Page 108 of Believing in a Billionaire
The bright lights of St. Mary’s Memorial Hospital came into view. Flashing lights painted the scene in deep shadows and tones of red. His stomach turned over as he approached, wondering what he would find.
“I’ll wait here in case there’s anything you need,” Mike said as Grant approached the triage desk.
“I’m Grant Harrington, my wife called about my son.”
“She’s in the waiting room at the end of the hall, sir,” the nurse said as she signaled toward the double doors leading into the emergency room. “I’ll buzz you in.”
“Thanks.” The doors swung open as he approached them, and he strode inside. His eyes focused on the doors at the end of the hall. Each step he took echoed more loudly in his head. His heart rose into his throat, and he clenched and unclenched his fists.
His breathing turned labored as his chest constricted, wondering what he would find when he walked in.
He approached the doors and swallowed hard before he peered inside. Julia sat perched on the edge of the chair, the look in her eyes distant as she chewed her lower lip. He felt a profound urge to wrap her in his arms and shield her from every storm they faced. Yet, the tremor in his own hands betrayed his attempt at strength.
“Julia?” he asked as he stepped inside.
She snapped her gaze up to him, tears filling her eyes as she rose and crossed to him. Without a word, she flung her arms around him as she sobbed.
He pulled her closer, holding her tight as he stroked her hair. His own heart raced with worry, but he forced a steadiness in his voice. “I’m here, Julia. I’m here. Whatever’s going on, we’ll face it together.”
Her body shook with a few more sobs before she pulled away from him with a nod. Tears stained her cheeks. She wiped a few away, and he rubbed at one with his thumb. “What happened? Where is Kyle?”
She wrapped her fingers around his hands and squeezed. “He’s in surgery.” Her voice shook ahead as she barely choked the words out. “He’s in critical condition. He was barely hanging on when we brought him in.”
Her voice cracked again. “Grant, he stopped breathing.” She pressed a hand over her lips as fresh tears fell to her cheeks.
His stomach twisted into a tight knot at the words. His son had been in trouble, and he’d misread the situation entirely, thinking he had rushed off after their argument. “Oh my God.”
He pulled her closer to him, stroking her hair as she clung to him. “I’m so sorry you had to see that.”
She pulled back, sniffling and wiping the moisture from her face away. “He made it here. He made it into surgery. The longer this goes, the better because he’s still alive.”
Grant’s features twisted with upset, his mind racing. “How did this happen? Sierra said you were…at a warehouse. Alex Stone was involved. I don’t know what happened.”
His brow furrowed as he tried to piece together the details, searching the room for any sign of his daughter. “Where is Sierra?”
She wrapped her fingers around his hand and squeezed. “James took her to get a coffee. She was really wound up.”
He pulled her into a tight hug again before he guided her to a chair and eased her into it. He perched on the edge of one next to her, taking her hands in his. “Julia, what happened?”
Her features pinched again. “Alex found some other footage from the hospital that looked…questionable. Alicia and I both thought it raised some questions about how voluntary his departure really was. Alex offered to do a little digging.”
“Alex Stone? What did he dig into?”
Julia licked her lips, sniffling again. “Using Kyle’s license plate, he searched the city’s CCTV and found Kyle’s car. He followed it through town–”
“Wait, what? He hacked into the city’s traffic camera?”
Julia nodded. “Thank God he did because without him…we never would have found Kyle in time. We still may not have.” Her features twisted again.
He slid a hand up and down her back, trying to offer her comfort.
She swallowed hard, reaching for his hand. She threaded her fingers through his and blew out a long breath before she continued. “Anyway, he found Kyle’s car at an intersection, but it never showed up anywhere else. So, Ally and I went to check it out…well, actually, Sierra caught us leaving, so all three of us went.”
“And?” he asked.
“We found his car abandoned on the side of the road. The front door was open, keys were still inside it. Ally found tire tracks leading away. Alex matched them to a van that appeared at the next light. He followed it to a street of abandoned buildings. One of them was owned by Nightfall Dynamic. And I thought Nightfall, Alexander Knight, maybe they were somehow connected.
“So, we went to the warehouse, Alex hacked the lock and let us in and…”
