Chapter 8 - THE BOY THEY NEVER COUNTED|
When I returned to the hospital, Eli was sitting in bed with a puzzle spread across his blanket.
He looked up.
“Mom, you're back.”
“I told you I would be.”
“Did you bring my blue dinosaur?”
I smiled and reached into my bag.
He hugged it against his chest.
“Thank you.”
I sat beside him.
For a while, we worked on the puzzle together. He was missing one corner piece, but he refused to give up.
Then he looked at me.
“Mom, why does Dad like Sophie more?”
I stopped moving.
“Who told you that?”
“Nobody.”
He placed a puzzle piece near the edge.
“He always goes to her things. He doesn't come to mine.”
I swallowed.
“Sometimes adults make selfish choices. That doesn't mean one child is more lovable than another.”
Eli looked down.
“Then why does he choose her?”
I didn't have an answer that a five-year-old could understand.
So I told him the truth in the simplest way I could.
“Because your dad has made choices he needs to answer for. But none of those choices are because of you.”
Eli nodded slowly.
Then he placed the final piece in the puzzle.
“Finished.”
I kissed his forehead.
“Yes. You did it.”
A nurse entered to check his temperature.
When she left, my phone rang.
It was Holly.
“We retrieved the duplicate trust records.”
“What did you find?”
“Arthur's estate created a protected medical fund for direct descendants. Eli is listed as the first living beneficiary after you.”
I stared at my son.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Grant's company had a legal duty to maintain emergency medical protection for him.”
My throat tightened.
“Did Grant know?”
“The records suggest he did.”
I looked at Eli.
He was carefully arranging his toy cars along the blanket.
“Then this wasn't just a terrible decision.”
“No,” Holly said. “If Grant knew Eli was a protected beneficiary and deliberately diverted the reserve, the legal consequences could be much more serious.”
I closed my eyes.
“Send everything to the prosecutor.”
“I will.”
That evening, a man in a dark suit arrived at the hospital.
He introduced himself as Victor Hale, Grant's financial adviser.
“I need to speak with you privately.”
I stood between him and Eli's bed.
“Whatever you have to say can be said here.”
Victor glanced at the child.
“This is not appropriate.”
“Then you can leave.”
He lowered his voice.
“Grant wants to settle this. He'll give you the penthouse, a substantial financial package, and full control over Eli's medical expenses.”
“I already have control over my son's care.”
“He wants to avoid unnecessary conflict.”
I stared at him.
“Does he also want to avoid explaining why emergency blood was sent to another hospital?”
Victor's expression tightened.
“You need to understand that the company is much larger than one family dispute.”
“My son is not a family dispute.”
Victor placed an envelope on the table.
“Read the offer before you make a decision.”
I didn't touch it.
“Take it with you.”
He leaned closer.
“Be careful, Mrs. Whitmore. There are things about your inheritance that even you don't know.”
I met his eyes.
“Then I suggest you start explaining.”
Victor walked out.
I called Holly immediately.
“Victor Hale just threatened me.”
“What did he say?”
“He said there are things about my inheritance I don't know.”
May you like
Holly was silent.
Then she said, “Mara, I think we need to find out what happened to the original Whitmore estate before Grant's father died.”
