Billionaire Dad Pretended To Be Sick To Test His Son’s Caregiver, Her Reaction Stunned Him
Chapter 5
Marcus barely slept.
By morning, he had asked his security team to investigate Elena.
Not because he believed the caller.
Because he had learned never to ignore warnings.
The report came back within twenty-four hours.
Elena Brooks.
No criminal record.
No suspicious financial activity.
No previous connection to the Sterling family.
She had worked at four medical facilities.
Her references were excellent.
Her mother had died eight years earlier.
Her father was listed as deceased.
Everything appeared ordinary.
Too ordinary.
Marcus asked Thomas, his head of security, to dig deeper.
“Find everything.”
Thomas hesitated.
“Do you suspect her?”
“I don’t know.”
“That wasn’t an answer.”
Marcus looked at him.
“That’s because I don’t have one.”
Meanwhile, Elena sat beside Noah’s hospital bed.
The boy had fallen asleep.
Daniel stood near the window.
“You heard about the phone call?”
Elena nodded.
“You think I’m lying.”
“I don’t know.”
“That sounds like your father.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
“You both investigate people before you talk to them.”
Daniel sighed.
“It’s how we’ve survived.”
“Maybe.”
Elena looked at Noah.
“But survival isn’t the same as living.”
Daniel looked down.
“Why do you always say things like that?”
“Because you need to hear them.”
He smiled faintly.
“You’re very direct.”
“So is your son.”
Daniel laughed.
Then Elena asked:
“Have you ever told Noah about his mother?”
“Not much.”
“Why?”
“Because he asks questions I can’t answer.”
“Then tell him that.”
Daniel frowned.
“What?”
“Tell him you don’t know.”
“That won’t help.”
“It might.”
She looked at him.
“Children don’t need perfect answers.”
“They need honest ones.”
Daniel sat down.
“My mother was the one who knew everything.”
Elena listened.
“She knew how to calm him.”
“She knew how to calm you too?”
Daniel smiled.
“Yes.”
Then his smile disappeared.
“She was the only person who could.”
Elena touched his shoulder.
Daniel looked at her hand.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Noah stirred.
“Daddy?”
Daniel immediately turned.
“I’m here.”
Noah opened his eyes.
“Are you leaving?”
“No.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Elena watched them.
Something in her expression changed.
She looked almost sad.
Later, Marcus noticed.
He asked her about it.
“You looked upset.”
“I was remembering something.”
“What?”
“My mother.”
Marcus waited.
“She used to tell me that people who lose someone don’t need to forget them.”
She smiled.
“They need permission to keep loving them.”
Marcus looked at her.
“That’s beautiful.”
“It took me years to understand.”
He studied her face.
Then something clicked.
Her mother.
Hospice.
Cancer.
No money.
Hesitation.
Marcus suddenly remembered a name from years earlier.
A woman who had once come to his company asking for assistance with medical expenses.
A woman he had refused.
He had never met her personally.
But her file had been on his desk.
Rebecca Brooks.
Marcus’s heart sank.
“Your mother’s name was Rebecca?”
Elena froze.
“Yes.”
Marcus couldn’t speak.
Because he remembered signing the document that denied her request.
