The Billionaire That Found Me

Chapter 5 – The Call That Shatters Her World

The morning had barely begun when Ava’s phone vibrated sharply against the bedside table. She groaned, burying her face in the pillow, still tangled in yesterday’s emotions. Last night had been a blur—a whirlwind of desire, connection, and a pang of fear she couldn’t shake. But the phone’s insistent buzzing yanked her fully into reality.

Her fingers trembled as she answered, the screen flashing her mother’s hospital number. “Hello?” she said, her voice cautious, weary.

“Ava… it’s your mother,” the nurse’s voice came, tight and serious. “She’s… she’s collapsed. We need you here immediately.”

Time froze. Ava’s chest constricted, air catching in her throat. “Collapsed? What… what happened?” she demanded, scrambling out of bed. Her mind raced—heart pounding, stomach twisting. She had barely slept, barely processed last night, and now her world tilted again.

“She’s stable for the moment, but her condition worsened rapidly. You need to get here as soon as possible,” the nurse continued.

Ava’s hands shook as she grabbed her coat and bag. “I’m on my way,” she whispered, her voice cracking. The line went dead before she could ask more questions.

Her mind spun as she ran through her apartment, packing essentials, grabbing cash, and stuffing her wallet into her coat pocket. Her thoughts were chaotic, torn between fear, guilt, and frustration. She had just surrendered herself to one night with Ethan, a reckless choice she barely understood, and now—now her mother was in crisis.

She couldn’t waste another second.

The taxi ride to the hospital was a blur of honking horns, flashing lights, and her own rapid breathing. Ava’s mind leapt from one possibility to another: was it just a complication from her mother’s chronic illness? Or had something worse happened? The anxiety gnawed at her chest, squeezing, threatening to suffocate her.

When she arrived, the hospital smelled sterile, antiseptic cutting through the lingering fog of her fear. Nurses and doctors moved swiftly, checking charts, speaking in clipped tones she barely understood. Her eyes searched frantically for her mother’s room, heart hammering.

“Room 402,” a nurse directed her, voice sympathetic but firm. “She’s stable for now, but she’s critical. Try to remain calm.”

Ava nodded, though the calm she tried to muster felt like a fragile mask over her panic. She pushed open the door and froze. Her mother lay in the bed, pale and fragile, monitors beeping softly. A thin line of oxygen tubing traced across her face, and the once-vibrant woman Ava had known was now a shadow of herself.

“Mom…” Ava whispered, rushing to her side and gripping her hand. The skin was cold, fragile, and it sent a jolt of fear through her. “Mom, it’s okay. You’re okay. I’m here.”

Her mother’s eyes fluttered open, a faint smile forming despite the weakness. “Ava… you’re here,” she murmured, voice faint, fragile. “I… I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry,” Ava insisted, squeezing her mother’s hand gently. “You just rest. That’s all that matters.”

But as she looked at the hospital bill statements stacked neatly on the counter, a creeping dread washed over her. The numbers were impossible, astronomical. How could she possibly manage this? And then the weight of responsibility pressed down harder: her mother’s illness, the debt, and now her own life had become a series of impossible choices.

She sank into the chair beside the bed, head in her hands, as the reality hit her. She couldn’t handle this alone. Not her mother’s illness, not the bills, not the consequences of last night’s choices—and certainly not the storm that seemed to be brewing in the world of the wealthy elite she had glimpsed with Ethan Blackwell.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. Ava looked up, heart racing, and saw a tall, impeccably dressed woman standing there. The woman’s eyes were cold, calculating.

“Ava Hart,” she said, her tone smooth, almost icy. “I hear your mother is… unwell.”

Ava stiffened. “Who are you?” she demanded, though the woman’s presence made her uneasy.

“I’m Vivian,” she said, stepping into the room with an air of authority that demanded attention. “And I’m afraid your little predicament with your mother’s care requires… a solution.”

Ava’s chest tightened. “My mother… she’s sick. She needs care. That’s all that matters,” she said, her voice trembling but defiant.

Vivian’s lips curled into a faint, cruel smile. “Of course, of course. But it seems the hospital bills have become… quite a burden. You see, Ava, I can help you. I can provide everything your mother needs to recover fully. But there is a condition.”

Ava’s stomach dropped. “What condition?”

Vivian’s eyes gleamed with a calculating light. “You must… step into a certain arrangement. A marriage of convenience, if you will. One that will secure your mother’s care and stabilize her finances. A… union with someone I have chosen.”

Ava felt the blood drain from her face. “A marriage? You’re asking me… to marry someone I don’t even know?”

Vivian’s smile widened, not cruelly, but with a certainty that made Ava’s stomach churn. “Not just anyone. Nathaniel Henley. You’ve heard of him, I’m sure. He is… discerning. He is powerful. And he has certain expectations. Agree, and your mother receives the best care money can buy. Refuse, and…” She let the words hang, a thinly veiled threat in her eyes. “…the bills remain unpaid. And your mother suffers.”

Ava’s hands trembled. She gripped her mother’s hand tightly, the weight of responsibility pressing down harder than she had ever felt. She wanted to yell, to fight, to refuse—but the images of her mother’s frail body, her gasps for air, her quiet suffering, held her in place.

She shook her head, a cold realization forming. “No… this can’t be real,” she whispered.

Vivian’s voice was soft, but it cut like a knife. “I’m afraid it is. Time is not on your side, Ava. You must decide.”

Ava sank into the chair, burying her face in her hands. One night had changed her life, yes—but now, the stakes had shifted far beyond her heart. Her mother’s life, her own future, the weight of impossible choices… it was all crashing down on her at once.