Billionaire Dad Pretended To Be Sick To Test His Son’s Caregiver, Her Reaction Stunned Him
Chapter 6
Marcus spent the night reviewing old files.
The denial had been made through the Sterling Foundation.
Rebecca Brooks had requested financial assistance for experimental cancer treatment.
The request had been rejected.
Not by Marcus personally.
But under his authority.
The reason was written in cold corporate language:
Insufficient evidence of long-term treatment viability.
Marcus stared at the sentence.
Eight years earlier, he had been worth billions.
Rebecca had needed money to stay alive.
He had rejected her.
Now her daughter was caring for his grandson.
He felt sick.
The next morning, he called Elena.
“I owe you an apology.”
She looked confused.
“For what?”
Marcus placed the old file on the table.
Her eyes moved across the page.
Then she stopped.
She recognized her mother’s name.
Her face went pale.
“You knew?”
“I didn’t know you were Rebecca’s daughter.”
“But you knew about her.”
“Yes.”
“You rejected her request.”
Marcus nodded.
“I did.”
Elena looked at him.
“You?”
“Ultimately, it was under my authority.”
She laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
“You have no idea how many nights I watched my mother struggle to breathe.”
Marcus lowered his eyes.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
She stepped back.
“You don’t know what it was like to sit beside someone you love and count the seconds between breaths.”
Marcus said nothing.
“You don’t know what it feels like to beg doctors for another week.”
Her voice cracked.
“You don’t know what it’s like to choose between food and medicine.”
“I don’t.”
She wiped her eyes.
“And now you want me to forgive you because you feel guilty?”
“No.”
“Then what do you want?”
Marcus looked at her.
“Nothing.”
He pushed the file toward her.
“I just thought you deserved the truth.”
Elena stared at the document.
Then she asked:
“Why did you really hire me?”
“To care for Noah.”
“Not because of this?”
“No.”
She nodded.
Then she left.
Marcus sat alone.
Daniel entered a few minutes later.
“What happened?”
Marcus told him.
Daniel read the file.
His face hardened.
“You rejected her mother?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t remember.”
Daniel looked at him.
“That was the problem.”
Marcus frowned.
“What?”
“You made decisions about people’s lives and forgot them.”
The words hurt.
Because they were true.
Daniel left.
That afternoon, Elena handed Marcus her resignation.
“I’ll stay until you find someone else.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“I’m not asking you to stay.”
He paused.
“I’ll understand if you leave.”
She studied him.
“You’re not going to defend yourself?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t undo what happened.”
She nodded.
Then she said something that surprised him.
“I forgive you.”
Marcus looked up.
“What?”
“I said I forgive you.”
“Why?”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because I know what carrying anger does to a person.”
She touched the old file.
“My mother spent her final months angry at everyone.”
“Did she hate me?”
Elena shook her head.
“She didn’t know your name.”
Marcus looked down.
“She just believed rich people couldn’t understand poor people.”
Elena took a breath.
“She was wrong.”
Marcus looked at her.
“How?”
“Because now I know some rich people can change.”
She left the room.
Marcus sat there, stunned.
He had expected hatred.
Instead, Elena had given him something much harder to accept.
Forgiveness.
