He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 119

It was her mother, Jacqueline Langley.

Scarlett wiped away her tears and quickly answered the call.

"Mom..."

Jacqueline's crisp, slightly raspy voice came through the speaker.

"I just landed at Sterling City Airport. I'm catching a connecting flight to Bay City. Where are you."

Scarlett was stunned.

"Mom, didn't I tell you I'd fly to Australia to pick you up? Why did you come back by yourself."

Jacqueline's tone was incredibly matter-of-fact.

"You're dragging a baby around, it's too much of a hassle. It's fine, I can manage on my own. Just wait for me at home."

Scarlett had inherited this trait directly from her mother: extreme independence. If they could handle something themselves, they never relied on anyone else.

A wave of guilt hit Scarlett, and she couldn't suppress a choke in her voice.

"Okay, Mom. But I'm actually on my way to the hospital right now. Dawn suddenly spiked a really high fever. I'm sorry... I won't be able to pick you up from the airport."

Jacqueline's voice shot up an octave.

"What? My granddaughter has a high fever? Which hospital? Text me the address. I'm coming straight there the second I land."

"Mom, Mom..."

Scarlett tried to tell her to just go home and rest, but Jacqueline had already hung up.

Scarlett shook her head helplessly. Her mother was always like this—decisive, fast-moving, and unstoppable once she made up her mind.

Scarlett forced back her tears. As the car pulled up to the hospital, she didn't have time to dwell on her misery. She grabbed Dawn and sprinted straight into the emergency room.

Dawn's temperature was terrifyingly high, nearing 104 degrees by the time they arrived.

A two-month-old infant running a fever that high immediately put the doctors and nurses on high alert. After a quick temperature check, they rushed Dawn into the treatment area.

Scarlett's legs gave out. Tears fell continuously down her face. She sobbed, unable to even stand upright.

She felt like she had been thrown into the deep ocean, surrounded by a suffocating darkness. Fear spread through her heart like wild weeds.

*Did I sleep too heavily last night and forget to tuck her in?*

*Was the AC too cold? Did she freeze?*

*Was the bathwater too cool? Did I bathe her for too long?*

*She was perfectly fine, how could she suddenly spike a fever this high?*

Scarlett was drowning in pure terror. Seeing her state, Zara was so frightened she began apologizing repeatedly, blaming herself for not taking better care of Dawn and begging Scarlett not to be so devastated.

Scarlett looked at the panicked Zara. She wanted to say something, but not a single word would come out.

It took her a full ten seconds to process what he just said.

"Was the nanny doing it so she didn't have to work as hard."

Julian's gaze was frigid, his voice thick with suppressed fury.

"What if I told you his own mother instructed the nanny to do it, because his crying was keeping her awake. Would you believe me."

Scarlett was at a total loss for words.

It was the single most twisted, unbelievable thing she had ever heard.

Since having Dawn, Scarlett felt like she had poured her entire soul into her child. She wanted to give Dawn the best of everything, and any need of her own could easily be pushed aside for her daughter.

This was the first time she had ever heard of a biological mother sedating her baby just so she could sleep.

Julian let out a heavy sigh, a bitter smile touching his lips.

"I noticed something was off when I got back a few days ago. He was always lethargic, barely cried, wasn't drinking his formula, and looked incredibly thin and frail."

"I thought he just had a weak constitution, but I kept my guard up and secretly installed a camera in the nursery."

"The nanny was wary of me being home, so she didn't dare do it the last few days. But last night, Caleb woke up crying really hard in the middle of the night. It woke me up. I checked the monitor and saw her mixing sleeping pills directly into his bottle."

The night was quiet, and Julian's voice was eerily calm, as if he were recounting an entirely mundane event.

But as a parent herself, Scarlett could hear the sheer, absolute devastation and rage boiling beneath the surface of his words.