The Life Between Lies

Lily's breathing sounded like a thin whistle in the dark. "Hold on, baby. Mommy's got you." Hailey Brooks pushed through the hospital doors with her daughter in her arms, her legs shaking so badly she thought she might drop her. "I need help!" she called out. "She can't breathe!" A nurse rushed over, took one look at Lily's pale lips, and shouted for a doctor. Within seconds, Lily was on a stretcher and gone behind double doors. Hailey stood in the empty hallway, her hands still curved in the shape of her daughter's body. Noah was safe at Mrs. Daniels' apartment next door. That was the only good thing about tonight. Twenty minutes later, a tired doctor with kind eyes found her in the waiting area. "Ms. Brooks? I'm Dr. Patel. Your daughter has a severe respiratory infection. We've started oxygen and medication, and she's stable for now." Hailey pressed a hand to her mouth. "Is she going to be okay?" "Yes. She can recover fully. But she needs to stay here and start the next stage of treatment tonight. It's important that we don't delay." "Okay. Whatever she needs." Dr. Patel hesitated, and Hailey felt her stomach drop. "The front desk will go over the costs with you. There's an outstanding balance from her last visit, and we'll need a deposit for the next stage." At the desk, the woman spoke gently, but the number was not gentle at all. Hailey stared at it until the digits blurred. She stepped aside and opened her banking app. Her account held forty-three dollars. Forty-three dollars, and rent due in four days. Six years ago, her husband had walked out one morning to buy milk and never came back. No note. No call. No money left behind. Hailey had cried for a week, and then she had stopped, because two babies needed to eat. Since then she had worked every shift at the Maple Court Hotel, scrubbing floors and carrying trays and smiling at guests who never learned her name. It had never been enough. It had only ever been just barely enough, and now it wasn't even that. She dialed her manager with trembling fingers. "Mr. Dawson, it's Hailey. I'm so sorry to call this late. My daughter is in the hospital. Could I please get an advance on my salary? Just this once." There was a long, irritated sigh. "Hailey, we've talked about this. I'm not a bank." "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't an emergency. I've never asked before." "Then you shouldn't have started now. And you already missed tonight's shift. Miss another one and you're done. I mean it. I have a line of people who want your job." The call ended. Hailey lowered the phone and stared at the wall. She had one person left to call. Chloe picked up on the second ring, her voice thick with sleep. "Hailey? What's wrong?" That was all it took. Hailey's voice cracked as the story poured out, and she hated how small she sounded. "Oh, honey. Okay. Listen to me. I can send you eight hundred right now." "Chloe, I can't take your savings." "You're not taking it. I'm giving it. But Hailey..." Chloe paused. "I wish I had more. I know it won't cover everything." "I know." Hailey wiped her face with her sleeve. "Thank you. Really. It's more than anyone else has offered." "I'll keep thinking. We'll figure something out." But Hailey knew eight hundred dollars was a bandage on a broken bone. She asked the nurse to watch over Lily for a short while. Her purse was still in her locker at the hotel, with her ID and the insurance card she'd need, and it was only ten minutes away. She ran the whole way. The service entrance was quiet. She slipped into the staff room, grabbed her bag, and was heading out through the lobby when she heard voices near the bar. Two women in glittering dresses stood with champagne glasses, speaking in low, delighted tones. "Did you hear about the Blackwell Hotel event this weekend?" one said. "Private guest list. Everyone will be there." "Of course. Mason Blackwell is hosting, isn't he? Poor man. I heard about the will." "His grandfather's will? Yes. He has to be married before his thirtieth birthday or he loses control of the company. Can you imagine? Billions, and he's being forced down the aisle." "Well, I wouldn't say no to him." They both laughed. Hailey kept walking. She didn't care about billionaires or their strange problems. People like that had never had to choose between rent and medicine. She pushed through the front doors into the cold night air, her mind already back in Lily's room. Then she heard a voice, sharp and furious, from the side of the building. "You have until your birthday, Mason. After that, everything goes to the board, and I make sure of it." Hailey slowed down. She hadn't meant to look, but she did. A tall man in a dark suit stood under the streetlight, his jaw tight, his eyes cold. Across from him was a woman in a red coat, her arms folded like she'd already won. "You'll lose it all," the woman said. "The company. The name. Everything Grandfather built. Unless you find a wife, and we both know no one can stand you long enough." "Careful, Victoria," the man said quietly. "You've waited this long. You can wait a little more. I will never let you take my company." Victoria smiled, turned, and clicked away on her heels. The man exhaled slowly. Then his gaze lifted and landed directly on Hailey. His expression hardened. "How long have you been standing there?" "I wasn't standing. I was walking." "What did you hear?" Hailey stared at him. She was tired, scared, and fresh out of patience. "Honestly? Not much. And I don't care. I have bigger problems than your family drama." For a moment, he said nothing. Something flickered across his face, maybe surprise. People probably bowed and smiled at him all day. She had just done neither. "Is that so?" he said. Her phone rang. The hospital's number lit up the screen. She answered at once. "Hello?" "Ms. Brooks, this is Nurse Kelly. Lily's condition has worsened. You need to come back right now." The world tilted. "I'm coming. I'm coming right now." She hung up and turned to run, but the man stepped forward. "What's happened?" "It's none of your business." She pulled her purse strap higher, and a folded paper slipped from the top and fluttered to the ground. Before she could grab it, he had picked it up. Hailey froze. He read it. She watched his eyes move across the hospital's name, then the amount at the bottom. The silence stretched on and on. "Give that back," she whispered. He looked from the paper to her tired face, to her worn work shoes, to her shaking hands. Then he folded it carefully and held it out, but when she reached for it, he didn't let go. "Your daughter?" he asked. She said nothing. "I can pay this," Mason said. "All of it. Every bill, every treatment, whatever she needs." Hailey's heart stopped. She stared at him, searching for the trick. "Why would you do that?" "Because I'm asking for something in return." Her eyes narrowed. She snatched the paper from his hand. "What do you want fr om me?" Mason Blackwell looked straight at her, calm and serious, as if he were discussing a business deal. "I want you to marry me.”