Chapter 1: The Crescent-Moon Legacy.

Part 1

💔 I honored my ex-father-in-law’s memory at his funeral — only to be accused of ‘fraudulent spiritual interference’ with his family’s lineage days later.

I wore my meticulously pressed former service uniform to my ex-father-in-law’s funeral to honor his memory, carrying my youngest, Leo.

Three days later, my ex-husband’s lawyer sent a formal notice, demanding a paternity test and accusing me of “fraudulent spiritual interference” in the Lockwood lineage.

The implication was clear: he believed our five children weren’t just biologically questionable, but somehow unnaturally born.

My quiet grief twisted into a cold, focused resolve.

That day at Arthur Lockwood’s funeral, the chapel was hushed, the air thick with sorrow. I kept Leo close in my arms.

My older children—Iris, Asher, Willow, and Finn—sat stiffly in the front row next to me. They were all so young.

Their faces, however, were an undeniable echo of my ex-husband, Gavin. Each child bore his sharp jawline and intense blue eyes.

It wasn’t just the resemblance that drew every eye. Beneath sleeves or as they fidgeted, a shared mark was visible on each of their left wrists.

It was an identical, intricate crescent-moon birthmark. The exact mark Gavin always had, one I’d once thought unique to him.

Gavin’s current partner, Seraphina Shaw, sat across the aisle. Her lips were pressed into a thin, disapproving line.

She shot us cold, dismissive glares throughout the entire service. Later, by the graveside, she avoided my gaze completely.

After the somber ceremony, I returned home, trying to process my grief for Arthur.

Then, three days later, the formal notice from Gavin’s lawyer landed on my doorstep. It demanded paternity tests for all five children.

The papers explicitly accused me of “fraudulent spiritual interference” in the Lockwood lineage.

The implication was clear, cutting through my grief: Gavin believed our children were not just biologically questionable, but somehow unnaturally born.

The accusation was unsettling. It left me reeling from its extreme and baseless nature.

Part 2

The accusation was unsettling. It left me reeling from its extreme and baseless nature.

At the funeral reception, Seraphina’s eyes kept finding me. She was already several glasses of champagne in, her face flushed.

“Still hanging around, gold-digger?” she slurred, stumbling towards me. “Don’t you have any shame?”

I tried to turn away, but she grabbed my arm.

“Gavin knew you were trouble,” she hissed, her voice loud enough to draw glances.

“He tried to get rid of them for years. Even before you divorced, he was seeing those creepy spiritual advisors, trying to exorcise their lineage.”

My blood ran cold.

“Exorcise their lineage?” The words echoed in my head.

This wasn’t just about paternity. What dark secret had Gavin been trying to bury for so long?