The Billionaire Who Saved Me - Chapter 15: Chapter 15

My words instantly set off a wave of laughter. The employees started whispering all around me. "Now this is something. Let's see what Oliver says."
"What can he say? This is seriously embarrassing."
"What's going on? Didn't Mr. Cooke say his wife ran off with another man? Where did this new wife come from?"
"Well, if his wife did run off, what's wrong with him finding someone new?"
"No, something's off. What if Mrs. Cooke was the one who got kicked out so he could make room for his mistress? Didn't that older lady say the other woman's pregnant?"
"Oh right, she's already showing. Maybe that old lady's telling the truth."
"I didn't expect Mr. Cooke to be that kind of guy."
Oliver was mortified. He shot me a vicious glare, then turned and stormed off without saying a word.
"Stop right there. Explain who that woman is in your house," my mother demanded, grabbing onto Oliver's arm.
"Get off me, you crazy old hag." Oliver flung her arm off and gave her a hard shove. My mom stumbled back and fell straight to the ground.
Her head smacked against the edge of the marble steps, and I almost cried out, but forced it down. I rushed to her and knelt by her side. Her eyes were shut tight. She was completely unconscious.
I pulled my mom into my arms to check her injury. As soon as my hand touched the back of her head, I felt something slick. When I brought it back, it was covered in blood—bright, shocking red.
"Call an ambulance, now," I screamed, clutching her tightly. "Wake up. Please wake up. Don't fall asleep. You have to stay awake, I'm begging you."
I didn't care about anything else. I bent down and called to her right by her ear in my own voice. Luckily, everyone else kept their distance, afraid to get involved.
Someone had already called for an ambulance. Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision. I couldn't care about anything else. I kept speaking softly to my mom, trying to keep her conscious while we waited for the ambulance.
All of a sudden, she moved. The motion was barely noticeable, but I felt it. I was just about to cry out in relief when a low voice spoke, "You two, get the old lady into the car." It was Mason.
As soon as I looked up, two men who looked like bodyguards stepped over. "Ms. Gordon, please let us take her."
They lifted my mom out of my arms and carried her into Mason's car. I got in too, and the car immediately took off toward the hospital.
My mom had woken up, but she was still very weak. She leaned against me, whispering over and over, "Maddy, is that you?"
Maddy was my childhood nickname. My parents and my brother George Lane had always called me that affectionately.
I didn't dare respond. I carefully glanced at Mason through the rearview mirror. He was sitting in the front passenger seat, his face expressionless. I couldn't read what he was thinking, but I still felt uneasy.
On the way, Mason made a call—he was contacting the hospital. We arrived quickly. Several doctors and nurses were already waiting at the entrance. As soon as the car stopped, they rushed over, transferred my mom to a stretcher, and wheeled her inside.
Everyone followed close behind. When I got out of the car, I realized my legs were so weak I could barely stand.
One of the bodyguards tried to steady me, but Mason shot him a sharp look, and the bodyguard stepped back.
Mason came over and wrapped an arm around my waist, guiding me forward. It looked intimate, but it was really just to keep me from collapsing.
When we reached the emergency room, a nurse stopped me at the door. "Ms. Gordon, the patient is being treated. Please wait outside."
Before I could say anything, Mason said to the nurse, "Get Ms. Gordon a room to rest. She's not feeling well after seeing all that blood."
"Of course. Right this way, please," the nurse replied with a nod.
Mason held onto me as we followed behind the nurse. I really wanted to wait outside the emergency room until my mom came out, but I knew he had something to say to me. I had no choice but to follow, completely unwilling.
As soon as we were alone in the room, he let go of me and his face darkened. He lowered his voice and growled, "You idiot, you almost ruined the entire plan.
"I told you, you can do whatever you want, just don't reveal your real identity. It's only been a day and look at the mess you've made. I'm seriously disappointed."
"I'm sorry." I knew I was in the wrong, so I simply apologized.
"I don't want to hear some useless apologies. I want to hear how you plan to fix it."
"Don't worry, I didn't reveal my identity. No one will find out."
"Don't assume everyone else is as dumb as you are. You're coming back to the company with me right now and cleaning up the mess as much as you can."
"No. I'm not leaving until I know my mom's okay." I didn't expect Mason to be this heartless, so I turned him down without hesitation.
"Oh really? You're going to wait until your mom's okay. Then what? A teary mother-daughter reunion?" Mason sneered.
I was rendered speechless. He had a point. My mom had already figured out who I was in the car. When she woke up, she would definitely try to find me.
And if I saw her again, I honestly wasn't sure I'd be able to hold back and keep up the act.
Mason said, "I've already taken care of it. As soon as your mom wakes up, we'll be notified. The hospital has contacted the patient's family. Your father and your brother are on their way here. You'd better not run into them."
"Fine. I'll go back with you," I replied with a nod.
I was covered in blood, so going straight to the company like this was out of the question. I went home first, took a shower, and changed into a clean set of clothes.
Then I returned to the company with Mason. He told me to wait in my office while he headed to Xander's.
When Heidi saw me come in, she quickly approached. "Ms. Gordon, how's that old lady doing?"
"She's fine," I said calmly, then walked into my office.
Heidi wasn't as simple and honest as she looked. When things got chaotic earlier, she was nowhere to be seen, but now she was putting on a concerned face for me.
I knew it was human nature to avoid trouble. But if Heidi vanished when things got dangerous, then she shouldn't blame me if I didn't think of her when something good came up.
I waited in the office for a long time, but Mason didn't show. But he called instead, saying my mom had regained consciousness. She'd split the skin on the back of her head and it wasn't serious.
It wasn't until almost the end of the workday that Mason finally came by. He told Heidi to leave. Once we were alone in the office, he said, "You need to keep an eye on your assistant. She works for Xander."
I nodded. "I know. Can you assign me someone else?"
Mason replied, "I can, but you haven't been here long. It's not a good look to make too many moves right away. You're already attracting attention."
He shot me a disapproving glance, then added, "The plan's off course. We'll have to readjust. Since things are already out in the open, starting tomorrow, I want you to make things difficult for Oliver in every way. Push him until he loses control."
"Got it," I agreed without hesitation.
"Let's go. Time to head home," Mason said.
"You're coming home with me?" I asked, confused.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and remarked casually, "Didn't I tell you? You're living in my house."
I stood there with my mouth hanging open, stunned.
Seriously? I'd actually gone around acting like I owned the place yesterday, barking orders at the staff, even asking Mason what he was doing at "my" house. It turned out that wasn't some place he arranged just for me—that was Mason's actual home.
"Let's go. Why are you standing there like a statue?" Mason urged.