Nathaniel opened the gray folder as the private elevator chimed outside his office.
Lily leaned over the desk.
She could not read the medical language covering the page, but she noticed the numbers, the dark lines, and the word Dr.
Cole had circled in red.
Nathaniel could hear the executives entering the penthouse.
Their low greetings stopped when Mrs.
Whitmore met them in the living room and quietly informed them that Mr.
Cross was unavailable.
It was the first time in ten years she had turned away a scheduled meeting without his permission.
Normally, Nathaniel would have corrected her immediately.
He did not move.
Lily pointed to the red circle.
—Is that the bad part?
Nathaniel looked at her small finger resting beside the test result.
—Yes.
—What does it say?
Elena took a step forward.
—Lily, that is private.
Nathaniel closed his eyes for a moment.
Privacy had always been his fortress.
It kept investors from seeing doubt, competitors from finding weakness, and employees from believing they knew him.
Now the fortress felt less like protection and more like a sealed room with no air.
—It says my heart is very sick, he answered.
Lily’s expression changed, but she did not pull away.
—Is it tired?
The question was so simple that Nathaniel almost dismissed it.
Then he looked down at the report again.
Reduced function.
Severe strain.
Immediate treatment required.
—Yes, he said.
—I think it is.
Lily placed her cloth doll on top of the folder.
The doll’s loose button eye faced Nathaniel.
—She sleeps with me when I’m scared.
—Lily, Elena whispered.
—He can borrow her.
Nathaniel stared at the worn doll lying across financial projections and medical results.
Nothing so inexpensive had ever rested on his desk.
Nothing had ever looked more out of place.
Or more necessary.
Outside the office, one of the executives asked whether the meeting should be moved to the conference room downstairs.
Nathaniel’s phone vibrated.
A message from Dr.
Cole appeared, but Nathaniel turned the screen facedown before Lily could see it.
The words remained in his mind.
Come to the hospital now.
Elena reached for her daughter’s hand.
—We should go.
I’m sorry, Mr.
Cross.
She didn’t mean to interfere.
Lily resisted just enough to keep her fingertips on the doll.
—He hasn’t answered me.
Nathaniel looked at her.
—Answered what?
