Billionaire Dad Pretended To Be Sick To Test His Son’s Caregiver, Her Reaction Stunned Him
Chapter 7
Elena didn’t leave.
Not immediately.
Noah asked her to stay.
That was enough.
Marcus began changing the Sterling Foundation.
He reopened cases that had been rejected.
He created emergency medical grants.
He ordered the foundation to review every application denied under the old system.
Daniel helped.
For the first time, father and son worked together without arguing.
But something remained unresolved.
Marcus still hadn’t told Elena about the real reason he had originally investigated her.
The staged illness.
When she eventually learned the truth, she confronted him.
“You tested me.”
“Yes.”
“You pretended to be sick.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me.”
“Yes.”
She looked disappointed.
“I thought you were changing.”
“I am.”
“Then why?”
Marcus took a breath.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of me?”
“No.”
He looked toward Noah’s room.
“Of losing him.”
Elena softened.
Marcus continued.
“Rachel died. Daniel changed. Noah stopped talking. Then you arrived, and suddenly Noah trusted someone.”
“So you thought I would hurt him.”
“I thought everyone eventually leaves.”
Elena stared at him.
“That’s not a reason to test people.”
“I know.”
She shook her head.
“You’ve spent your whole life trying to control what happens to you.”
Marcus smiled sadly.
“Yes.”
“You can’t.”
“I know that now.”
Then Daniel entered.
He looked exhausted.
“Dad, we need to talk.”
Marcus frowned.
“What happened?”
Daniel handed him an envelope.
Inside was a letter.
It had been written by Rachel three days before her death.
Marcus read it.
Then read it again.
Dad,
If anything happens to me, don’t let Daniel become like you.
Marcus’s hands trembled.
He thinks money can protect him because that’s what you taught him.
Please teach him something else.
At the bottom was one final sentence.
And if Noah ever needs someone, find a person who will love him when nobody is paying attention.
Marcus looked up.
Elena was standing in the doorway.
Rachel had somehow described her before they had ever met.
Marcus felt tears fill his eyes.
“Where did you get this?”
Daniel answered.
“It was in Mom’s old desk.”
Marcus couldn’t speak.
Daniel looked at Elena.
“She was right.”
Elena smiled.
“Your mother sounds like she was a smart woman.”
“She was.”
Marcus folded the letter.
That night, he made a decision.
He would stop testing people.
Instead, he would start trusting them.
But before he could tell Elena, something happened that threatened everything.
Noah disappeared.
