HE LOST HIS DAUGHTER ONCE, NOW HE’S A RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE

WHAT ABOUT YOUR CHILD?

“Yes,” Maggie said, turning to her dad. “All of us have to go as a family. Mommy looks tired. Daddy should drive us.”

Brandon gave a little chuckle and nodded.

“Fine. I will drive. And mommy will sit in the passenger seat like a passenger princess, and you stay at the back like a good girl.”

She held both her parents’ hands as they all walked to the door like a normal family.

Just as Brandon was about to open the door, a loud ringing sound cut through the quiet house as Lyra’s phone buzzed inside her purse.

She pulled her hand away from Maggie and grabbed her phone, Maggie’s smile froze, while her little hand remained open in the air, empty.

Lyra looked at the screen and her face changed. Her eyes got wide.

“Jake, what’s wrong?” Lyra asked as she picked up the call.

Brandon’s heart sank.

Just when he thought he was finally about to break through she was doing this.

He stared at Lyra and listened to Jake on the phone.

“What? Oh my God, is he okay?” Lyra panicked. “Don’t panic, Jake. I know that hospital, yeah you're right, the doctors in that hospital are very professional and experienced. I’m coming now. I will be there in less than 10 minutes.”

She then hung up the phone, then turned around to look at her child and her husband.

“Okay, Brandon, I’ll need you to take Maggie to school,” Lyra said as she quickly grabbed her car keys from the counter. “I have to leave now. It’s an emergency.”

Brandon didn’t move. He stood in front of the door, blocking Lyra’s way, as his face was filled with anger.

“An emergency?” Brandon asked in a cold voice. “You promised Maggie a few minutes ago that you would take her to school. You haven’t done it in a year. Look at Maggie. She’s right there, staring at you all excited to go with you, but look what you’re doing to her.”

Maggie stood silently beside them. She didn’t cry out. She just bit her lip and looked at Lyra with big, sad eyes. Tears started to fill up in her eyes as she waited for her mother’s response.

“Brandon, move out of my way!” Lyra shouted, her voice filled with panic as her face was red with anger. “Jake’s son is really sick, it might be appendicitis. Jake has to take him to the hospital and he doesn’t know where to go. I have to help him.”

“You don’t have to go,” Brandon scoffed. “Jake has assistants, drivers, and people around him. He does not need you there… Even after knowing all this, you still want to leave? Are you going to break your promise to Maggie just because Jake’s son is sick? You care about someone's son to this extent, what about your child?”

“Are you kidding me?” Lyra shouted, losing her cool. “You’re comparing a kid going to the hospital to a walk to school? Stop being so super unreasonable, Brandon. Learn to tell what’s important and what’s not. It’s just taking her to school, which you do every day. I don’t know why you’re making a big deal out of this. You can easily do it yourself. Jake needs me now.”

“Does he?” Brandon whispered before he stepped closer to her, still blocking the door. “I’m asking you, Lyra. Does someone else’s child matter more to you than your own daughter?”

“For fuck sake, you’re being crazy and mean right now. A child is sick right now, Brandon. You’re just trying to cause trouble because you hate Jake. I’m out of here.”

She walked around him, grabbed the door handle, pulling it open and running out to the driveway.

In a few seconds, her car engine roared to life, followed by screeching tires as she sped away.

A deep chill spread through Brandon’s heart as he stood in the doorway, staring at the driveway.

It felt like a joke.

Jake’s son had a stomach pain, and Lyra acted like the world was ending. She was willing to hurt her own daughter and scream at her husband just because Jake called her.

Meanwhile, her own daughter, who was her own flesh and blood, who loved her so much, was literally dying inside the house, but Lyra didn’t care.

Brandon swallowed hard as he slowly closed the door, then turned to Maggie, whose eyes started to water.

She was trying hard not to cry, but her body was shaking.

“Daddy,” Maggie whispered, “is it, is it because I’m not a boy? Is that why mommy wanted to leave us?”

“Oh, no, no, no, baby… It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl, sweetheart. Daddy loves you more than anything.”

“I shouldn’t have asked her to come with me. Mom is always busy with other things. Maybe I was being a bother. If I didn’t ask her to take me to school, she wouldn’t be angry, would she? It’s all my fault.”

“Baby, it is not your fault. Look at me. It’s not your fault. It is never your fault. Mommy is just… Mommy’s just wrong. You are the best girl in the entire world. No one in this world could ever replace my little girl.”

Before Brandon could say another word, Maggie’s body went stiff.

A violent cough tore through her chest as Brandon pulled her back to look at her face.

His eyes widened in horror.

“Maggie? What’s wrong?”

Bright red blood started spilling from Maggie’s mouth, running down her chin and staining her dress as her big brown eyes rolled back.

Her arms went limp, and she collapsed forward, losing consciousness in his arms.

“Maggie!” Brandon screamed, his voice turning into a shriek. “Maggie, wake up! Open your eyes, Maggie!”