help you share the burden. You should be happy.”

“This way, we won’t have to go through all the trouble of finding a surrogate.”

Eason froze abruptly. Observing his expression, I could more or less guess what had happened. When a child can’t hold it, they’ve already made a mess. When a man confesses, he’s already been to bed with someone else. So, he wasn’t asking for my opinion; he was telling me his decision.

Three seconds later, he grabbed his jacket. “I’ll look into this. If it’s true, then we have a huge problem!”

The door slammed shut with a heavy thud. Rapid footsteps echoed in the hallway. I slowly pulled out my phone. “Follow him. Once you have clear photos, send them to me.”

Hanging up, I leaned back into the sofa, gazing out at the night sky. The decision to be child-free had been a mutual agreement eighteen years ago. Back then, he’d said children were a burden, an encumbrance. He didn’t want to be tied down for life by a ‘ball and chain.’ We were to be an ideal couple, traveling the world, seeing every mountain and river.

I believed him. And I poured all my energy into the family business. Eighteen years later. I had long since lost the ability to become a mother. But men were different. They could change their minds at any time. Now, the matriarch of the family was ill and suddenly remembered the important duty of continuing the family line. And Eason, in a burst of filial piety, also felt that a life without children was incomplete. How utterly absurd.

Back then, everyone criticized me, saying that having children was the lowest form of ‘poverty alleviation.’ Women shouldn’t dream of getting something for nothing by just using their womb. I thought that by holding the steering wheel of my life, I could avoid a mutual defeat. But no one ever told me. In life’s multiple-choice questions, no matter which path you take, it’s a dead end.

My time was running out. I needed more help and more evidence. Otherwise, my fate would be terrible. The next second, I grabbed my car keys and headed to the hospital. Since Eason’s mother was so fond of children, how could I let her down?

The woman in the bed wasn’t particularly pleased to see me. “What are you doing here? Where’s Eason?”

I offered a slight smile, pulling up a chair. “Him? He seems to be meeting someone. Oh, by the way, where’s Dad?”

The old woman impatiently turned her head. “He left on a business trip yesterday.” She stretched lazily. “You don’t need to come anymore. The company is at a critical stage right now. Use this time to help out more. Lin here is enough to take care of me.”

Lin? I looked at the caregiver standing nearby.