All Chapters of The CEO Abandoned Hiress : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

Callie's POV "Acute leukemia." Dr. Anderson said it carefully. Like the words themselves might cause damage if dropped too fast. I heard them anyway. "The progression is already beyond the early stage." He folded his hands on the desk. "Which means we are not looking at a long window, Ms. Dawson. Six weeks at the outside. Possibly less." The room was very quiet. Outside this office my four year old daughter was sitting in a plastic chair in the waiting area with her stuffed rabbit on her lap probably interrogating the receptionist about something completely unrelated to any of this. That was Lily. The world could be ending and she would want to know if rabbits dreamed about carrots. "Is there treatment?" My voice came out steadier than I felt. "There are options we can explore. Nothing guaranteed. Her age and the current progression make it complicated." He paused. "What I can tell you is that stress will accelerate her condition significantly. Whatever she needs most

Callie's POV"I am sorry Ms. Dawson. Lily's appointment has been cancelled."The receptionist said it without looking up from her screen. Her fingers kept moving across her keyboard like this was just another line in a long day of lines."Cancelled by who?""It says here the cancellation was requested this morning." She squinted at the screen. "On behalf of the Ashford family."I stood at that desk for a moment without moving.Lily was beside me holding Mr. Rabbit by one ear and studying a poster on the wall about handwashing. She had been so quiet in the car this morning. She had put on her yellow dress without being asked because she said she wanted to look nice for the doctors. She had eaten all her breakfast. She had not complained once."Can you reschedule?" I asked."The next available slot with Dr. Anderson is in three weeks."Three weeks.Lily had six."I need to speak to someone in charge," I said. "Right now please."---It took forty minutes and three different members of s

Callie's POV"She told me she wanted to paint something that would make Daddy proud."Dr. Anderson set the invitation card on the desk between us and slid it toward me this time his face was different. Softer around the edges."She worked on it for three days," he said. "Would not let anyone see it until it was finished. Then she walked up to the submissions table herself and put it down and said this one is for my daddy."I looked at the card.The pediatric ward annual art exhibition. This Saturday. Families welcome."She has been through a great deal this week," he said. "It would mean everything to her to have someone there."I picked up the card."We will be there," I said.---Lily did not know I was coming until Saturday morning. I had kept it as a surprise because surprises with Lily were always worth keeping. She was eating toast when I told her and she put it down immediately and looked at me with her whole face."The exhibition? Today?""Today."She was off her chair and hal