All Chapters of The CEO Abandoned Hiress : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Callie's POV"She is stable."Michael said it the moment the monitor beside Lily's bed settled into a steady rhythm. He said it quietly and professionally and without any drama but I felt my knees go soft anyway and grabbed the bed rail with both hands."What happened to her," I said."A treatment related complication." He was still looking at her chart. "A specific inflammatory response that Dr. Anderson's protocol does not screen for because it is rare. Rare enough that most standard programs miss it completely." He set the chart down. "If she had gone to the general ER tonight they would have treated the fever. They would not have found what was underneath it."I looked at Lily.She was asleep already. The fever had dropped in under an hour. Her face was smooth and her breathing was even and Mr. Rabbit was tucked under her arm exactly where he always was."She could have had a cardiac event," Michael said. Simply. Not for impact. Just because I needed to know. "Within a few hours.

Callie's POV"Ms. Dawson has demonstrated a consistent pattern of poor judgment."Derek's lawyer had a voice designed for rooms like this one. Measured. Authoritative. The kind of voice that made things sound like facts even when they were constructions."She introduced an unauthorized individual into her daughter's medical environment. An individual with whom she has a prior romantic history. An individual her husband had formally and legally flagged as a risk to the family unit."I sat at the table beside my own lawyer and listened to my life being narrated by someone who had never met me."The viral footage documents her aggressive behavior in a public space in the presence of children. The daycare report confirms a pattern of conflict surrounding the minor child. We submit that Ms. Dawson's judgment during this critical period has been compromised by personal interests that have consistently taken priority over her daughter's stability."He paused for effect."Dr. Reyes is not a c

Derek's POV"Say that again."My lawyer did not flinch. He had been with me eleven years and had learned exactly how much of my temper to absorb."The judge has ordered a review of the petition's origins," he said. "Temporary custody stays with Callie. Nothing changes until the court reconvenes. And the assault complaint filed against you at the courthouse is also under review.""Assault.""She did not file it herself. Security logged it. Three witnesses." He paused. "One of them was me."I stood at the window of my office and looked down at the city. Forty floors of glass and steel. Every building in my line of sight had done business with me at some point. Not one of them could do anything for me now.That room had not cared who I was.The judge had looked at me like I was any other man with a phone on a table. My name had meant nothing in there. My money had meant nothing. A text from Vanessa had done what four years of Callie begging could not. It had made me small."Where is Vane

Vanessa's POV"What was that?"Callie had barely left the room. The door was still swinging when I said it.Derek was already back behind his desk, straightening a folder that did not need straightening."What was what?""You were whispering in her ear, Derek.""I was making a point.""With your mouth against her face?""Vanessa." He did not look up. "You are being dramatic. It was a signature. She needed to sign.""You told her she was easy to want."That made his hand stop.It was only for a second. But I saw it."I said nothing of the sort," he said. Too fast. Much too fast. "Do not start this. I have a court review hanging over me and you want to talk about Callie?""I did not bring up her name.""You did.""You just did."He closed the folder harder than he needed to."I do not have time for this," he said.A man who felt nothing would have laughed. He would have asked me what was wrong with me. He would have been bored.Derek was not bored.Derek was defending himself.I picked

Callie's POV"Public reconciliation."I read the line out loud because I needed to hear how it sounded.It sounded insane."Read the rest," Derek said.I read it. Every word. The shareholders' event on Saturday night. Ashford Industries' worst quarter in ten years. Stock down nineteen percent. A press line already drafted at the bottom of the page.*Mr. and Mrs. Ashford, together for their daughter.*"You want me to stand next to you," I said. "Smile for cameras. Pretend we are happy.""Yes.""And Lily?""She comes too." He said it like he was ordering lunch. "A sick child beside her parents. Investors will see a family. A man who is steady.""You want to use her.""I want the stock to stop falling."I put the page down very slowly."Two weeks ago you wanted me gone from her life," I said. "Now you want me on your arm.""It is a business arrangement.""You do not love me.""I never said I did." He did not even blink. "That is why it works."Something in my chest went cold and quiet.I