Chapter 10 - The Custody War Begins
Chloe’s petition felt like another betrayal.
She claimed she had carried the baby in good faith and formed the primary maternal bond.
Her attorney described me as an “egg provider.”
I wanted to tear the document in half.
Rachel stopped me.
“Anger is understandable. Strategy matters more.”
Chloe called that evening.
“I had to file.”
“No, you chose to.”
“I’m protecting the baby.”
“From me?”
“From Julian’s family. From the trust. From everyone.”
“You knew my eggs were stolen and kept carrying the pregnancy.”
“I love her.”
The baby was a girl.
Chloe had known for months.
Nobody told me.
That hurt in a way I could not explain.
“What did you name her?”
Chloe hesitated.
“Lily.”
Our mother’s favorite flower.
I closed my eyes.
“You don’t get to use Mom’s memory to make this right.”
The court appointed a guardian ad litem to represent the unborn child’s interests.
Genetic testing confirmed what the clinic records already suggested.
I was the biological mother.
Julian was the biological father.
Chloe had no genetic connection.
But biology did not automatically settle parentage because she had carried the pregnancy and no lawful consent existed.
The judge ordered all three of us to avoid public statements.
Evelyn immediately violated that order from jail through her attorney, claiming Chloe had always intended to surrender the baby to Julian.
Chloe denied it.
Then Rachel found a signed private guardianship agreement.
Chloe had promised to transfer custody to Julian and Evelyn seventy-two hours after birth.
In exchange, they would pay her $750,000 from the Bennett trust.
Chloe’s signature was genuine.
She had signed six months earlier.
When confronted, she whispered, “I thought you agreed.”
But the agreement contained a clause triggered if I discovered the pregnancy.
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In that event, Chloe would receive nothing unless she fought me for custody.
👉 Chloe’s custody petition was not only about love—Evelyn had designed it to force both sisters into destroying each other.
