He Revealed a Secret Son, So I Swapped Grooms Instead Chapter 05

He Revealed a Secret Son, So I Swapped Grooms Instead Chapter 05

That night, I ended up in the hospital.

My forehead needed three stitches.

My left cheek was badly swollen. My wrists were black and blue where they’d grabbed me.

While the doctor worked on me, my mother sat beside me, her eyes blazing.

My father stood by the window, making call after call.

He never raised his voice. But every word was ice.

“Shut down every project under Desmond’s name.”

“Don’t sever ties with Prescott yet. But audit everything. Investigate everything.”

“And secure all the security footage and witness statements from tonight.”

“Leave nothing out.’

After hanging up, he turned to me.

“Claire. You don’t have to swallow this.”

“The Hastings family doesn’t need you to suffer to keep a deal on the table.”

I looked at him.

For the first time that night, the knot in my chest began to loosen.

“Dad, do you really think the Prescott family will strip Desmond of his heir status?”

My father walked over to the bed.

“Arthur isn’t senile.”

“This isn’t just about Desmond’s private life.”

“He broke the cardinal rule for an heir.”

“An illegitimate child destabilizes the line of succession.”

“Embezzling company funds destroys shareholder trust.”

“And laying hands on you tonight turned the Hastings family into an outright enemy.”

“He’s done. Whether he likes it or not.”

I nodded. But I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was coming.

A man like Desmond wasn’t going to surrender quietly.

Sure enough, the next morning, a video suddenly appeared online.

The headlines were vicious.

[Hastings Heiress Throws Tantrum at Her Own Engagement]

[Old Money Heiress Can’t Handle Fiancé’s Old Flame]

[Three-Year-Old Begs Daddy to Stay as Cold-Hearted Heiress Drives Them Out]

The video had been edited carefully.

It only showed Nora pleading in tears.

Then Leo, clinging to Desmond and calling him Daddy.

And then, my line.

“I didn’t tell you to have his kid, and I sure as hell didn’t make him sleep with you.”

That one line had been pulled out and looped.

The comments immediately turned against me.

[That rich girl is straight-up evil.]

[What did the kid ever do to her?]

[Nora already said she didn’t want the title of Mrs. Prescott. Why won’t Claire leave them alone?]

[Rich people are scary. They won’t even spare a kid.]

My mother was shaking with anger when she saw the comments.

“How dare they?”

My father’s expression was grim too.

Vernon spoke quietly, “We traced the source. It was posted by one of Nora’s friends.”

“Someone also bought a wave of bots to push it.”

I didn’t need to ask who was behind it.

Desmond had been taken in, yet he’d already managed to hit back.

Which meant he’d had a backup plan ready.

He wanted to paint me as the heartless heiress who couldn’t stomach his illegitimate son.

He wanted Nora to look like the innocent woman he’d loved all along.

Once the story blew up, both families would be under pressure.

I stared at the flood of hate on my phone. Then I let out a cold laugh.

My mother took my hand, her expression full of concern.

“Claire, don’t read this.”

I shook my head.

“I’m fine, Mom.”

“If they want to play the media game, I’ll play.”

My father looked at me.

“What do you want to do?”

I looked up. “Release the full video.”

“Everything. Him ordering the doors locked. His men grabbing my phone. Holding Vernon down.

Pulling a camera on me.”

“And the records showing he used Prescott subsidiary funds to buy Nora’s houses and cars.”

“If they want this public, then let’s go public with everything.”

My father studied me for a moment.

Then he nodded. “All right.”

At ten that morning, the Hastings Corporation’s official account released a statement.

No playing the victim. No tearful plea. Just one line.

[The Hastings family does not tolerate humiliation, intimidation, or violence.]

The complete security footage followed.

Fifteen minutes later, public opinion completely flipped.

Everyone saw what had really happened.

They saw Desmond parading his mistress and illegitimate son at his own engagement party, pressuring his fiancée to accept them.

They saw him lose his temper and have the doors locked.

They saw him order his men to take my phone.

They saw him point a camera at me.

And they heard him say, “Once we’ve got something on camera tonight, you think you’ll still run to

Grandpa?”

The moment that line spread online, the internet exploded.

[Jesus. Is this guy a walking felony?]

[This isn’t an engagement party-it’s a crime scene.]

[Everyone who dragged Claire owes her an apology.]

[The kid’s innocent. The adults using him as a pawn aren’t.]

[And Nora can drop the act. If she really wanted nothing, why show up at the engagement party with the kid?]

Then the second batch of evidence went public.

Three properties in Nora’s name.

Two luxury cars.

Her overseas account statements.

And wire transfers from Prescott subsidiaries, authorized by Desmond.

The internet lost it again.

[Didn’t she say she wanted nothing?]

[That’s her definition of ‘nothing’? She’s getting more than the actual fiancée.]

[So ‘true love’ runs on company money?]

[Prescott shareholders aren’t sleeping tonight.]

Prescott’s stock went into free fall.

The Prescott board of directors was forced to convene an emergency meeting ahead of schedule.

That afternoon, Prescott issued a statement.

Desmond was stepping down from all company positions for “personal reasons.”

But everyone knew the truth.

This wasn’t temporary.

He’d been kicked out.