Marcus Comes to the Hospital
Chapter 07 - Marcus Comes to the Hospital
Marcus arrived the next morning carrying flowers.
Lily refused to let him inside.
So Evelyn met him in the hallway.
“You intercepted her letters.”
It wasn't a question.
Marcus sighed.
“Evelyn.”
“Did you?”
“I protected you.”
“From my daughter?”
“From scandal.”
Evelyn stared at him.
Marcus explained that several letters had arrived at the foundation after Lily disappeared.
He had removed them before Evelyn saw them.
His excuse was simple.
The foundation was under investigation.
Donors were nervous.
Lily's disappearance had already created rumors.
“You had just lost Thomas's mother. You weren't sleeping. You could barely function.”
“So you decided I shouldn't know my daughter was alive?”
“I decided you needed stability.”
“No. You decided you knew what was best for me.”
His jaw tightened.
“You always needed someone to make the hard decisions.”
Evelyn almost slapped him.
Instead, she did something Marcus clearly did not expect.
She laughed.
Softly.
Sadly.
“For thirty years, I thought you were protecting me.”
“I was.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“You were managing me.”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Be careful, Evelyn. Lily isn't innocent.”
“Neither are you.”
“She's going to destroy everything our family built.”
Behind them, the hospital door opened.
Noah stood there.
He had heard enough.
“My mom didn't destroy your family.”
Marcus turned.
Noah gripped the flute.
“Your family destroyed her.”
Evelyn watched her brother's face.
For the first time, Marcus seemed ashamed.
But only for a moment.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen and answered.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He walked away quickly.
Evelyn's own phone began buzzing seconds later.
Messages.
News alerts.
Calls from board members.
A video had appeared online.
A guest at the rooftop gala had recorded Noah playing the flute and approaching Evelyn.
The clip had already been viewed nearly two million times.
The headline was spreading faster.
MYSTERY BAREFOOT BOY STUNS BILLION-DOLLAR CHARITY GALA.
But beneath it, another story had appeared.
A source claimed Noah's mother was the disgraced daughter of Evelyn Hart.
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And that she had returned to demand money.
Someone had leaked Lily's past.
