Chapter 7
"Mrs. Sharp!" the butler cried out in alarm.
Lucas's expression sharpened.
"Get the family doctor here. Now."
Ashley had only meant to fake an illness, but somewhere in the performance, a searing pain tore through her stomach. Her face drained of color, and she quickly slipped into a semi-conscious state.
The family doctor arrived and conducted a preliminary examination. "Sir, Mrs. Sharp's condition is concerning. I strongly recommend getting her to a hospital immediately for a full workup."
The ambulance screamed in, then screamed away.
Lucas stood in the hospital corridor, staring at the red light above the emergency room doors, his emotions a tangled mess.
Several hours later, the test results came back.
The attending physician approached him, his expression grave.
"Mr. Sharp, I'm afraid the news isn't good. Your mother has been diagnosed with mid-stage gastric cancer. The location is... tricky. Surgery will be extremely difficult."
Lucas's mind went blank, a high-pitched ringing filling his ears.
"However," the doctor quickly added, "don't lose hope just yet. While the tumor's positioning is problematic, it's not entirely impossible. There's one person in the entire country who might be able to perform this operation."
"Who?" Lucas seized onto that thread of possibility.
The doctor adjusted his glasses and spoke a name Lucas could never have anticipated.
"Dr. Juliana Wells, from Blessed Care Hospital."
Juliana. Again.
The absurdity of it all hit Lucas like a freight train.
Before he could even process this information, word came from the hospital—Dr. Wells was packing up her things, preparing to leave.
He immediately drove to Blessed Care Hospital.
But another uninvited guest had beaten him there.
Ashley appeared in her hospital gown, though it couldn't quite hide her air of entitled privilege. Two bodyguards flanked her as she blocked the entrance to Juliana's office.
"Juliana." Ashley's voice dripped with condescending magnanimity. "Perform my surgery."
Juliana didn't even pause in her packing, as if she hadn't heard a word.
Ashley's expression darkened. "I'm giving you an opportunity. Operate on me, and we can wipe the slate clean—everything from before, forgotten. Otherwise, I'll make sure you can't work at any hospital. Anywhere."
Juliana finally stopped. She turned around, taking her time to face Ashley.
"Ashley, do you know what karma is?"
Ashley's face went white.
"Seven years ago, you 'rescued' me from some enemies. Made me carry a child for your son. Promised me a million dollars when it was done—said I'd never have to worry about money again." Juliana's voice was soft, but each word drove into Ashley like a needle. "But what did you actually do? I nearly died giving birth to those babies. You took one, then left me and the other to bleed out on the operating table. Forget a million—you didn't even pay the medical bills."
"If I hadn't gotten lucky, you'd be staring at a ghost right now instead of me."
Juliana leaned in close, her eyes glacial.
"My scalpel exists to save lives. Not to save venomous snakes like you. You want to live? Fine. Go beg God—though I doubt even He would bother with you."
Without another glance at Ashley's ashen face, she walked right past her and out the door.
"You! Stop right there!" Ashley trembled with rage, her finger stabbing at Juliana's retreating back as she shrieked.
Lucas arrived just in time to witness this scene.
"Mom!" He rushed forward to steady Ashley. Seeing him, she clung to him like a lifeline. "Lucas, that bitch! She cursed me to die! You can't let her leave! Make her come back!"
Lucas's brow furrowed deeply.
He turned to the butler. "Get my mother back to her room."
Then he spun on his heel and took off after Juliana.
Juliana had just reached her car when a hand clamped around her wrist from behind. That familiar grip—rough, calloused, unyielding.
She turned. Sure enough, Lucas's face was stormy.
"Let go." Juliana's voice could have frozen fire.
"Dr. Wells." Lucas kept his voice low. "I apologize for my mother's behavior just now."
Juliana looked like she'd heard the world's funniest joke.
"An apology? Mr. Sharp, does everyone in the Sharp family like to beat people down before tossing them scraps? First you had me dragged to the police station. Then you broke into my home and threatened me. Now your mother points her finger in my face and tells me to get lost, and here you are asking me to save her?"
The disgust in her eyes was practically overflowing.
"What do you think I am? Some dog you can whistle for when it's convenient?"
Lucas pressed on. "The doctors say you're the only one who can perform this surgery. Juliana, if you'll save her, I'll agree to any condition. Anything."
"Conditions?" Juliana yanked open her car door and slid inside. She lowered the window. "My condition is that I want your mother to die. Can you agree to that one?"
Lucas's expression turned thunderous.
Juliana had no intention of wasting another word on him. "Take your money and your poisonous mother and get the hell out of my world!"
The taxi peeled away.
Lucas stood rooted to the spot, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles cracked.
Back at the apartment, Juliana collapsed onto the sofa.
In the living room, Damian sat with perfect posture, assembling an enormous LEGO space cruiser.
Seeing Juliana's exhausted expression, he set down the pieces and toddled over on his little legs.
"Mommy, what's wrong?"
The child's clear eyes were full of concern.
Juliana's heart softened. "Mommy's fine, sweetheart. Just a little tired."
"Is it because of the hospital?" Damian asked carefully. "Is it because of... that grandmother from the Sharp family?"
He'd gone out with Mary today and overheard plenty of gossip about Ashley being hospitalized.
The warmth in Juliana's eyes instantly cooled.
Damian caught that shift immediately, his chest tightening. "Mommy, do you really hate her? You don't want to save her, do you?"
Juliana looked at the 'Matty' before her, silent for a long moment. "Matty, that grandmother... she's not a good person."
"Years ago, she almost let us die on the operating table."
Damian's brain short-circuited with a deafening buzz.
Almost... died on the operating table?
Him and Mommy?
"Mommy..." His voice trembled.
Juliana thought she'd scared him and quickly pulled him into her arms. "It's okay, it's okay, all in the past now. See? Mommy's fine. And our Matty is fine too."
Damian sat stiffly in Juliana's embrace, her lovely scent filling his nose, but his heart felt like an invisible hand was squeezing it, the pain stealing his breath.
So this was how his so-called family had treated his mother.
That night, Damian tossed and turned, sleep impossible.
All he could hear in his head was Juliana's voice: "She almost let us die on the operating table."
He crept quietly to the master bedroom door. It wasn't fully closed—just a crack remained.
He pushed it open to find Juliana lying on her side. Moonlight filtered through the sheer curtains, outlining her slender form. She looked so fragile, so alone.
Damian's eyes burned. He called out softly, "Mommy..."
Juliana turned her head, surprised to see the small figure in the doorway. "Matty? What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"
Damian shook his head. He walked to the bedside, his eyes unusually bright in the darkness.
"Mommy, I'm sorry."