Secretly Married To My Ex’s Uncle

Shortly after our engagement was finalized, my fianc sent a child back to the States for me to deal with.

It arrived with an email that read like a casual afterthought:

[Evelyn, life in London got a bit tedious, and Tessa and I ended up with a kid. Consider it a gift. Since youve always been so compliant and sweet, I figured you wouldnt mind looking after him. Think of it as practiceonce Im back, youll be well-trained to serve as our live-in help.]

I didn't argue. I didn't send a scathing reply. I simply handed the boy over to the estate manager.

Seven years passed.

The offshore CEOs were finally called back to the home office for their annual review. Dominic Harrison pulled up to the gates of the Harrison estate in a slate-gray Maybach, leading a motorcade of luxury SUVs like a conquering hero.

He leaned against the car, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He tilted his head, sliding his designer aviators down the bridge of his nose.

"Missed me that much, Evie? Waiting at the gates just for me?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He blew a plume of smoke directly into my face. "Just so you know, for the sake of the kids citizenship, Tessa and I got married over in the UK. From now on, you two can treat each other like sisters. Whatever she has, youll have too."

He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a smug whisper. "Our families merger is a business deal, right? Im sure you dont care about a piece of paper."

He exhaled another cloud of smoke. It hit me full force, making my eyes sting and water. I stepped back, coughing, wiping the tears away.

I wasn't just crying from the smoke. I was retreating out of instinct. Teddys father was a notoriously possessive man, and hed been very clear: I was to keep a respectful distance from the younger men in the family.

If he saw his nephew harassing his wife, the Harrison empire would burn to the ground by dinner.

Dominic watched me stumble back and let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

"Alright, stop the act. I know you're crying because you're overwhelmed to see me."

He straightened his tie, looking at me with the kind of pity one reserves for a stray dog. "Im back now. You can stop playing hard to get. As long as you take good care of Tessa and me, that 'Mrs. Harrison' title is still yours to keep. It's not going anywhere."

I almost laughed. I wiped the last of the moisture from my eyes and looked him dead in the face, my voice steady and cold. "Dominic, what on earth makes you think I still want you?"

He took another drag, looking at me as if Id lost my mind. "You were branded with the Harrison name the day you turned twenty. Youve spent the last few years raising my kid. Who else would take you now? Youre used goods, Evie."

In that moment, a wave of pure relief washed over me. Thank God I had cut this cancer out of my life years ago.

I remembered him at the airport years back, holding me, promising the world. 'Evelyn, wait for me. Give me five months to prove myself, and Ill come back to marry you.'

He didn't even last a month.

Tessa Cranes child was on my doorstep before his first month abroad was over. They had been sleeping together long before he left. Everyone in the citys elite circles knew; I was simply the last one to be told.

Every time I thought about it, my palm itched to hit him. I started to lift my hand.

"Mommy!"

Teddy suddenly burst through the side door, his little arms outstretched, waiting for me to scoop him up. His father was stuck in board meetings all day, so Teddy had been glued to my side.

Just as I leaned down to pick him up, a hand snatched him away.

"Who are you calling Mommy? I'm your mother!"

Tessa Crane stepped out from behind Dominics SUVs, her face contorted with faux-outrage. Before I could react, she slapped Teddyhardacross his cheek. Twice.

My blood boiled. I lunged forward, shoving her back. She didn't even fall, but she immediately grabbed Dominics sleeve, her voice dissolving into a pathetic sob.

"Dominic, I just wanted him to recognize me. If Evelyn doesn't want him to love me, fine, but how could she hit me?"

That single cry brought his entire security detail running. They swarmed us, circling Teddy and me like predators. Dominic just stood there, his eyes cold and detached.

I pulled Teddy behind my legs, my voice trembling with rage. "Are you all blind? Youre surrounding me for the sake of a mistress? Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Thats enough!" Dominic barked. He crushed his cigarette under his heel and pointed a finger at me. "Evelyn, who gave you the right to talk to Tessa like that?"

"Shes the real Mrs. Harrison. Shes the boys biological mother. Not only are you stopping them from bonding, but youre insulting her in public?"

I scoffed, slapping his hand away from my face. "A social climber like her wants to be my sons mother? Shes not fit to scrub his floors."

If I hadn't been "sweet" and "compliant" back then, letting her stay on the Harrison payroll out of some misplaced sense of pity, she would have starved. And this was how she repaid me.

Dominics temper snapped. He lunged forward, ripping Teddy away from me and shoving him into Tessas arms.

The courtyard echoed with Teddys screams: "You're bad people! Get away from me! Let me go!"

Seeing his face turn bright red from crying felt like a knife to my heart.

Then, Tessa did something truly theatrical. She dropped to her knees at my feet, clutching Teddys legs, wailing at the top of her lungs.

"Evelyn, hate me if you want, but don't poison my son against me! Hes so small, and hes calling you Mommy... how could you abuse him behind our backs?"

As she spoke, she yanked up Teddys shirt, exposing his back. There, stark against his pale skin, were rows of deep, red welts.

Dominics eyes went wide. When he looked at me again, his expression was murderous.

"Eveline! I trusted you with my son, and you used him as a punching bag? Is this your revenge? Because you couldn't have me, you turned into a monster?"

The marks looked horrificlong, vertical red stripes. To someone who didn't know better, it looked like hed been whipped.

What Dominic didn't knowwhat he was too ignorant to understandwas that those were marks from a traditional gua sha treatment. Teddy had come down with a 104-degree fever a few days ago. Because of a rare heart condition, he couldn't take standard fever reducers. The specialists suggested holistic physical therapy to break the fever.

Because of that fever, every nanny, butler, and nutritionist on the estate had already been fired or disciplined by Teddys father. He treated this boy like a deity.

If he found out what was happening right now, Dominic wouldn't just be fired. Hed be erased.

I saw my own security detail moving toward the gates. I was done playing. I pointed at the two of them, my voice dropping to a dangerous, low vibrato.

"Take them down. Teach them exactly how we handle trash on Harrison ground."

Dominics face turned a violent shade of red. As he started swinging at my guards, he screamed at me, "Evelyn, youve lost your damn mind! One more word and Im kicking you out of this house! You'll have nothing!"

I laughed, a cold, sharp sound. "Try me."

These guards were hand-picked by the head of the family. Dominics hired muscle was no match for them.

Seeing that they were losing, and realizing the guards were hesitant to move in while she held the boy, Tessas eyes darted around frantically. She suddenly locked her hand around Teddys throat.

"Stop! Or Ill kill him!"

Teddy thrashed in her grip, his face turning from blue to a terrifying shade of purple. His cries became tiny, wheezing gasps.

I didn't think. I pulled a small decorative letter opener from my belta gift from Silasand drove it into her shoulder.

She shrieked and let go. I caught Teddy as he fell, frantically rubbing his chest.

"Teddy? Teddy, look at me! Mommys here!"

His body began to convulse. He was having a massive asthma attack triggered by the stress. I reached into my pocket for his emergency inhaler, but the wounded Tessa lunged at me like a feral animal.

She tore at my hair, biting and scratching. "You bitch! You abuse my son and then try to kill him in front of everyone!"

Dominic was shouting something, his face pale, but it was all white noise. I managed to get the medicine into Teddys mouth.

Almost instantly, the wheezing slowed. The convulsions eased.

The two of them finally went quiet, staring at the child. But the trauma was too much; Teddy went limp in my arms, unconscious. He needed an IV. Now.

I ordered my guards to hold them. I didn't look back as I carried my son toward the main manor.

Dominics voice exploded behind me, desperate and hateful. "Evelyn! This is it! You walk away now, and you are nothingto me! You hear me? No one wants a used-up psycho like you!"

I didn't even turn around. "No one wants you, Dominic."

"Hardheaded bitch!" he spat. "Wait until you're on the street! Let's see who takes in a piece of trash like you!"

I didn't waste my breath on a dead man walking. I just looked at my lead guard. "Get us to the ancestral estate. Now."

By my watch, the Patriarch was currently leading the family in the annual memorial service.

The moment the car stopped at the main house, I sent a runner to interrupt the service while I ran Teddy straight to the private medical wing.

Teddy stirred in my arms, his tiny hand gripping the lapel of my coat. "Don't cry, Mommy... I'm okay..."

His sweetness only made the guilt heavier. If I hadn't brought him to the front gates to face those monsters, this never would have happened.

"Ma'am, please, the doctor is ready... the young master will be fine!" The head physician was shaking as he took Teddy from me. He knew exactly whose son this was.

As they placed Teddy into the hyperbaric recovery chamber, the doors were kicked open again.

Dominic stormed in, carrying Tessa. Seeing me there, a look of smug triumph crossed his face.

"Told you," he sneered. "Claimed you didn't care, then ran straight to the family elders to tattle? Youre pathetic."

Tessa clung to him, her eyes gleaming with malice. "Evelyn, you stole my child, you stabbed me, and now youre crashing the memorial service? Do you have any idea what Uncle Silas does to people who disrespect the family traditions?"

"The whole city knows," she whispered, a cruel smile touching her lips. "You cross the Head of the Harrison family, and you don't just disappear. You cease to have ever existed."

Dominic set her down and shoved the doctor aside, grabbing my arm with a painful grip. "Evelyn, for old time's sake, Ill give you one last chance to run before the guards get here. Get out."

Teddy, seeing him grab me, grabbed a heavy glass water pitcher from the bedside table and hurled it at Dominics head.

CRACK.

Dominics face went dark. He reached into the recovery area and lifted Teddy up by the collar of his hospital gown.

"You little brat! You want to die? You dare hit your father?"

Teddys face began to turn purple again as he choked. I broke free from Dominics grip and slapped him so hard my own hand went numb.

"Let go of my son!"

Tessa grabbed a handful of surgical gauze, trying to stuff it into my mouth to quiet me. "You bitch, youre going to get us all killed! If you ruin the ceremony, we're all dead!"

She was screaming, shoving me toward the floor. In the chaos, I went down hard.

Dominic looked at me with utter disgust. "Evelyn, I thought you were at least educated. I thought you had enough class to raise my heir. But look at you."

"Youre a lunatic. A child isn't safe with a woman whos lost her mind. From this moment on, Tessa and I are taking full custody of Teddy."

He suddenly winced in pain. Teddy had sunk his teeth into Dominics hand, biting down with everything he had.

Teddy had been raised by me, and only me. He didn't know this man. To him, Dominic was just the monster hurting his mother.

When he was four, he used to try and chase away stray cats with his tiny fists, standing in front of me and saying, "Don't worry, Mommy, I'll protect you."

Seeing him now, drenched in cold sweat but refusing to let go, broke something inside me.

I kicked Tessa away and tried to grab Teddy, but Dominic grabbed me by the hair and threw me across the room. My head hit the corner of a cabinet.

"Evelyn! You turned my own son into a mindless animal!"

"Don't hurt my mommy!" Teddy screamed, lunging again.

Dominic caught him by the jaw, squeezing until Teddys face bruised. He forced the boy to look at Tessa, who was cowering in the corner.

"Look at her, you little shit! Thats your mother! Not this psycho!"

"She's not my mommy! You're bad! You're monsters!"

Dominic lost the last of his patience. He slammed the boy onto the floor and stepped on Teddys chest, his boot pressing down hard.

"This kid is broken. Evelyn ruined him. He doesn't even know his own parents."

He looked down at Teddy with a chilling smile. "Fine. Ill teach you how to apologize to your father."

He increased the pressure. Teddys muffled groans of pain echoed in the sterile room.

"Get off him! You animal! You aren't fit to touch him!" I screamed, crawling toward them, my voice breaking. "He has asthma! He can't breathe, you idiot! Look at his face!"

"If anything happens to him, Dominic, I swear to God, you won't live to see tomorrow!"

Dominic laughed. He looked at me, then at the bloodied, disheveled Tessa. "Asthma? Can't breathe?"

"If he won't acknowledge me, why do I care if he breathes? Even if I kill him by accident today, its your fault for raising him to be a failure."

He grabbed Teddy by the hair, forcing him into a kneeling position. The poor boy couldn't even hold himself up. He was turning grey.

I lunged for Dominic, but he kicked me back and pinned me to the floor, forcing me onto my knees facing Tessa.

"The kid is a brat because youre a failure. Bow down. Give Tessa three formal apologies, and maybe I won't break his ribs."

He slammed my head down against the tile. Blood from the gash on my forehead began to blur my vision.

I didn't say a word. I just glared at him through the crimson haze.

My silence pushed him over the edge. He picked up the letter opener Id dropped earlier and held it to my throat, his voice a low, terrifying coo.

"Tessa has a hole in her shoulder because of you. Its only fair you give her one back. Unless you want to start bowing..."

I didn't let him finish. I gathered the blood and spit in my mouth and sprayed it directly into his eyes.

Dominic froze. He slowly wiped his face, his eyes burning with a demonic rage. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and jerked my head back.

"Don't say I didn't give you a choice."

He looked down and kicked Teddys limp body. "Watch closely, kid. This is your first lesson. When you're stupid, you pay the price."

The pain must have jolted Teddy awake. He opened his eyes just as the blade was coming down toward my chest.

In a burst of adrenaline no one expected, he threw himself out from under Dominics boot and dove in front of me.

"No!"

Thwack.

Hot, metallic-smelling blood sprayed across my face.

I stared at Teddy. The world went silent. Tears carved tracks through the blood on my cheeks. My heart felt like it had been ripped out of my chest.

Teddys lips trembled. He reached out a small, shaking hand, trying to touch my face. "Doesn't... hurt... Mommy... don't cry..."

His hand dropped before he could touch me.

Dominics eyes were bloodshot. He pulled the blade out and aimed it at my heart again, his voice trembling with madness. "You really are something... you even manipulated my son into dying for you!"

The tip of the blade pierced my skin, just an inch deep, when the room was shattered by a deafening gunshot.

"The Patriarch is here!"