Chapter 6 - The Son She Sacrificed
Julian was rushed into surgery before dawn.
The bullet had entered below his shoulder and damaged a major artery. Doctors warned that the next few hours would determine whether he lived.
Claire sat outside the operating room wearing a wedding dress stained with his blood.
She had refused to change.
Sebastian stood near the windows, his hands clasped around the top of his cane. Michael had been taken to another floor for emergency treatment. Elena and Noah remained with him.
Vivian sat handcuffed in a police vehicle outside the hospital.
When officers asked whether she wanted to know her son’s condition, she gave only one response.
“He should have obeyed me.”
The sentence reached Claire through one of the detectives.
She stared at the closed operating room doors.
For years, Julian had defended his mother because he believed that beneath her cruelty, Vivian loved him.
Now Claire understood the truth.
Vivian had not loved Julian.
She had invested in him.
And when he stopped serving her ambition, she had pulled the trigger.
Six hours later, the surgeon appeared.
Claire stood so quickly that the chair fell behind her.
“He survived,” the doctor said. “The surgery was successful, but he lost a great deal of blood. Recovery will take time.”
Claire covered her face.
Sebastian placed a hand on her shoulder.
“You saved his life in that tower.”
“He was shot because he tried to help us.”
“He was shot because his mother chose power over her son.”
Claire looked toward Michael’s room.
“Will Michael recover?”
“The doctors are hopeful,” Sebastian replied. “His spine was damaged in the crash, but not beyond treatment. The larger concern is the medication Keller gave him for seven years.”
Dr. Keller had been arrested at a private airport while attempting to board a chartered flight.
In exchange for reduced charges, he had begun speaking.
The truth was worse than anyone expected.
Vivian had discovered Michael’s secret investigation into the missing company funds. She ordered Keller to tamper with Michael’s car and cause a minor accident.
But the brake line failed completely.
Michael’s vehicle plunged down an embankment.
The passenger, his attorney, died instantly.
Michael survived with serious injuries.
Keller found him before official rescue teams arrived. Rather than call for help, he removed Michael from the scene and altered the records.
The passenger’s remains were falsely identified as Michael.
Vivian then took control of Michael’s position in the company.
She had intended to keep Michael hidden only until she located Elena and the unborn child.
But Elena disappeared.
And Noah was born beyond Vivian’s reach.
For seven years, Michael remained locked inside a clinic under another name.
Sedated.
Isolated.
Told that everyone he loved was dead.
Later that afternoon, Michael opened his eyes.
Elena sat beside him.
Noah slept on a small couch with Sebastian’s jacket covering him.
Michael looked around the hospital room.
“Is this real?”
Elena took his hand.
“Yes.”
“I dreamed about you so many times that I stopped trusting my memories.”
She pressed his hand against her cheek.
“Then start with this.”
He closed his eyes.
“You are warm.”
“So are you.”
Michael looked toward Noah.
“He is eight?”
“Yes.”
“I missed everything.”
The guilt in his voice broke Elena’s heart.
“You did not leave us.”
“I should have protected you.”
“You tried.”
“I failed.”
Elena leaned closer.
“Michael, look at me. Vivian stole seven years from us. Do not give her the rest by spending every day blaming yourself.”
Noah stirred on the couch.
He opened his eyes and saw Michael watching him.
“Hi,” Noah said.
“Hi.”
“Mom says you like chocolate cake.”
Michael smiled.
“I do.”
“That is why I touched the wedding cake.”
Elena laughed softly.
“That decision started quite a lot of trouble.”
Noah climbed down from the couch and approached the bed.
“Are you going to stay?”
Michael’s smile faded.
“I hope so.”
“You don’t have to live in the big house.”
“No?”
“No. Our apartment is small, but the heater usually works.”
Elena covered a laugh with her hand.
“And Mrs. Alvarez downstairs makes soup,” Noah continued. “You can sleep in my room until we find another bed.”
Michael’s eyes filled with tears.
“That sounds perfect.”
Noah took something from his pocket.
It was a small plastic lion from a toy set.
“I think this belongs to you.”
Michael held the toy carefully.
“I gave this to your mother before the crash.”
“She gave it to me.”
Michael looked at Elena.
“You kept it.”
“I kept everything.”
A nurse entered and told them Julian had awakened.
Michael’s expression became guarded.
“I need to see him.”
“You need to rest,” Elena said.
“He risked his life to save me.”
An hour later, Michael was wheeled into Julian’s room.
Julian looked pale beneath the hospital lights.
Claire sat beside him.
When he saw Michael, shame filled his face.
“I should have found you.”
Michael stopped beside the bed.
“You believed I was dead.”
“I benefited from it.”
“You did not know.”
“I chose not to question my mother because her lies made my life easier.”
Michael studied his younger brother.
“That is something you will have to live with.”
Julian nodded.
“I know.”
“But you entered that tower.”
“For Noah.”
Michael glanced toward the hallway, where the boy stood with Elena and Sebastian.
“He has a strange effect on people.”
Julian managed a weak smile.
“He destroyed my wedding by touching a cake.”
Claire raised an eyebrow.
“Your mother destroyed the wedding.”
“You are right.”
Julian looked at her.
“I seem to be saying that more often.”
Claire did not smile.
Not yet.
Michael reached for Julian’s hand.
“We cannot change what happened before tonight.”
Julian gripped it.
“What happens now?”
Sebastian answered from the doorway.
“Now we rebuild this family.”
A detective entered behind him.
“I’m afraid there is another problem.”
Sebastian turned.
“What problem?”
“Vivian has agreed to speak, but only if Noah is brought to the interview.”
Elena immediately stepped between the detective and her son.
“No.”
“She says she has information about another threat to him.”
“What threat?”
The detective looked toward Michael.
“She claims she was not the only person stealing from Ashford International.”
Sebastian’s expression hardened.
May you like
“And the other person?”
“Is still inside the company.”
