Chapter 1 — The Lucrative Offer

Evelyn

Dr. Evelyn Marks sat behind her cluttered desk, her fingers hovering over the keyboard as the blinking cursor mocked her unfinished patient notes. She tried to focus, but her thoughts scattered like loose papers caught in a windstorm. The soft murmur of a child’s voice drifted in from the clinic’s waiting room—normally a grounding sound, a reminder of why she worked tirelessly. But today, a weight pressed down on her chest, heavier than the usual exhaustion.

Her gaze flicked to the email still open on her screen. Gabriel Lawson. The billionaire. The name alone sent a ripple of unease through her. She had read his email twice, each time with the same disbelief.

What could a man like Gabriel Lawson possibly want with her?

Evelyn rose from her chair and crossed the room to the window, its blinds filtering the late afternoon sun into warm, slanted beams. Below, a mother held her child’s hand as they walked toward the clinic entrance. Normally, such a sight would be a balm, a reminder of why she had opened the clinic in the first place. But today, her chest tightened instead.

She turned back to her desk, her eyes landing on a stack of unpaid bills, their presence a constant reminder of the financial strain she had been battling for months. The clinic was more than just a place of work—it was her sanctuary, her life’s purpose. And it was close to crumbling beneath the weight of its expenses.

A knock interrupted her thoughts. “Dr. Marks?” Claire, her receptionist, poked her head in, curiosity and concern mingling in her expression. “There’s someone on the phone for you. He says it’s urgent.”

Evelyn’s heart gave a small jolt. “Is it about a patient?”

“No.” Claire’s eyebrows lifted. “It’s Gabriel Lawson.”

The name landed like a stone in her stomach. Of course, the email hadn’t been enough. Evelyn hesitated, her mind racing. “I’ll take it.”

Claire nodded and slipped away, leaving the door ajar. Evelyn stared at the phone for a moment, her pulse quickening. She pressed the button to answer, bracing herself.

“Dr. Marks.” The voice on the other end was deep, controlled, with a sharp precision that left no room for misunderstanding. “This is Gabriel Lawson.”

“I know,” she replied, keeping her tone steady even as her nerves hummed with tension. “I received your email.”

“Good. I assume you’ve considered my offer.”

Evelyn’s jaw tightened. “I haven’t had much time to consider anything yet, Mr. Lawson. It’s not every day I receive job offers like yours.”

He paused, the silence on the other end thickening. “I understand your hesitation. But I assure you, the compensation will be more than adequate.”

“It’s not about the money,” she said quickly, though the truth was, the number in his email had nearly made her eyes pop out of her head. It was enough to keep the clinic afloat, to hire more staff, to finally breathe. She exhaled slowly. “Your daughter, Sophie… I’d like to know more about her before I make any decisions.”

“She’s six,” Gabriel replied, his tone clipped. “Bright. Sensitive. But… withdrawn.”

Withdrawn. The word struck a chord deep within Evelyn, a familiar ache she hadn’t felt in years. She could already picture Sophie—small, quiet, her emotions locked away behind walls she had built to protect herself. Evelyn knew those walls all too well. “Has she been evaluated by anyone else?”

“I’ve had specialists look at her,” Gabriel responded, impatience creeping into his voice. “None of them seem to reach her. Sophie doesn’t trust easily.”

Evelyn’s fingers tightened around the phone. She had been Sophie once—a child who had learned too early that trust was fragile, that people could leave without warning. “Trust takes time,” she said softly. “You can’t rush it.”

“I’m not asking you to rush anything.” His voice was sharp, but then there was a pause, a slight hesitation that softened his tone. “I’m asking you to help her. Just try.”

Evelyn closed her eyes for a moment, letting the sound of his voice wash over her. She could hear it now—beneath the layers of control, the desperation of a father who didn’t know how to fix what was broken. This wasn’t just about money or convenience for him. He was worried. Scared, even.

“I’ll need to meet her,” Evelyn said, her voice measured. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.”

“Then it’s settled,” Gabriel said, the command in his voice returning. “My assistant will arrange a time for us to meet.”

Before she could respond, the line went dead. She stared at the phone in her hand, her thoughts spinning. What had she just agreed to?

Her gaze drifted back to the framed photograph on her desk—the ribbon-cutting ceremony from the clinic’s opening day. She had poured everything into this place, fighting for years to keep the dream alive. But dreams didn’t pay the bills, and lately, it felt like the clinic was slipping further from her grasp with each passing month.

Gabriel’s offer could change everything. It could save her clinic.

But at what cost?

The door creaked open again, and Claire stepped inside cautiously. “Everything okay?”

Evelyn nodded slowly, her mind still churning. “That was Gabriel Lawson.”

Claire’s eyes widened. “The billionaire?”

“The one and only,” Evelyn muttered, sinking back into her chair. “He wants me to counsel his daughter.”

Claire’s eyebrows shot up. “This could be… huge. I mean, for the clinic.”

“Yeah,” Evelyn said quietly, rubbing her temples. “It could.”

She could feel the weight of the decision pressing down on her like a lead blanket. This wasn’t just another case. It was stepping into a world she had always avoided—where people like Gabriel Lawson believed they could buy solutions to their problems. But Sophie wasn’t just another problem to solve.

Her eyes fell to the bronze pocket watch on her desk. Her fingers traced the intricate engravings, the ticking faint but steady. Her father had given it to her before he left, a small token she had kept all these years. It was a reminder—a symbol of time slipping away, of promises broken.

Was she the right person to help Sophie? Or was she too broken herself, too tangled in her own unresolved wounds?

But maybe that was exactly why she could help. She understood what it was like to feel abandoned, to be left wondering why you weren’t enough. And maybe, just maybe, she could help Sophie find her way through it.

A knock at the door broke through her thoughts. Claire poked her head in again, her curiosity still evident. “So… are you going to do it?”

Evelyn hesitated, her fingers tightening around the watch. She took a deep breath, feeling the weight of her decision settle over her. “Yes,” she said softly. “I’m going to do it.”

Claire grinned. “This could be life-changing.”

Evelyn forced a faint smile, though her stomach still churned with uncertainty. “We’ll see.”

As Claire left, Evelyn leaned back in her chair, her hand still clutching the pocket watch. She stared out the window once more, watching the world outside move in its slow, steady rhythm, blissfully unaware of the monumental choice she had just made.

The clinic’s survival was on the line. But so was much more than that. Sophie’s future. Her own sense of self-worth. Whether she could truly trust herself to help someone else when her own wounds were still raw.

She placed the watch back on her desk and stood, her decision final. Tomorrow, she would meet Sophie. And whatever happened next, she would face it head-on—just as she had faced every challenge before.

But this time, there was more at stake. Something that scared her more than losing the clinic. The possibility that she might finally have to confront her own past, her own fears, her own vulnerability.

She wasn’t sure she was ready. But she knew one thing for certain.

She had no choice but to try.