Billionaire Dad Pretended To Be Sick To Test His Son’s Caregiver, Her Reaction Stunned Him
Chapter 2
Elena Brooks had learned early that rich houses could be colder than poor ones.
She had been working as a caregiver for nearly ten years.
She had cared for elderly patients.
Children with disabilities.
Families recovering from tragedies.
She had never expected to work for Marcus Sterling.
Everyone knew the name.
Sterling Industries owned hotels, shipping companies, technology firms, and luxury apartment buildings across the country.
Marcus was worth billions.
But his grandson Noah didn’t care about any of that.
Noah cared about dinosaurs.
He cared about pancakes shaped like rockets.
He cared about the bedtime story Elena had read to him every night since she arrived.
And most of all, he cared about his grandfather.
Unfortunately, Marcus was rarely around.
His wife had died years earlier.
His only daughter, Rachel, had died in a car accident.
Daniel had become increasingly distant afterward.
And Noah had become quiet.
Elena noticed that immediately.
The boy rarely cried.
That worried her more than crying would have.
Children who cried still expected someone to comfort them.
Noah had stopped expecting anyone to come.
One afternoon, Elena found him sitting beneath the dining table.
“Why are you hiding?”
He shrugged.
“Grandpa is angry.”
“Why?”
“He says Daddy needs to grow up.”
Elena sat on the floor.
“Do you know what that means?”
Noah shook his head.
“Me neither.”
The boy smiled faintly.
That evening, Marcus watched them from the hallway.
Elena helped Noah with his homework.
She never once mentioned money.
Never asked about the mansion.
Never complained about the long hours.
When Noah became frustrated, she didn’t rush him.
She simply waited.
Marcus noticed something else.
She never called the boy “Mr. Sterling’s grandson.”
She called him Noah.
Daniel didn’t like that.
Later that night, he confronted his father.
“She knows how much we’re worth.”
Marcus looked up from his desk.
“She hasn’t asked for anything.”
“Yet.”
Marcus sighed.
“Daniel, you’ve been suspicious of everyone since Rachel died.”
“Because people changed after she died.”
“That doesn’t mean everyone is using us.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“You didn’t see what I saw.”
Marcus looked at him.
“What did you see?”
“My mother dying.”
The room became silent.
Daniel looked away.
“Everyone kept telling me to be strong.”
Marcus softened.
“You were nineteen.”
“I know.”
“You shouldn’t have had to be strong.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Then why did everyone expect me to be?”
Marcus had no answer.
Daniel left.
For years, Marcus had believed his son was becoming cold.
But perhaps Daniel wasn’t cold.
Perhaps he was wounded.
And Marcus suddenly realized that the test he had planned for Elena might reveal something much more important than whether she could be trusted.
It might reveal why his son trusted nobody at all.
