Chapter 15
"I'll give you one more chance. Say 'Mom.'"
Matthew remained silent.
That wordless defiance drove Bianca more insane than any outburst ever could.
"Fine. Just fine." She laughed suddenly, the sound cold enough to raise goosebumps. "You want to be stubborn? I have plenty of ways to make you behave. I've heard there's this drug on the black market, a 'compliance pill' they call it. One dose and you'll call whoever I tell you to call Mom. You'll do whatever I say."
She leaned down, her lips nearly brushing his ear.
"What do you think? Should I slip you a little? Would that make you more... agreeable?"
Matthew's body went rigid as a board, but his expression remained completely neutral. He simply stared at her with cold, unflinching eyes.
The door swung open from outside.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Bianca whipped around to find Lucas standing in the doorway, his expression dark as a storm cloud. She had no idea when he'd gotten back. No idea how much he'd heard.
"Lucas..." Bianca's face immediately crumpled into the perfect picture of wounded innocence. "I... I was just trying to get Dami to drink some congee. He won't eat anything, and he's been throwing a tantrum, so I was just... just trying to scare him a little. That's all."
"Scare him?" Lucas repeated, his tone utterly flat. "With compliance drugs?"
The color drained from Bianca's face.
When had he gotten here? How much had he heard?
"That's not what I meant! I was just talking, I didn't actually—"
"Bianca." Lucas cut her off. "Do you think a fit mother threatens her own child like that?"
"I..." The words died in her throat.
Lucas crossed the room and crouched down, bringing himself to eye level with Matthew on the bed.
"What do you want?" he asked.
Matthew was quiet for a moment. "I want some water."
Lucas nodded. He stood, poured a glass of warm water himself, tested the temperature, then handed it over.
Matthew drank in small, careful sips, not once glancing in Bianca's direction.
Being so completely ignored stung worse than any accusation could have.
Lucas watched until the glass was empty before straightening again.
"Get out," he told Bianca.
"Lucas, let me explain—"
"Out."
Bianca's teeth sank into her lower lip hard enough to leave marks. She turned and fled the room in humiliation.
Lucas's brow furrowed deeply.
All these years, Bianca might not have been a perfect mother, but she'd at least seemed devoted to Dami. But this scene today made him seriously consider something for the first time. How many other incidents like this had happened when he wasn't around to witness them?
...
Central Hospital.
Joshua walked into Juliana's room carrying a freshly printed diagnostic report.
Damian was sprawled against the bedside, chattering quietly about things that happened at kindergarten. His stories jumped around without much coherence, but the animated way he told them was completely different from the little tyrant he played at the Sharp Estate.
The moment Joshua entered, Damian immediately sat up properly.
"The results are in." Joshua clipped the films to the light board, pointing at the shadowed areas. "Just like you suspected. It's tricky as hell. The tumor's positioned in an extremely difficult location, pressing against several critical blood vessels. Surgery carries massive risk. There aren't more than three people in the country capable of attempting this operation."
And of those three, the most skilled with the highest success rate was Juliana.
Joshua looked at her. "The decision's in your hands now. Just say the word and I'll throw the Sharp family out on their asses."
He paused, then added, "Have you forgotten what Lucas's mother did to you back then?"
Juliana's gaze dropped to the medical file.
"I haven't forgotten."
How could she forget? Seven years ago, that woman had stolen her child. Had nearly killed her and the other baby still in her womb.
Joshua looked baffled. "Then why would you even consider—"
"Josh," Juliana lifted her head, cutting him off. "Do you think if I stormed the Sharp Estate right now, I could get my other son back?"
Joshua went quiet.
The answer was no.
The Sharp family's power ran deep through Nexus City like tangled roots. A direct confrontation wouldn't gain them any advantage whatsoever.
"Lucas isn't stupid." Juliana's voice was soft. "Right now, with my amnesia and injuries, I'm just a sympathetic victim in his eyes. Someone weak who needs protecting. That identity is incredibly useful to me."
"I need a legitimate reason to be there. An excuse that lets me come and go freely from the Sharp Estate, to get close to my other son. What could possibly be more perfect than being Ashley Sharp's attending physician?"
Joshua stared at her, momentarily speechless.
He'd been so focused on revenge, on making the Sharp family pay, that he'd forgotten what Juliana actually wanted. She'd never been after vengeance. All she wanted was her child.
"I understand." Joshua exhaled slowly, his expression mixing approval with heartache. "I'll help you. Whatever you need for the surgery, whatever team members you want, just say the word and I'll arrange it."
"Thank you, Josh."
"Don't be formal with me." Joshua smiled briefly before his expression turned stern again, gesturing at Damian playing the good boy beside the bed. "Though I have to say, this son of yours is surprisingly well-behaved. Most kids his age would've been whining and making a fuss after listening to adults talk this long. I guess that's the one good thing Lucas contributed."
"It has nothing to do with Lucas. Matty's always been a good kid." Juliana looked at Damian, her eyes soft with warmth. After a pause, she added quietly, "I wonder what kind of personality Dami has. The child I haven't met yet."
...
The Sharp Estate.
Lucas stared at the small figure on the bed, momentarily at a loss for words.
Bianca had been part of the Sharp family for years. He wasn't blind to her ulterior motives, he'd just never thought they mattered much. She was good to Dami, she kept his mother placated. That had been enough.
But today, for the first time, he realized he'd been wrong.
"Why didn't you tell your grandmother she threatened you?"
Matthew shook his head.
"It wouldn't matter." Matthew's voice was eerily calm. "She wouldn't believe me anyway."
Lucas felt something twist in his chest. A five-year-old child, speaking with such matter-of-fact resignation. What had he experienced in this house?
"You..." Lucas paused, changing subjects. "You seem very concerned about that Dr. Wells at the hospital."
At the mention of Juliana, a flicker of light finally appeared in Matthew's eyes. "Yes."
"Why?"
Matthew fell silent. He couldn't say 'because she's my mother.'
Setting aside the fact that his mom was sick, these past days at the Sharp Estate had taught him that Lucas had built the Sharp family into something formidable over the years. But he'd also discovered Lucas's capacity for ruthlessness.
He thought for a moment. "I like her. If... if Dr. Wells were my mother, that would be wonderful."
The words hit Lucas like a stone dropped in still water.
His mind flashed instantly to that necklace that had fallen from Juliana's purse. To that small photograph tucked inside. The boy in the blue hoodie looked exactly like the 'Damian' sitting right in front of him.
Lucas's expression darkened.
Dami liked Juliana. Juliana carried Dami's photo. Put those two facts together and there was only one possible explanation.
Lucas's hand, resting on his knee, slowly curled into a fist. Whatever faint guilt he'd been feeling toward that woman, whatever strange pull he'd experienced, evaporated in an instant. In its place rose irritation and cold detachment.
Just another woman angling for the Sharp family fortune by taking the roundabout route of winning over his son.