Chapter 40 Mother
RORY POV
Alexander hadn't just sent Luke, he'd sent a small army. Three black, obsidian-sleek SUVs followed me to Throggs Neck.
That was the only way he would let me go. His people around me at all times. Non negotiable.
"Luke, please," | said, leaning forward. My throat still burned, but the words were a bit clearer today. "When we get to my street, can you stop the car and wait? I don't want to scare my father. He won't understand... any of this."
"No, ma'am. That won't work," Luke replied, his eyes never leaving the rearview mirror. "We were given strict instructions by Mr. Miller. You don't leave our sight."
"But I'll be safe. It's my childhood home," | retorted, my voice cracking.
He didn't answer. The silence in the car was a brick wall. I sighed and sank back into the seat.
Peekskill looked the same, but I felt like an alien returning to a planet I no longer recognized. I couldn't face my father like this, not with a diamond on my finger and a fleet of guards at my back.
"Take me to the hospital instead," I murmured.
Luke glanced at me in the rearview mirror briefly. Then he redirected without a word.
At least my mother wouldn't see the exotic cars. She wouldn't see the men in suits who looked like they were waiting for a war to break out.
When we pulled up to the private hospital I felt a flicker of genuine gratitude. Alexander had moved her here, a facility that cost more in a month than I used to make in a year, the kind of facility that had enough staff and enough resources and enough space between beds that patients actually got looked after properly. Not the overcrowded underfunded ward she had been in before where I had spent months convincing myself the care was adequate because I couldn’t afford better.
This was better. So much better.
"Wait outside the door," I told Luke as we reached her room. "Please. Just this once."
He hesitated, then nodded, stepping back to flank the entrance with the other guards. I took a deep breath, slipped my wedding ring off my finger, and tucked it deep into my bag. I pushed the door opened.
She was in the bed. Strapped in the way they always had her, carefully, to keep her safe, to keep her from rolling. The machines around her humming their steady rhythms. The room smelled clean in a way her old room never had.
I moved closer, I watched her eyes open.
The moment they found my face something moved in them — recognition, relief, the particular expression she had always reserved for me that said you’re here and I’ve been waiting.
“Hi Mum,” I whispered.
I pulled the chair close and sat beside her. I took her hand carefully in both of mine. Then I reached up and wiped the corner of her mouth gently, the small careful things I had always done when I visited, the things that felt like the only language available to us now.
I watched her fingers. They moved. Just slightly, a small tremor of movement at the tips that hadn’t been there before. My breath caught.
she could barely move them before. She was getting better. Slowly, barely, but getting better.
“I miss you so much Mum,” I said quietly. “Things have been really hard. You have no idea.” I smoothed the sheet beside her hand. “Dad misses you. I think you’re the only one who can fix him honestly. The only one who ever could.”
She watched my face.
“I got a good job,” I said. “From a very rich man. I’m a nanny for his son — he’s six years old, the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen in your life. He calls me mummy sometimes.”
Her hand went very still under mine.
“Looks like you’re interested in my new job,” I said softly.
I smiled a little. Then I looked at our hands together.
I wasn’t going to tell her I was married. Not today.
Not like this. She didn’t need to know that I had signed my life away to a man I had barely known because he had threatened to unplug her life support if I refused. She didn’t need to carry that.
“My boss is very rich,” I said. “A billionaire actually. The pay is incredible, that’s how you ended up in this hospital. The better one.” I paused. “His name is Alexander Miller. Not that you’d know him. I just wanted to talk about everything. Tell you something.”
I watched her closely, hoping for a smile.
Instead, her breathing became jagged —a low, rattling sound in her chest.
"Mom? Are you okay?"
Tears began to well in her eyes. Great, silent, fat tears rolled down her sunken cheeks, soaking into the pillowcase. Her gaze was frantic, her pupils shrinking as she stared at me.
She's reacting, I thought, my heart swelling with a bittersweet hope. She hears me. She's overwhelmed by the good news. I leaned over and kissed her forehead, wiping the moisture from her cheeks. "I know, it's a lot. I'm overwhelmed too. But look at this place, Mom.
You're finally getting the help you need. He's taking care of everything."
She tried to move her head, a small tremor shaking her frame, but I just smoothed her hair back, thinking she was just trying to find comfort. I didn't see the terror in her eyes, l only saw the connection I had been craving for months.
"I'm so happy you're doing better," | whispered.
Before I could say more, the nurse stepped in.
"I'm sorry, dear, we have to take her down for her physical therapy session now."
I gave my mother's hand one last squeeze. "I'll be back soon, Mom. I promise. I'll tell you more about Liam next time."
I walked out into the hallway, feeling lighter than I had in days. She had cried. She had felt something. It was a sign that she was still in there.
I saw Luke waiting, his face a mask of boredom. I had two hours left. I needed to see a familiar face before I went back to the lion's den.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Ella. "Can you meet me? Please. I'm in town."