Claimed By My Billionaire Enemy

SABRINA'S POV The call came while I was rinsing plates at the back of the restaurant, “Hello?” I said breathlessly, tucking the phone between my shoulder and ear. My hands were wet, and the sink was still full. I didn't have the time to waste. A woman’s voice came through. “Is this Mrs. Vexley? This is from St. Mary’s Hospital. Your son was involved in an accident. You need to come now.” The phone slipped from my shoulders, hitting the floor as my body went still. Christian… accident… How?! He was supposed to be with my husband at the amusement park to celebrate his fourth birthday. I lost my balance, stumbling backward. One of the waitresses grabbed my arm before I fell. “Sabrina, are you okay? What happened?” But I couldn’t speak, and my heart kept pounding so fast it felt like it might burst. I could still see his little feet swinging off the edge of the bed excitedly, and his face glowing when I had called him my birthday boy this morning. But now these memories made my stomach twist painfully. By the time I reached the hospital, my hair was sticking to my face, my lungs were burning and my vision was blurrier than ever. My apron was still even tied around my waist. I burst through the front door, and the sharp smell of antiseptic hit me first. “Where is my son?” The nurse at the desk looked startled. “Ma’am, please calm down—” Another nurse asked me.“Ma’am, what’s his name?” “Ch–christian Vexley.” I stuttered, my eyes moving everywhere at once. She nodded, and led me down the hall. “Room 204. He is inside. Take it easy.” “Thank You.” I whispered heavily. Once I pushed the door open, my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when I saw Christian laying there alone, his small body wrapped in bloody bandages, with bruises on his face. “Christian…” I gasped, rushing to his side. My hands shook as I brushed his hair back. “Mommy’s here, baby. I’m here.” I cooed, wondering where the hell my husband was? And what the hell even happened? Christian's eyelids fluttered weakly, “Mom…” His voice was so weak, I almost couldn't hear it. “Dad left me.” I blinked, slightly confused, shaking my head at the mere thought of that happening. Silas wasn't the perfect husband, but he was a good father. There was no way he would do that. Christian must be mistaken. “Dad… abandoned me…” He said again, his little fingers gripping mine. The words cut through me like a knife now. Before I could think, I saw the way his eyes rolled back slowly, and a cold dread gripped my chest. “Christian...” I called his name quietly at first, waiting for him to respond, but he didn’t. His chest had also stopped moving. My stomach twisted, but a thin laugh broke out anyway. There was no way it could be what my head was telling me. I leaned closer to his face, but my heart sank when I didn't feel any breath. “No no no…” My head frantically shook on its own as I stumbled backward, terror seizing my whole chest. “This can't be happening. This… this can't be real," The doctors and nurses rushed in at that moment. They pulled me away, their voices blending into noise, beeps, shouts, and orders. Everything in me was sinking as I watched. They pressed cold pads to Christian’s chest. The machine beeped, and the shock jolted his body violently… but nothing happened. Christian's eyes were still closed, his head slumped back like his soul had already left his body. My legs went numb. I clamped my sweaty palms together, begging God to save him… begging him to take me instead. They tried again, and again… while I paced around restlessly, yelling out every single prayer point and bible verses I could remember. The doctor turned to me after what felt like forever. “Mrs. Vexley,” He called gently. “I’m so sorry.” I forced out a faint laugh almost immediately.“Don't be sorry, doctor. You… you haven't even done anything yet. Just keep trying. I'm pretty sure he is just sleeping.” My voice cracked. The doctor heaved out a deep sigh. “We did all we could, Mrs. Vexley. Your son wasn't found and rescued on time. He had already lost a lot of blood by the time he was brought in. I'm so sorry… Please be strong.” I kept laughing… even though nothing was funny. Even though I could already feel my whole world tilting upside down. “Doctor, you don't understand me. I said keep trying. I'm sure he is just pranking you by playing dead. He jokes like that alot…” The doctor reached out slowly, his expression softened. “Mrs. Vexley… please, let him rest. Your son didn't make it. He is gone.” Everything went quiet now. His mouth kept moving, but I couldn’t hear anything anymore. My whole body finally gave out, and I dropped to the floor. I pressed my hands to my mouth, trying to hold it in, but the sound still came out… a rough, ugly cry I didn’t even recognize as mine. Tears poured out of my face so fast that I couldn't see. I couldn’t catch my breath either, I just kept gasping, shaking, begging God to take back whatever of a joke this was and give me back my son. Christian wouldn't just leave me like that! He was supposed to be eating ice cream at the park right now, not… not this! None of this made any sense! I kept saying his name, praying he would answer… but he didn't. The doctors and nurses walked out then. They probably thought it was better for me to be left alone, but it wasn't. How on earth was I supposed to deal with this on my own? A strong whiff of perfume hit my nose just then. I looked up, and there he was, my husband. Silas stood there quietly, like a stranger at a funeral. I squeezed my eyes shut and forced out a shaky breath before struggling up to my feet, my whole body shaking uncontrollably. Silas didn't even help, instead he took a step back. I clenched my jaw to keep it from trembling. “Where were you?” He sighed loudly, but didn't say anything. I squeezed my eyes shut again, my chest aching as if it was splitting into two. All he had to do was be with our son for the day… just one day. I had even begged him. “I needed to be somewhere urgent. I only left him for like a few minutes. Who could have thought he would be so careless to run into a car,” His response finally came, and time seemed to stop around me. It took a while to remember how to breathe again. “You were supposed to protect him, Silas. You were supposed to bring him home…” My voice trembled between rage and grief, “He was just four for God's sake, four! How do you leave a four year old alone at a crowded park? What could have even possibly be more urgent than your own son?” My heart swelled with all the tears I was struggling to keep in. Before I knew it, I was grabbing his collar, shaking him with everything in me. The sound that came out of me was a cry so deep that it scraped my soul raw. Silas barely moved. He gripped my arm, staring blankly at me. His eyes weren't full of pain or regrets like I had expected. They were just cold, distant, and calm, like none of this meant anything to him. And that was when I noticed it. A faint mark of red lipstick smudged on his lips, and trailed along the side of his face. For a second, my mind refused to understand. My gaze lingered there, frozen, waiting for it to make sense… but it didn't. My head spun, and my chest burned like I had swallowed fire. “While our son was—” I stopped, choking on the words. “While Christian was dying, you were with another woman?”