The Rise of Betrayed Husband
Copyright© 2026 by Laxu
Chapter 4: His Father-in-Law Turns on Him
Under his father-in-law’s searching gaze, Ethan said, “It’s real. I couldn’t believe it at first either, so I had several more tests done. The results were all the same.”
Richard didn’t respond right away. He fixed Ethan with a piercing stare, studying him.
Ethan’s face filled with bitterness. “I showed the results to Claire,” he added helplessly.
“Oh? You told her? And then what?”
“Yes, I told her. But I have no idea what she’s thinking. She refuses to accept a scientific result. She won’t admit it, won’t confess, and won’t listen to reason. Richard, I haven’t made a public fuss about this. Right now, only the three of us know. I want to settle this peacefully.”
“This is no small matter. You were right to keep it quiet. But it’s so sudden—I wasn’t prepared for anything like this. As her father, I trust Claire’s character. She wouldn’t—”
Damn. Father and daughter really are two of a kind.
Ethan grew anxious. “You don’t know what Claire—”
He almost blurted out that the second and third daughters were bastards too. But then a thought flashed through his mind. What if Richard already knew what Claire had been up to, and was deliberately trying to calm him down?
So he said instead, “Now that things have come to this, I want the truth. Whose child is Natalie? Claire can’t possibly have not known she was carrying someone else’s baby. So why didn’t she stay with that man? Why did she choose me? And if she chose me, why hide it? Richard ... do you know?”
“I don’t know either. I’ll have her come over and explain herself.”
As Richard listened, the composure drained from his face, replaced by confusion. At last he called his daughter and told her to come over immediately.
While they waited, he asked Ethan several technical questions about the paternity report. Ethan’s answers were clear and precise, and only then did Richard remember that his son-in-law had been a doctor for more than a decade. If Ethan had produced these results, then it was all but certain that his granddaughter Natalie wasn’t Ethan’s biological child.
He also called his wife and told her to hurry home.
Claire rushed in. She was a little surprised and puzzled to find Ethan there, but she also thought it might be for the best. She could use her parents’ authority to talk him into coming home.
Then her father handed her a paternity report and demanded an explanation. She went blank for a second before turning a furious, searching look on Ethan. “What are you doing? If you have a problem with me, say it to my face! Running to my parents to tattle—what are you trying to pull?”
Ethan didn’t back down. “Explain this.”
Claire tore the report to shreds. “What’s there to explain? Natalie is your daughter! If you think you can use this to smear me and get whatever despicable thing you’re after, dream on!”
She turned straight to her father. “Dad, do you know what he’s doing? He wants to use this fake report to divorce me and squeeze a hundred and sixty million dollars out of me! Asking for that kind of money—he’s no good!”
Richard’s sharp eyes locked onto Ethan. “So that’s what you’re really after?”
Ethan hadn’t expected his wife to twist things around so completely and paint him as a greedy little man. He thought for a moment, then nodded. “That’s right! Claire, I’m divorcing you, and you’re going to pay! If you’d signed yesterday, it would’ve been a hundred and sixty million. Now I want more!”
“You bastard!”
Richard exploded and slapped Ethan hard across the face. When Ethan didn’t hit back, he wound up for another, but his daughter pulled him away.
Claire hadn’t expected her father to actually hit anyone. She hurried over to Ethan. “Admit you were wrong. Apologize to my dad, and apologize to me. Get him to forgive you, and don’t you ever upset him like this again...”
Ethan let out a cold little laugh. He could feel his gums bleeding from the blow. He worked his tongue around his mouth and spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the floor. “I didn’t do anything wrong. What would I be apologizing for? Claire, this marriage ends today!”
“You ungrateful traitor! I’ll beat you to death myself!”
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