On the second day of the Lunar New Year, my daughter and son-in-law brought the children home for the holiday.

Beaming, I reached for the baby in her arms.

"There's my little darling! Come to Grandma!"

My son-in-law corrected me. "Mom, you're the maternal grandmother—not Grandma."

I froze. "We agreed the second baby would take the Carter name. If I'm not Grandma, what am I?"

Edward's expression darkened. Claire Carter quickly snatched the child back from my arms.

"Mom, what kind of child takes their mother's surname? Think about how that makes Edward look to everyone!"

"The baby's name is Noah Carter Chavez-Carter—there's a Carter in there, see?"

My husband and I exchanged glances. We'd had an agreement: two children, one for each family.

Were they really trying to cut us out entirely?

I let out a dry laugh. "Well then. If that's how it is, our estate won't be going to anyone outside the family name."

1.

Claire's face changed instantly.

"Mom, what's that supposed to mean? 'Outside the family'—do you hear how ugly that sounds?"

"You and Dad only had me. Who else would inherit if not your own daughter?"

Back then, my husband and I had followed the national policy and had only one child—Claire.

We'd raised her like she was the most precious thing in the world, cherished her like the apple of our eye.

Who could have predicted she'd grow up to be so blinded by love? The moment she graduated college, she was desperate to get married.

Edward Chavez was her college classmate—a boy from a poor rural family in another province. His parents had no steady jobs, and there were too many mouths to feed at home.

When both families sat down to discuss the wedding, his side couldn't contribute a single cent.

Forget a car, a house, or a proper bride price—there was nothing.

We were firmly against it, terrified our daughter would suffer if she married into that family.

But Claire had made up her mind. And then she forced our hand by getting pregnant with Riley before we'd even given our blessing.

What could we do? My husband and I had no choice but to agree to the marriage.

We provided the house and the car. We never saw a penny of bride price—and on top of that, we gave a dowry worth half a million dollars.

I proposed that Edward marry into our family, but the Chavezes refused outright.

Claire took his side, of course. "Mom, if Edward becomes a live-in son-in-law, how would people see him?"

With her belly growing bigger by the day, I had to grit my teeth and give in.

My one condition: they would have two children, and the second would carry the Carter surname.

Claire and Edward talked it over and agreed.

So when we learned she was pregnant again, my husband and I were overjoyed. We immediately started buying everything the baby would need.

Claire did her postpartum recovery at her in-laws' place. When the second baby turned out to be a boy, the Chavezes were absolutely thrilled.

Finally, the New Year holiday arrived and Claire brought the children home.

That's when she told me the baby's surname was Chavez.

"Mom, stop with this old-fashioned nonsense! These days, it doesn't matter whose name a child carries!"

Her words yanked me back to the present. "If it doesn't matter, then why not Carter?"

"We had a deal—boy or girl, the second child would be a Carter!"

"You're going back on your word!"

My voice rose with my anger, louder and louder.

The baby in Claire's arms woke up and burst into wails.

"See what you did, Mom? Even little Noah doesn't want to be a Carter!"

"Besides," she added, "if we hadn't agreed back then, would you have even let us get married?"

I slammed my palm on the table. "So you never intended to keep your promise?"

Claire clicked her tongue dismissively. "Oh, come on. If the baby had been a girl, maybe she could've taken your name. But he's a boy! Have you ever seen a boy take his mother's surname?"

"A son carries on the family line! He continues the legacy! He's the one who'll take care of us in our old age!"

Her words left my husband and me shaking with rage.

"Carry on the family line? Continue your legacy? Take care of you?"

"Your father and I only have you—one daughter. Does that mean there's no one to take care of us in our old age?"

Claire and Edward exchanged glances, mouths opening as if to respond, but nothing came out.

Richard had heard enough. He delivered an ultimatum.

"Claire, Edward—we gave you a house, a car, money. We have one condition: Noah takes the Carter name and inherits our factories."

"The child is still young. Change his surname now."

"Otherwise, your mother and I will never give you another cent."

Claire's face flushed with anger. She shot to her feet, grabbed Edward and Riley Abbott, and stormed toward the door.

"Fine! If that's how it is, we'll leave! Don't expect us back!"

She paused at the threshold, turning with a cold smile. "But let me remind you—I'm your only child. When you're old and frail, there's no one else to turn to."

The door slammed. Richard and I sat in silence, our hearts turning to ice.

Days passed. No visit. No phone call.

But her social media? Active as ever.

I scrolled through photos of Noah—barely a month old, impossibly precious. My chest ached. Then I remembered: he carries the Chavez name. The headache returned, pounding behind my eyes.

Richard and I weren't traditionalists who valued sons over daughters. If we were, we wouldn't have stopped at one child. But fifteen years ago, our village was demolished for redevelopment. Richard took that compensation and built a business. One factory became two, then three. An empire, brick by brick.

We'd hoped Claire would marry well—someone from a family like ours. Instead, she fell for Edward, a man from nothing who'd clawed his way up. A phoenix man, as they called his type. Before the wedding, he was already coaching her to squeeze money from us.

Three years of marriage, and what had Edward accomplished? He'd used our money to build his rural parents a villa. Bought them a BMW. The Chavez family's ambitions were transparent as glass.

That's why we'd insisted: the second child would carry the Carter name. Would inherit our legacy.

Now? Claire had called our bluff. She knew we had no other heirs. She was betting everything would fall into her lap eventually—and then straight into Chavez hands.

I called her. Once. Twice. Ten times.

No answer.

Finally, I sent a message: "If you insist Noah remains a Chavez, your father and I will sell the factories. Every last one. We'll travel the world and spend every penny."

"We worked our whole lives for this. We will NOT let it fall into outsiders' hands."

I hit send, then turned to Richard. "Let's pack. Book that trip we always talked about."

He nodded slowly. We'd spent decades building something. Maybe it was time to live for ourselves.

The moment Claire heard I'd purchased plane tickets, she came running.

"Mom, seriously? Is this necessary?" She threw her hands up. "Carter, Chavez—does it matter? Either way, he's my child!"

I let out a cold laugh. "The Carter factories will only go to a Carter."

Claire's shoulders sagged. "Fine, Mom. You win." She pulled out a document, waving it like a white flag. "Edward and I went first thing this morning. We changed his name. The household registration transfer takes time, but it's done."

Richard's eyes lit up. "Changed to what?"

"Noah Carter." She shoved the paper toward us. "See for yourself. Signed this morning."

We examined it—an official name-change consent form.

Noah Carter.

Richard's face transformed, years of tension melting away. The Carter legacy had an heir.

Claire thrust the baby into my arms, her expression sour. "Happy now? Meanwhile, my in-laws are furious."

She crossed her arms, fixing me with a pointed look. "And Mom, I hate to say this, but Noah is a boy. He's carrying the Carter name now. Don't you think you owe the Chavez family some... compensation?"

"One million dollars. Not a penny less!"

My husband and I nearly dropped our jaws. One million?

The audacity of this girl.

"Claire, do you have any idea how much money that is?"

She waved dismissively. "It's just a million, Mom. It's not like you can't afford it."

My husband's brow furrowed. "You think a million dollars grows on trees? And we already agreed the baby would take our name. Now we have to pay for that privilege?"

Edward, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. "Mom, Dad—a million is pocket change to you. But it would mean the world to my parents. It would ease their minds."

He paused, then added with a hint of defiance: "Besides, Claire and I have decided. You'll be raising Noah anyway. He's a Carter now—isn't that what you wanted?"

His tone bordered on petulant. I opened my mouth to snap back, but my husband tugged at my sleeve and shook his head.

"Fine," he said flatly. "A million it is. From now on, Noah lives with us. He's a Carter, through and through."

The moment the money transferred, Edward's demeanor transformed. Suddenly all smiles.

My husband said he understood. After all, Noah was a boy—of course the Chavez family wouldn't want to give up the family name easily. Consider the million... compensation.

Once Noah moved in, our home filled with laughter again.

Claire and Edward started visiting more often too.

One evening at dinner, Claire mentioned she wanted a new car.

I chuckled. "So buy one. Since when do you need our permission?"

She grinned, tilting her head. "Well, I was hoping you and Dad might chip in a little."

My chopsticks froze midair. "Claire. Are you out of money?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded without a trace of shame. "Completely broke."

My grip tightened until my knuckles went white. The anger rose in my chest like steam from a kettle.

Last time, she'd demanded a million to "compensate" her in-laws.

Then came another request—fifty thousand more for Edward. After all, he was the father. A man. Having his son carry another family's name had wounded his pride, apparently.

So we transferred another fifty thousand.

That was less than a week ago. And now she wanted car money?

At this rate, I'd be bankrupt before Noah even started kindergarten.

"Claire!" I slammed my palm on the table. "Your father and I are not running a bank!"

"Yesterday it was a million. Today it's fifty thousand. Tomorrow you'll want a house! I can't keep funding your lifestyle!"

"What happened to the fifty thousand we just gave Edward? Wasn't that enough for a car?"

Claire pouted. "Well, Ulysses Chavez is getting married. They need money for a car, a house, the bride price—you know how it is."

My blood ran cold.

"The million for your in-laws? The fifty thousand for Edward?" I stared at her. "All of it went to fund his brother's wedding?"

My husband and I exchanged glances. His face had gone pale with fury.

"They used our money to marry off their younger son?" His voice trembled.

Edward stepped forward, palms raised. "Dad, please understand. My brother's fiancée's family demanded a car and a house. You know my family doesn't have much, so..."

He shrugged helplessly. "I couldn't just watch him lose his chance at marriage. Everyone spends money on weddings, right?"

Claire jumped to his defense. "Exactly! We're all family here. Why do you have to be so stingy about everything?"

I drew a long breath, forcing myself to stay calm.

"Edward." My voice was ice. "You just said everyone spends money on weddings."

I leaned forward.

"So tell me—how much did you spend to marry my daughter?"

The color drained from his face.

Claire immediately stepped in front of him like a shield. "Mom, enough! You know perfectly well his family doesn't have money!"

I slammed my chopsticks onto the table with a crack.

"If they don't have money, then they should act like it! They should be humble! Grateful!" My voice rose. "Instead of treating us like an open wallet!"