The Day I Walked Away My Empire Began novel Chapter 286

“Cody has a fever—he’s completely out of it. We’ve called you a hundred times. Didn’t you hear your phone?”

Steven’s heart squeezed tight. “Cody’s sick?”

“Yes. His temperature’s almost 103.”

“Why didn’t you take him to the hospital already?”

Miranda sounded furious. “We’re on our way. I just wanted to ask, are you planning to abandon your own son, too?”

“Mom, I’m at the hospital right now. Bring Cody here as soon as you can.”

“You’re at the hospital? What happened to you?”

“Just get Cody here. I’ll explain later.”

He hung up and shot to his feet, eyes darting to Lucie lying pale in the hospital bed. Worry gnawed at him from every direction.

One side, the woman he’d just fought to save. The other, his son burning up with fever. How was he supposed to choose?

“Lucie, I’m going to check on Cody. I’ll be back soon.” He leaned down, pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, and hurried out the door.

Lucie didn’t answer. Her eyes stayed closed, but her lashes fluttered, and a sharp ache twisted in her chest.

Cody was the boy she’d birthed with her own blood and tears. But at the same time, he wasn’t really hers at all.

Every time she remembered that, she wanted to tear Steven apart. How could he have been so cruel, so calculating?

Steven was in a daze as he rushed down the hallway. He ran into his assistant.

“Mr. Heath.”

“Get the best security guards you can and post them at Lucie’s door. Don’t let them leave their spot. And find the most experienced nurses to stay with her.”

“Yes, sir.”

Steven jogged to the elevator, desperate to see his son. The numbers on the elevator display crawled by, each second stretching out forever. The second the doors slid open, he bolted toward the ER entrance.

He spotted Miranda up ahead. The maid was holding Cody at the triage desk. The little boy’s face was bright red and sweaty, his body limp. He mumbled, “Mommy… Mommy…” over and over.

Sometimes you don’t realize what you’ve lost until it’s gone.

Cody had always kept his distance from Lucie, always wishing for a different mom. But now that he had one, all he wanted was the old one back.

The new mom had even dangled him over a railing. He’d been terrified ever since, and wanted nothing to do with her.

“Cody!” Steven rushed over, scooping his son into his arms.

He could feel the heat radiating from Cody’s skin. His heart clenched. “How is he?”

Miranda gaped at him. “Lucie’s here, too? What happened to her?”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Miranda’s voice trembled with anger. “You always tell me not to worry, not to ask questions. Am I even your mother anymore? You went and got divorced without saying a word.”

“You tossed away a good wife like Lucie, just to be with that old, useless woman. What are you thinking? Have you lost your mind?”

She used to complain about Lucie all the time, griping that Steven cared more about his wife than his own mother.

Now look—her son and daughter-in-law were really divorced. And as if that wasn’t enough, he wanted to marry someone she couldn’t stand.

“Mom, please. I can’t handle this right now.”

Miranda huffed. “Fine, I’ll drop it. Where’s Lucie? I want to see her.”

“She’s got a heart of stone, I’ll give her that. Hasn’t come back to see Cody even once since the divorce.”

“I’ve never seen a woman so cold. She just left her own kid behind.”

Steven felt like her words were stuck in his throat, choking him. He couldn’t say a thing.

He’d never told his mother the truth: Cody was actually his and Bria’s child.