Billionaire Dad Pretended To Be Sick To Test His Son’s Caregiver, Her Reaction Stunned Him
Chapter 3
The next morning, Marcus called Elena into his office.
She stood near the door.
“If this is about yesterday,” she said, “I apologize for walking away.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
Marcus gestured toward a chair.
She sat.
“Why didn’t you call an ambulance?”
“Because you weren’t having a medical emergency.”
“And if you were wrong?”
“I wasn’t.”
Marcus leaned back.
“You sound very confident.”
“I’ve worked around sick people for years.”
“Where?”
“At a hospice center.”
Marcus paused.
“That must have been difficult.”
“It was.”
“Why did you leave?”
Elena looked down.
“My mother died there.”
Marcus said nothing.
“She had cancer,” Elena continued. “We didn’t have much money.”
He noticed her hands tighten.
“I couldn’t afford the treatment she needed.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I used to think being poor was the worst thing that could happen to someone.”
She smiled sadly.
“I was wrong.”
Marcus waited.
“What’s worse?”
“Having people treat you like your life matters less because you can’t afford to save it.”
The words stayed with him.
Marcus had spent his entire life measuring problems in dollars.
Elena measured them differently.
“You could have made a lot of money from working here,” Marcus said.
“I suppose.”
“Why haven’t you?”
“I don’t understand.”
“You could have asked for higher pay.”
She shrugged.
“I was paid fairly.”
Marcus studied her.
“What do you want?”
“A quiet life.”
“That sounds boring.”
“It sounds peaceful.”
Before he could answer, Noah ran into the room.
“Grandpa!”
Marcus smiled.
“What happened?”
“Noah’s dinosaur exploded.”
Marcus looked confused.
Elena sighed.
“His science project.”
Noah held up a box covered in baking soda.
“It was supposed to erupt.”
“It did erupt,” Elena said.
“Too much.”
Marcus laughed.
Noah looked at him.
“You laughed.”
Marcus stopped.
“When was the last time you laughed?”
Marcus thought.
He couldn’t remember.
Noah smiled.
Then he looked at Elena.
“Can she stay forever?”
Daniel appeared in the doorway.
The question visibly unsettled him.
Marcus looked at his son.
“Why wouldn’t she?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
He watched Elena kneel beside Noah.
Something about the scene bothered him.
Not because Elena was doing anything wrong.
Because Noah looked happier than he had since Rachel died.
Daniel wasn’t ready to trust that.
That night, he found Elena in the kitchen.
“You should leave.”
She looked up.
“Excuse me?”
“My father likes you.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“That makes you dangerous.”
Elena frowned.
“I don’t understand.”
“My family attracts people who want things.”
She dried her hands.
“I don’t want your family’s money.”
“Everyone says that.”
“Then why are you still talking to me?”
Daniel had no response.
Elena walked away.
But before she reached the door, she turned.
“You don’t have to trust me.”
She paused.
“But don’t punish Noah because you’re afraid someone might hurt you.”
Daniel stared at her.
Those words hit harder than he expected.
Because they were true.
