A Billionaire in Disguise #3 ： The Wrong Side of Midnight(18)

"I have Becky and Lois here with me. Lois just left to go home, but we try to take care of each other. It's funny how after this happened, my world stopped. Nothing else seems to matter. Even though we weren't speaking at the apartment, I knew she was there. If I wasn't such an ass, she wouldn't be here. Did you know she was going to the store for stuff to make me and pops dinner when she was hit? She was hoping I'd give her the opportunity to explain why she lied to me. Had I of given her that chance when I first found out who she really was, she wouldn't be fighting for her life." 

"You can't think that way, understand? Beating yourself up isn't helping anything. Stay strong, Matt. She'll come back."

"When she first came to our neighborhood, I told her it wasn't safe for her to be out at night. You know how rough it can get, especially for a female. So there she was, out in broad daylight, and nearly lost her life on the way to the grocery store."

John wanted to stay longer with Matthew but he had to hurry back to work. The crew wasn't complaining a bit about their boss being gone. They knew what was happening and were willing to pitch in any way they could.

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Four days later, they took Chloe back into surgery to repair a small nick in her liver. The injury was so small they didn't see it at first, but her daily lab work and exhibiting symptoms made the doctors more than aware she was bleeding, and they got her right in. An orthopedic surgeon came in the operating room to help put Chloe's bones back together in her hand and internally align the broken bone in her leg so they could both heal without permanent disabilities. They would go back and repair some of the facial fractures when she was out of the woods, but she was a long way from that. Some of her other fractures would heal on their own, but the degree of pain she would suffer if they took her out of the medically induced coma would be too much to bear. The bleeding in her brain resolved itself without them having to open up her skull. Only time would tell of the quality of life Chloe would have, providing she lived long enough to find out.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Sylvia and Earl Burlington sat on their third flight back home to Michigan without saying a word to each other. Earl hadn't spoken to her in days, ever since the phone call from Lois. He'd been aware of his wife's snobby behavior since the day their daughter was born. But she was sweet and delicate when he first met Sylvia Desmond at a luncheon.

The restaurant he owned was a very lucrative business, catering to the wealthy in Chicago. Sylvia stayed after the gathering had ended and chatted with Earl. They continued speaking after Sylvia went back to Michigan, but their talks went from once every week or two, to daily calls. It didn't take long for the two to fall in love. Earl was the 'take charge' kind of guy, and she was a woman with a horrible, sad life. Her father's company, Desmond Enterprises, was very successful, but began to fail after Sylvia was born.

Samuel Desmond loved his daughter Sylvia when she was an infant, but couldn't handle his wife's mood swings and the constant crying from the baby. He began to drink, and the business, started by Samuel's father, began to crash. Jackie, Samuel's devoted wife, was overly used to the finer things in life. It didn't take her long to blame everything that was upside down in her world, her marriage and failing financial situation, on Sylvia. To help prevent Samuel from leaving her, she sent Sylvia to a strict, harsh boarding school, where she worked and lived until she turned eighteen.

She hadn't spoken to her parents since she was dropped off in Sister Gilbert's office. On her seventeenth birthday, the old nun coldly informed Sylvia of the news that her mother had passed away in her sleep. Samuel kept the business above water, but barely, and only sent the minimal amount to pay for Sylvia's stay. She had no memories of her father when she left the boarding school, and never grieved over the death of her mother. Both of her parents existed on paper only.

Then came Earl. He listened to her past and tried to comfort her the best way he could. She was eighteen, he was twenty. One evening after her twenty-first birthday, she gave Earl the news of her pregnancy. Being raised in a Catholic environment, termination wasn't an option. The last thing Sylvia wanted was a baby. She had absolutely no idea how to raise one, and had no experience with children in general. They got married in front of a judge, and she moved her meek belongings into Earl's modest apartment.


 

 

 

When Sylvia was six months pregnant, she was contacted by an attorney representing her father's estate. She had no idea she was an heir to the struggling Desmond Enterprises. She was given three hundred and fifty-thousand dollars, a beautiful home in Berkshire Estates, and two matching Mercedes, a month after her father's death. According to the death certificate, Samuel Desmond had died from a heart attack. Sylvia didn't know what to do with the company, but Earl flew with her back to Michigan and met with the officers and attorneys for the company. Being experienced in a successful business, Earl did what was best after seeing the potential of his wife's newly inherited company. He sold his restaurant and took over running the failing Desmond Enterprises. He spent his days and nights going through the papers and accounting records. There was so much corruption his head began to spin. One by one, the board was replaced, the accounting firm was fired, and Burlington Enterprises was born.

Sylvia was delighted with her new found friends in high places and her wealth. Before she realized it, she was even speaking differently. Sylvia thrived in all the attention, and loved how people treated her while she was pregnant. Earl hired staff for the house and a nice young woman to cook. Sylvia slept, shopped, complained, ordered people around, and always looked like a million bucks.

At three in the morning, baby Chloe woke Sylvia up with such horrible back labor that she insisted on having her tubes cut so she'd never go through that again. Besides, the baby girl wasn't even that cute. Her head was kind of pointed and her face a tad smashed. Sylvia had no intentions of walking around with a baby glued to her breast, and changing diapers wasn't exactly her thing. When the little bundle would cry or need changed, Sylvia was excellent at convincing her husband that her head was killing her. She did, however, feel well enough to call a photographer for a family picture, dress herself and the baby in designer clothes, and smile wide while she held her daughter in her arms.

Earl couldn't stay at home all the time. He'd already missed a few days in a row of work, and his wife wasn't quite cut out for motherhood. But he knew when the baby got a little older and could walk, talk, and not be so dependent, Sylvia would be all over her. But for now, he'd have to hire a nanny.

Lois Shepherd, the cook, had no children of her own but seemed to be the most personable and would even offer to hold the newborn when she wasn't in the kitchen. She was never officially hired as the nanny though. As a matter of fact, Lois hated the nannies who were employed. She tolerated the ones on night shift because she left between five and seven every night, and someone would have to be with the baby. But during the day, it was a job she took upon herself. No matter how much she tried to teach Sylvia, or encouraged her to hold her baby, the young mother wanted nothing to do with being a mom. 

As Burlington Enterprises grew into a prosperous business, Earl decided it was time to expand further internationally. Because the company mined and sold precious metals, Earl spent a lot of the year flying to different parts of the world. It didn't take him long to discover how many countries needed schools, medical facilities, and clean water. Burlington became a household name rather quickly when his projects became public. When a large steel mill went defunct, Earl quickly bought it. Sylvia was livid over how much he spent. But he knew he had to spend money to make money, and his brain was flying with ideas. The cost of steel was hindering his ability to help those in need.

A year later, Earl met with his technology department. Laying his plans out for everyone to see, it was clear he'd found a less expensive and faster way to melt steel. His idea would save millions. The amazing machine was built the following year and sold all across the nation. Earl was on his way to take charge and make the world a better place.

Sylvia wasn't having any part of it. She couldn't make her husband stay home no matter how hard she tried. She knew Earl loved his daughter and wanted to build a wonderful empire for the future Burlington generations. Even though she desperately wanted him to stop traveling and working so much, she was unwilling to cut back on her luxurious lifestyle. Sylvia continued to spend, and Earl continued to travel. One day, she packed her bags and hopped on the plane right beside her husband.

At first it was just for a week or two here and there. But soon enough, Sylvia wasn't going home after traveling abroad to see Earl. It was okay though. She promised to spend the summers back in Michigan, all holidays, and one weekend per month. That happened until Chloe turned two, then slowly over the next couple years, the visits disappeared … But that was okay, too. She promised to call every day and talk with Chloe and would promptly fly home if she was needed. That rarely happened.

Sylvia hated being a mother. It was her biggest fear in life. She loved the idea of having a child and could even say she loved the little girl. But Sylvia had no idea how to bond. When Chloe began to treat Lois like the mother figure, she knew the best thing to do was keep away. Wasn't it better this way? As Chloe aged and realized that her mother wasn't coming home, she began to ask questions. Lois explained the best she could.