THE DIVORCE GAMBIT From Dumped Wife to CEO's Forever novel Chapter 682

"Does she even deserve to be called a mother?" Benedict was angry.

Benedict and Tammie had been incredibly close, the kind of friends who shared everything. He knew all of Tammie's secrets. Today, with Tammie's ashes right here, he had to get to the bottom of it.

Hearing his questions, Keira finally spoke, her voice heavy. "You can't blame Tammie's mother. The reason she disliked him was because he looked too much like his father."

Benedict was stunned. "So… there was no love between Tammie's parents?"

But even if there wasn't, how could you hate your own child for it? What kind of twisted logic was that? A child was innocent.

"The truth is…" Keira began, the words catching in her throat. After a long pause, she continued, "Tammie's father, Sage, was a rapist."

The color drained from Benedict's face. Even Caitlin was in disbelief.

"Years ago, Sage became obsessed with Tammie's mother, Hulda, the moment he saw her. But Hulda was already in love with someone else, a man she'd been with for over a year. They had promised their lives to each other and planned to move to a city they both loved after graduation. To possess her, Sage resorted to despicable means."

"Hulda became pregnant with Tammie after that one time. Her family, desperate to avoid a scandal, forced her to break up with her boyfriend and marry Sage instead."

"She fought back, she tried to run, she even secretly attempted to terminate the pregnancy, but nothing worked."

"So, from the moment Tammie was born, Hulda refused to even nurse him. As he grew older and his resemblance to Sage became more striking, her hatred for him only deepened."

"Eventually, Hulda found proof of Sage's illegal activities. Once she had that leverage, she threatened to expose him unless he granted her a divorce. He had no choice. The year they divorced, Tammie was only eight years old."

"The day Hulda left, Sage jumped from a building."

"It was only later that we found out Hulda had already been diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer. She didn't want to die in the Gonzales family home, shackled to a marriage she despised. She wanted to be free, even in death. A hundred days after Sage died, she passed away too."

"That's why she never came to say goodbye to Tammie, and why she hated him so much."

Who could ever love the child of their rapist? Especially when that child was a living reminder of the man who had destroyed her life.

The news that Professor Smith had developed a miracle cure for epilepsy sent shockwaves through the entire medical community. The people of Valerium were ecstatic, flooding the official account for Smith's lab with comments.

[Can't wait for the Smith Pill to be released!]

[Long live Director Smith!]

[So the cure won't be sold to people from Eldermere? Good! Serves them right! They don't deserve to benefit from Valerium's medical achievements.]

[That's right! The people of Eldermere have no right to our medical breakthroughs.]

[Director Smith is a benevolent man. Those devious Eldermereans must have done something to offend him.]

[I can't wait to see them come begging.]