12. Callie

“Bianca, I am so sorry. I’m running so late!”

“Hey chick, it’s all good. I’m going to order some food, though, because I am beyond starving.”

Bianca’s understanding tone only made the guilt swell further in my chest. “Yeah of course! I am so sorry. I’ll be there as soon as I can flag down a taxi.”

“You got it. Keep me updated.”

“I will. Love you!”

Ending the call, I threw my arm up toward the traffic and tried to wave down the passing taxi, but the car sped past me without even a glance. I groaned and slumped back down.

These past two weeks had been so insane that I barely had time to breathe. Sawyer and Kane had finally sorted their patent problem, and with everything starting to get moving, they had also publicly announced their partnership. Naturally, the media had gone wild with stories about why Crane Enterprises would partner with Golden Dove, whether there was an underlying reason or something more sinister going on.

It almost amazed me how deeply people searched for something that wasn’t there. Multiple articles painted Sawyer as a tyrant incapable of leading a project like this because there was no money to be made. Sawyer’s own words were used against him, and when the papers started getting quotes from his father, there was nothing more we could do.

All Sawyer could control was the information within his own company and the shareholder meeting had been a roaring success when I’d presented the real numbers to them. It was inevitable that Crane Enterprises would make money from this but all profits would be turned back into operating costs under Kane’s advisement.

He just hadn’t revealed that part yet.

Internally, people were more concerned about Kane, Liam, and Sawyer working together. Apparently, they had a history, and everyone was waiting for the friction to show itself once again—not that I’d seen anything of the sort. If anything, they reminded me of old friends reuniting after a few years.

We’d thrown everything into this project, and the downside for me was barely having time for anything outside of work. I had no time for life or my best friend, which was why this dinner was so important to me. I needed to see her, hear about her life, and remind myself what existed outside of board meetings, press calls, and lawyers.

“Taxi!” I yelled myself hoarse, and finally, one took pity. The driver parked nearby and as I hurried over, my phone rang once more. Shoving it against my ear, I slid into the taxi and reeled off the address of the restaurant.

“Miss Everheart?”

“Yes?”

“Hi there. I’m calling from the hospice, and we were just wondering when you would be arriving?”

My stomach dropped.

Was I supposed to visit today? No, I wasn’t expected. Had I forgotten?

“I’m sorry?”

“Your mother is moving today?” The carer sounded exasperated. “You’re supposed to be here.”

“Moving?!” I had never agreed to such a thing. My heart began to pound, and sweat broke out along my hairline. Was this because I tried to cancel Eli’s payments without the funds in my account? The manager I spoke to had assured me that was okay, and I was scraping my savings together to pay the fee.

Was I too late?”

“Don’t do anything,” I barked down the line. “Not until I get there!”

____

I arrived at the hospice and fled from the taxi in a flurry, throwing more dollars than I could count at the driver. Across the street, I glimpsed my mother in a wheelchair being loaded into a white van by three men. The van was parked at such an angle that I couldn’t get a good look at the logo on the side.

“Wait!” I yelled, sprinting toward them. “What are you doing?!”

Before I could get close enough, one of the men turned and I skidded to a stop.

“Eli?”

What the hell was going on?

I approached slower this time and watched as Eli gave the nearest nurse a sickeningly charming smile. Whatever he had done, whatever he had said, had clearly worked on them because the moment I got within earshot, the nurse gave me a withering look and then stalked away toward the building.

“Eli?” I snapped breathlessly as the van doors slammed closed. “What the hell do you think you are doing with my mother?”

“What does it look like?” Eli’s expression was bored, and he sounded irritated as if he had any right to be. “I’ve been paying your bills, and since you’ve been taking my money, I decided to do something about the care she receives.”

“What?”

“I’m moving her to another facility. One more… experienced in dealing with the care your mother needs.”

“What the fuck? You can’t do that – mom!” I tried to push past him toward the van, but he stopped me with his body and then painfully gripped my upper arm. One of the orderlies in the van looked out curiously, but Eli held me at such an angle that it looked more like he was embracing me in comfort than anything else.

“You took more of my money than I offered and more than you deserved. I’m a generous man, Callie, but not that generous.”

“That’s your own damn fault for paying twice,” I snapped, trying to drag my arm free but failing. “I tried to cancel your first payment, but I couldn’t because…” I faltered.

“Because you didn’t have enough money in your own account to cover the bill,” Eli sneered, keeping that sickeningly charming smile on his face. “Money is power, Callie and you have neither. You’re lucky I even allowed a double payment. I thought there’s no way she’d take advantage of me like that, but when you didn’t call to thank me, I decided to remind you.”

“You’re full of bullshit; you can’t just cart my mother away like this because I couldn’t pay one bill!”

“Two,” he corrected smugly, and his eyes narrowed.

This couldn’t be happening. The air felt thin and my heart tried to break through my ribs with how hard it was beating.

“Honestly, I expected more gratitude.”

“This can’t be legal!” I gasped, fighting for air. An iron band tightened around my chest and my vision swam.

“Money is power,” Eli repeated, then he leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to my cheek. “My, what would Sawyer do if he found out we were helping each other?”

“This isn’t helping,” I snapped breathlessly. “You’re forcing my hand! This isn’t anything!”

I finally ripped my arm away from his grip as the van roared into life and moved off down the street. Panic surged, and my heart leaped into my mouth.

“You stay the fuck away from me!”

“On the contrary, you might want to be a little nicer if you want to learn the name of the new facility!”

I turned and sprinted into the hospice, not stopping until I reached the front desk where I slammed my hands down on the wood. The receptionist nearly jumped out of her chair.

“Where the hell is my mother going?”

“Where you requested,” she said, turning the monitor toward me so I could see all the information on the new hospice. The place alone looked eye wateringly expensive.

“How has this happened? I never asked for this, I never agreed and I sure as hell didn’t sign anything! I’m going to sue you, you hear me? I’m going to sue the ever-loving hell out of?—”

“Actually, ma’am, your husband signed everything.”

The words died in my throat and an oddly calm chill washed over me.

“My… husband? I don’t have a husband.” Even as I spoke, I had a sickening feeling that Eli was responsible.

“You can see here.” The receptionist pulled up another window. “When the paperwork went through for the change in billpayer, it was stated that he was your husband and the reason for the change was a joint account. Given our policy with the bill paper, he’s well within his right to remove your mother from this facility.”

“But we’re— we’re not married!”

They didn’t believe me. There was nothing I could say that persuaded them otherwise since the paperwork was all they needed. All they cared about. In the end, all I could do was jot down the information about the new facility and trudge out of the building.

The parking lot was empty. Eli was gone.

So was my mother.

What was I going to do? My first thought was to call Sawyer and get his help but my thumb hovered over the button. I couldn’t press it because Eli’s earlier words span in my mind.

How would I explain this to him? It was insane—beyond insane. Would he even care? Or would he only see that I had become entangled with Eli, a business rival and a man I had stated I couldn’t stand? None of this felt real.

The wind whipped up around me, pulling at my hair and chilling the sweat that clung to my bare skin. A quick Google search of the new facility told me that I would never be able to afford those bills in a million years, but, to his credit, the treatment was groundbreaking.

It would be a kindness from anyone else. From Eli, it was twisted manipulation and I was at a complete loss at how to proceed. My poor mother didn’t deserve to be carted about like some prized sow.

Hopelessness washed over me, and my heart ached. Tears sprung into the corner of my eyes and my feet caught on each other while I struggled to walk down the street.

I was completely and utterly lost.

Then, my phone buzzed in my hand. I ignored it, expecting it to be another concerned text from Bianca about where I’d ended up—until another one came through straight after.

I looked down through my tears and blinked, causing them to roll down my cheeks and land on my phone screen. The words warped and bubbled under the tear drops while nausea flashed through me at the text.

From Eli.

‘Stay close to your phone. I’ll call you later to discuss repayment.’