Taming My Sugar Mommy

The hospital corridor felt endless as Isabella and Seraphina rushed through the sliding doors. Their heels clicked against the sterile floor as they approached the nurse's station, where a young woman in scrubs looked up at their approach. The fluorescent lights above flickered ominously, casting strange shadows across the walls—a detail that made Isabella's skin crawl with memories she'd rather forget.

"Three patients were brought in from a car accident," Isabella said, her voice tight with controlled urgency. "They're from Ashworth Events." Her manicured nails dug crescents into her palm, leaving marks she wouldn't notice until hours later.

The nurse checked her computer. "Yes, they're in emergency care now. The doctors are working on them. Please, have a seat in the waiting area." The words seemed to echo in the sterile hallway, each syllable another weight added to Isabella's shoulders.

Thirty minutes crawled by like centuries. Isabella paced the waiting room, her mind racing with possibilities. 'David.' The name surfaced unbidden, bringing with it a wave of cold dread that settled in her bones like winter frost. 'Could he be behind this? After all these years, would he go this far just to force his way back into my life?' She'd thought prison would hold him, but men like David had ways of extending their reach beyond bars—she still had the scars to prove it.

Her thoughts turned to Liam, and her carefully laid plans for him. 'Everything I've built, everything I've prepared—it could all unravel if David has truly returned to play his games.' The security cameras in the corner of the waiting room caught her eye, and for a moment, she could have sworn they turned to follow her movement.

"I need some air," Isabella murmured, stepping away from Seraphina. Her hands trembled slightly as she straightened her blazer—a tell that only her oldest friend would recognize. Once around the corner, she pulled out her phone. "Marcus, I need everything on that truck driver. Where he stays, what he eats, who he talks to—everything." The sound of footsteps behind her made her whirl around, heart hammering, but it was just a nurse walking past.

Seraphina watched Isabella's retreat with knowing eyes, noting how her friend's composed facade cracked just slightly when speaking Liam's name. It was subtle, but to someone who'd known Isabella as long as she had, it spoke volumes. More concerning were the dark circles under Isabella's eyes—ones that hadn't been there last week, suggesting sleepless nights filled with unnamed worries.

An hour passed before the doctor emerged, his expression grave. "We managed to save two of the patients," he began, his voice heavy with the weight of what followed. "But I'm sorry—we couldn't save the third."

Isabella's face drained of color, her lips parting but no sound emerging. It was Seraphina who found her voice first.

"The driver or one of the passengers?" she asked, her tone steady despite the tension in her shoulders.

"The driver," the doctor confirmed. "The impact caused severe trauma to his brain. We did everything we could, but the damage was too extensive."

Isabella closed her eyes briefly. "He'd only been with us a month," she whispered. "His family..."

"Can we see them?" Isabella asked, her voice carefully measured despite the urgency burning beneath her words.

The doctor nodded. "They're still under heavy medication, but you can visit briefly. Room 407."

Isabella moved swiftly down the corridor, her steps precise and determined. Seraphina followed, noting how her friend's usual calculated pace had quickened ever so slightly. When they reached the room, Isabella's hand hesitated for just a moment on the door handle before pushing it open.

Inside, the steady beep of monitors filled the air. Two beds, separated by a thin curtain, held their injured occupants. Without hesitation, Isabella moved directly to the bed on the right where Liam lay, his face bruised but peaceful in drug-induced sleep. Christina occupied the other bed, her normally alert presence subdued by machinery and medication.

Isabella's fingers ghosted over Liam's hand, barely touching him, as if afraid the contact might somehow make his injuries more real. The gesture was brief, almost imperceptible, but Seraphina caught it—along with the flash of raw emotion that crossed Isabella's face before her mask of composure slipped back into place.

Seraphina's eyes narrowed slightly, her lips pressing into a thin line. She'd known Isabella long enough to recognize when her friend was invested in more than just an employee's wellbeing. The way Isabella positioned herself beside Liam's bed, slightly protective, spoke volumes.

"He seems to be resting comfortably," Seraphina observed, her tone carefully neutral despite the storm brewing behind her eyes. "Though I'm sure Christina's family will want to be notified first about her condition."

Isabella didn't miss the subtle emphasis on Christina's name, nor the implied criticism in Seraphina's words. She straightened, turning to face her friend with a carefully composed expression. "Of course," she replied smoothly. "I've already arranged for both families to be contacted." But she didn't move from Liam's bedside, her position a silent declaration that Seraphina's subtle disapproval would not sway her.

Her phone buzzed, offering a momentary escape. She stepped away again, this time moving completely out of Seraphina's earshot. "What did you find, Marcus?"

"Ma'am, it appears to be a genuine accident. I reviewed security footage and spoke with witnesses. The driver—a 37-year-old delivery man—was reaching for his phone when he lost control."

"And David? No connection?"

"Nothing obvious, but..." Marcus paused. "There's something else. The driver's phone records show a call came in right before the accident. The number traces back to a burner phone, but the timing..."

As she ended the call, Isabella caught Seraphina watching her with an unreadable expression. For a moment, their eyes met, and Isabella wondered just how much her old friend had picked up on. Seraphina had always been dangerously perceptive, and right now, Isabella couldn't afford to have anyone—even an old friend—looking too closely at her carefully constructed world.

A soft groan from Liam's bed drew both women's attention. His fingers twitched, and Isabella's breath caught as his eyes fluttered—but didn't open. Instead, he mumbled something incoherent, his face contorting in pain or perhaps some drug-induced nightmare. Isabella found herself leaning closer, straining to catch his words, her own paranoia painting them with meaning they might not have.

The steady drip of his IV seemed to echo her racing thoughts. 'Each drop a reminder of how quickly things can fall apart, how fragile my carefully constructed safeguards really are.' A nurse passed by the door, clipboard in hand, and Isabella caught herself studying the woman's face too intently, searching for signs of recognition or threat where there were none.

The weight of the day pressed down on her shoulders, but beneath it all, a new worry began to take root. Even if David wasn't behind this particular incident, the accident had exposed just how vulnerable Liam could be. How vulnerable she'd allowed him to become. The heart monitor's steady beeping seemed to mock her, counting down to something she couldn't quite see coming.

Through the window, storm clouds gathered on the horizon, matching the darkness growing in Isabella's heart. She'd built her empire on secrets and carefully calculated moves. Now, watching Liam's chest rise and fall in the hospital bed, she realized she might have to make one decision at a time to keep him . Because the real threat wasn't just what David might do from behind bars—it was what her own fears and secrets might unleash if she wasn't careful.

Looking down at Liam's bruised face, Isabella made a silent vow. 'I will protect you, but first I need to face the shadows in my own mind.' Because sometimes the most dangerous threats weren't the ones lurking in prison cells, but the ones we create in our own hearts.