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

THIS IS MY PARTY!

“No, no… please don’t do that,” Jake requested quickly, his voice trembling with fear as he glanced nervously around the empty stairwell. “I swear I’ll have the money soon. Lyra trusts me now. She actually believes I’m the genius who saved her company.”

Jake tightened his grip on the phone, sweat droplets forming on his forehead.

“It won’t be long before I convince her to invest a huge amount of her company’s money into one of my business projects,” Jake said anxiously. “Once she signs the papers and transfers the funds, I’ll be able to pay off my debt immediately. Just give me a few more days… please.”

A heavy silence settled on the other end of the line.

Then the caller finally spoke again, his voice low, cold, and threatening.

“This is your last chance, Jake. If we don’t receive our money within the next few days, there will be consequences.”

The man paused briefly before adding in a chilling tone,

“And trust me… you do not want to find out what happens when we lose our patience.”

Then the line went dead with a click.

Jake slowly put down the phone, his hand shaking so much he almost dropped it down the stairwell. He leaned against the wall then took a deep breath, wiping the sweat from his face.

The truth was a burden. 

Over the past few years, every single one of Jake’s businesses had failed, leaving him drowning in debt to some very dangerous people.

The wealthy, successful image he presented to the world, the expensive suits, the luxury car, the confident smile was nothing more than a carefully crafted illusion designed to fool everyone around him.

In reality, Jake was broke, desperate, and running out of time.

If he could win Lyra over, marry her, and gain access to her company’s money, all of his problems would disappear.

Taking a deep breath, he straightened his tie before forcing a calm, confident smile onto his face once again and stepped out into the hallway.

The door to the emergency ward creaked open as Brandon walked in. Maggie was sitting up in bed with a bunch of pillows behind her. She looked very pale and her big brown eyes were open and she was holding her teddy bear tight.

When she saw Brandon, she did not cry. Instead she looked really worried.

"Daddy," Maggie said in a small voice. "I am so sorry."

Brandon’s heart felt like it was hurting. He walked over to her then sat down on the bed. He took her hand in his. "Why are you saying sorry Maggie? You did not do anything wrong sweetie."

“I made trouble again, didn’t I?” Maggie whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I got sick again, and it probably cost a lot of money. ”

Her small fingers tightened around her teddy bear as her voice trembled.

“If Mommy finds out I got sick again… she might like me even less.” Maggie lowered her head sadly. “What if she doesn’t want to come to my birthday anymore because I keep causing problems?”

Brandon felt a pain in his heart when he heard this. No child should be afraid of becoming unwanted to her own mother.

He gently wiped away her tears before giving her the warmest smile he could manage.

“Oh, Maggie, no,” Brandon said softly as he wiped away her tears. “Mommy doesn’t hate you. She’s just really busy with work right now, you know how she is. None of this is your fault.”

Maggie looked up at him hopefully.

“Really? So Mommy isn’t mad at me? She’s still coming to my birthday party, right? Mommy said she would help me cut the cake.” Her eyes sparkled with hope as she looked at him. “Do you think she remembers?”

Brandon felt a lump in his throat.

"Of course Mommy will be there," Brandon said with a big smile. "She promised us. ”

No matter what happened between him and Lyra, he would do everything in his power to make sure Maggie had a happy birthday. He would make sure Lyra kept the promise she made to their daughter.

The next three days passed painfully slowly.

Brandon never left Maggie’s side throughout her stay in the hospital.

During those days, his phone remained completely silent.

Lyra never called.

She never sent a single message asking about Maggie or checking if they were okay. It slowly began to feel as if the two of them no longer existed in her world.

In the past, Brandon would have panicked. He would have called Lyra over and over again, begging her to answer while sending long messages explaining Maggie’s condition.

But this time, Brandon did nothing.

He simply placed his phone face down on the table beside the hospital bed and devoted every bit of his attention to taking care of Maggie.

Tomorrow is Maggie’s birthday.

Maggie’s condition stabilized a bit. Anxious to leave the sterile, noisy room, she pulled on Brandon’s sleeve, begging to go home so she could wake up in her own bed for her birthday tomorrow.

“Okay, baby,” Brandon said softly as he kissed her forehead. “Let’s pack your things and leave from here. Tomorrow is your birthday, and we still have a lot to do at home. We’ll buy anything you want, decorate your room together, and make this the best birthday ever for my little princess.”

Maggie clapped her hands with a smile. "Yes! We need to make the living room look nice to surprise Mommy!”

“Yes, let's surprise Mommy!” Brandon said with a faint smile.

The drive back to the suburbs was really calm. Maggie watched the trees go by and hummed a tune to herself. When Brandon pulled the car into the driveway of their house, he took a slow breath and got ready to start decorating as soon as they went inside.

Brandon unlocked the door and held Maggie's hand and when the door opened they both stopped and stared. 

The front hallway and living room were looking amazing. 

There were banners that said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" in gold letters and lots of balloons floating around. 

The walls had party decorations on them. There was a big table in the middle of the room with bright tablecloths on it.

Maggie was so surprised and happy. She let go of Brandon's hand as she gasped with her eyes shining with excitement.

"Oh my gosh, Daddy! Look!" Maggie exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Mommy did it! Mommy came home early. She made the house look pretty for me! It's a surprise party! She really didn't forget my birthday!"

Brandon was also really surprised. He stared at the decorations and felt a little better. After what happened at the hospital he thought Lyra would not care about Maggie's birthday. It seemed like she actually put in some effort.

The happy moment did not last long.

"Hey! Don't touch that! Those are my balloons!" a mean voice said from upstairs. “Let go of the balloon.”

Brandon's smile disappeared when he looked up.

Leo, Jake's son, was running down the stairs. He was wearing a party hat as he snatched the balloon from Maggie's hand. "This is my party! Go away!"