Chapter 2 - The Child Julian Refused to See
Lily had been sick for three days.
At first, it seemed like an ordinary fever.
By the afternoon of the investor party, she could barely keep her eyes open.
Evelyn asked Julian to cancel the event.
He refused.
“Forty investors are coming.”
“Our daughter needs a doctor.”
“She has a cold.”
“She needs to be examined.”
Julian adjusted his tuxedo in the mirror.
“You always make everything dramatic.”
Evelyn called the pediatrician herself.
The doctor advised her to take Lily to urgent care immediately if the fever rose again.
At six o’clock, it did.
Evelyn packed a medical bag, wrapped Lily in the pink blanket, and headed for the side entrance.
Agnes stopped her.
“You are not carrying a sick child through my son’s most important evening.”
“She needs medical attention.”
“She needs rest.”
“I’m taking her.”
Agnes reached for the blanket.
Evelyn stepped back.
That small refusal triggered everything.
Agnes accused her of trying to humiliate Julian in front of his investors.
Julian arrived as guests began entering the ballroom.
He did not ask how Lily felt.
He asked why Evelyn was wearing jeans.
“She has a fever of 104.”
“Then have the nanny handle it.”
“The nanny isn’t her mother.”
Julian glanced toward the guests watching from the ballroom.
His voice lowered.
“Do not embarrass me.”
“I’m taking our daughter to the hospital.”
He blocked the front doors.
Evelyn tried to move around him.
Agnes told the guests Evelyn had become unstable since Lily’s birth.
Several people looked away.
Then Julian demanded Evelyn surrender her phone, the medical bag, and the family credit cards before leaving.
“You’ll come back when you’re ready to behave.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“You’re holding our sick child hostage to your party.”
His face hardened.
“Walk out, and you walk out with nothing.”
Then he struck her.
What Julian did not know was that Evelyn had expected him to threaten her.
She had not expected him to do it while Lily was in her arms.
And she had not expected Lily’s breathing to become so shallow.
The attorney took one look at the child.
“Call an ambulance.”
Julian stepped forward.
“This is a private family matter.”
The attorney turned toward him for the first time.
May you like
“No, Mr. Mercer. It is now a documented emergency.”
👉 As paramedics rushed toward the mansion, the red folder remained unopened—and Agnes was more afraid of it than she was for her granddaughter.
