The Rise of Betrayed Husband
Copyright© 2026 by Laxu
Chapter 8: His Father-in-Law Gets Involved
Ethan didn’t try to dodge the question. He admitted it outright and even showed Dean Lang the paternity reports. As a master physician and the dean of the hospital, Lang spotted the problem at a glance.
Dean Lang told Ethan not to overthink things and to take some more time off. After sending him on his way, he called Richard Lowell, set up a meeting, and went straight over.
After the usual pleasantries, once they were alone, Lang got right to the point. “That son-in-law of yours asked me for more time off. Turns out it’s so he can get a divorce. Should I fire him, ship him off to some rural clinic, or do you have something else in mind?”
Richard blinked, then snorted. “That ungrateful wretch is airing the family’s dirty laundry in public. Isn’t he afraid of being laughed at?”
Lang didn’t hold anything back either. He took out the report Ethan had given him and handed it to Richard. “This is what he showed me. Richard, what Ethan’s saying is that since Claire has found someone better, she should let him go.”
“It’s fake! Don’t believe him! I won’t let that ungrateful wretch get away with this!”
When he saw that it was another paternity report, Richard tore it up, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it aside.
Lang didn’t quite agree. “Ethan has been reliable all these years. He’s never made a mistake at work or falsified anything. If he faked test results just to get a divorce, he’d be asking for it. He couldn’t handle the consequences. So I actually think these results would hold up to scrutiny.”
That silenced Richard. If it was true, it was a serious problem—a serious problem with his daughter.
He frowned. “Did Ethan give you anything else? Say anything else?”
“Just this. He said these were his grounds for divorce and he needed some time to deal with it, and then he’d come back to the hospital ... Oh, and it sounds like he’s already gone to court to file for divorce from Claire.”
“What? He went to court? Has he lost his mind?”
Richard immediately called his daughter and told her to stop the divorce suit at the courthouse. She reported back that the Group’s lawyers were already on it and the petition had been withdrawn. Only then did he relax a little.
But Richard realized Ethan might file again, and next time it might be in a different court, one where getting the case pulled wouldn’t be so easy. Whoever started this was the one who had to end it. He needed to find Ethan and ask him what exactly he wanted. If his daughter’s marital troubles could shake the Group’s stock price and cause massive losses, he might have to come out of retirement himself to keep the conglomerate stable.
A flood of thoughts ran through his mind. He asked Lang to keep Ethan in check and stop him from running around filing lawsuits. Lang had an idea. There was a special consultation that afternoon at the Integrative Medicine Center, and he would take Ethan with him.
Before leaving, Lang added, “Richard, if your family does end up letting Ethan go, send him my way. I’ll train him to be my successor. Doctors like him are hard to find.”
Richard snorted. “An ungrateful wretch like that, and you still want him as your successor?”
“His private life is none of my business. But as a doctor, he’s remarkable.”
Lang smiled, got into his car, and left.
As soon as he was gone, Richard called Ethan and told him to come over. Ethan refused.
That ungrateful wretch...
Richard couldn’t sit still. After a call with his daughter, he went straight to the Group headquarters.
He found his daughter in the CEO’s office and got right to it. “Get Ethan over here. I want to ask him what exactly he thinks he’s doing.”
“I called him, and he won’t come. I texted him, and he won’t come. Wait until this evening. I’ll go find him myself.”
Claire called Sophie in as well. “I just talked to Ethan. He’s determined to sue me again. He’ll go from one court to the next, and if Easton won’t hear the case, he’ll take it all the way to Washington. What can we do about it?”
Richard let out a heavy snort. What he had feared was about to happen after all.
Sophie had underestimated how determined Ethan was. “If he files in a higher court, we’ll have to respond, and we’ll be in an even weaker position than we are now. Ms. Lowell, the key is still the paternity test. Based on the current results, the court will side with Ethan.”
“How is that possible?” Claire said. “She’s obviously Ethan’s child and mine. How could they come back with a result like that? What are these labs even doing? I’m going to sue them for putting out garbage like this.”
“Ms. Lowell, you can’t! That would put us in an even worse position.”
Sophie hurried to stop her. Suing the testing labs would be major news, and those labs very, very rarely got things wrong. If they lost, there was no telling what the consequences would be.
“Claire, I’ll keep an eye on the Group,” Richard said. “You settle things with Ethan first.”
Claire looked at Ethan’s latest reply and felt a headache coming on. For now, she did as her father said and took Sophie with her to find him.
In the car, she showed Sophie the text thread. “What exactly is he getting at?”
“On the surface, it means he’s done arguing with us about the report and just wants money,” Sophie said. “That might be his ultimate goal. But it could also mean ... Claire, are you absolutely sure the child is—”
“My daughter is Ethan’s and mine. There’s never been any man but Ethan. He may not have money, but I don’t need money. I was never with him for that. He’s a decent man, a doctor, good with the family, and healthy—I had no reason to cheat. And now this bastard has forgotten everything I’ve done for him. I gave him three daughters, and he has the nerve to demand a divorce and three hundred million dollars of my money! He’s the biggest bastard of all! I’m so angry I could scream!”
Claire was livid. If Ethan had been in front of her right then, she might not have been able to stop herself from hitting him.
Sophie was a little confused herself. “Then the test results...”
“The labs must have made a mistake and mixed up my child with Ethan with someone else’s. That kind of carelessness—I’m suing those labs.”