The Billionaire Was Declared Brain Dead—But His Maid’s Crying Toddler Refused to Leave His Side
Chapter 12
Adrian’s rehabilitation was difficult.
Some mornings, he couldn’t stand.
Other days, he struggled to remember words.
But he never complained.
Claire pushed his wheelchair through the hospital garden.
Liam walked beside them holding the edge of the chair.
“Slow,” Claire said.
Liam nodded seriously.
Adrian laughed.
“He doesn’t listen to you.”
“He’s two.”
“That explains it.”
Claire smiled.
For a few minutes, everything felt peaceful.
Then Adrian asked something that changed the mood.
“Do you know… why Liam called me Da-da?”
Claire looked down.
“No.”
Adrian smiled.
“He decided.”
“When?”
“The first time he fell asleep on my shoulder.”
Claire laughed.
“You never told me.”
“I didn’t want to interfere.”
“You could have.”
Adrian looked at her.
“I was already interfering.”
She frowned.
“How?”
He took a breath.
“I started looking forward to coming home.”
Claire stopped walking.
Adrian looked away.
“I’d tell myself I was checking the house.”
“You weren’t.”
“No.”
“You came home to see us.”
“Yes.”
Her heart raced.
He looked at her again.
“I didn’t know how to say it.”
“You could have tried.”
“I was afraid.”
Claire smiled sadly.
“The billionaire was afraid?”
“Of you.”
She laughed.
“That’s impossible.”
Adrian shook his head.
“You didn’t look at me like everyone else.”
“How did I look at you?”
“Like I was just a man.”
Claire didn’t know what to say.
Adrian took her hand.
“I’ve been surrounded by people who wanted something from me.”
He squeezed her fingers.
“You wanted nothing.”
“I wanted you to stop leaving dirty socks in the hallway.”
He laughed.
“That’s fair.”
Then Liam interrupted.
“Da-da!”
They both looked down.
Liam had picked up a small toy ring from the garden bench.
Claire smiled.
“Apparently he has something to say.”
Adrian crouched with difficulty.
He looked at the child.
“Come here.”
Liam ran into his arms.
Adrian held him carefully.
Claire watched.
And suddenly she realized something.
Liam wasn’t simply attached to Adrian because Adrian was kind.
Liam had sensed what Claire had been too afraid to admit.
Adrian had become family.
But just as she leaned closer, her phone rang.
The investigator.
He had found one more piece of evidence.
A bank transfer connected Marcus to the person who had sabotaged Adrian’s car.
The name was not one Claire expected.
It belonged to someone inside the Blackwell family.
Adrian’s uncle.
Victor Blackwell.
The man who had spent the entire scandal publicly claiming to support Adrian’s recovery.
Claire’s stomach dropped.
The conspiracy was bigger than they thought.
