Page 19 of Believing in a Billionaire (Hearts and Holdings #7)

JULIA

T he soft beeping of a heart monitor broke the silence. A twinge of antiseptic tickled her nostrils as she shifted in her bed. Soreness coursed through every muscle in her body.

She winced at the tenderness in her muscles coupled with a severe, throbbing headache. Nausea still rolled her stomach and fatigue made her want to slip away from the world again.

She groaned, wondering why she wasn’t any better.

As consciousness slowly returned, Julia found herself tangled in a web of confusion, her limbs heavy as if weighted down by lead.

“Julia?” Grant’s voice broke through the haze, sounding distant and fraught with worry.

She didn’t want to open her eyes, but she forced herself. She immediately snapped them shut, sensitive to the bright lights in the room. Her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. Panic welled inside her.

What was happening? Why was she in the hospital?

“Juju? Open your eyes.”

Alicia?

She groaned again as the sound of heels pounded toward her, making her head hurt even worse.

“Julia?” Kyle’s voice called. “Can you hear me?”

“Uh-huh,” she murmured, keeping her eyes squeezed shut.

“Okay, good. Can you open your eyes?”

She forced them open to slits, squinting against the bright lights.

“You sensitive to the light?”

She bobbed her head up and down before he flicked his gaze to the monitors. “Sierra, can you turn off that light?

The tension holding her eyes taut eased. “Thanks.”

“How are you feeling?” Kyle asked.

She grimaced with every move of her muscles, a testament to the soreness and weakness that gripped her body post-seizure.

“Awful,” she groaned, her voice quivering with a mix of fear and confusion. “What’s happening to me?” The uncertainty of her condition sent a wave of panic through her, making her heart race even faster.

“That is a very good question,” Kyle said, “but lucky for you, we figured that out two days ago when you came in.”

“Two days?” she shouted, immediately regretting raising her voice. “Ugh.”

“Julia?” Grant asked, his unshaven face etched with worry. “Do you need anything?”

“Water,” she murmured.

“Just a little,” Kyle said as he held a straw toward her. “You’re probably thirsty, but don’t drink too much. You’re probably also still nauseous.”

She sucked a little water up to quench her thirst. “And my head is still splitting. What’s wrong with me?”

“Well, a few things,” Kyle answered as she stared at the sea of concerned faces around her.

Julia reached for Grant’s hand, hoping to find some strength in it as she waited to hear what was wrong with her.

“The headache is from the seizure you had–”

“The what ?” She tightened her grip on Grant’s hand as she tried to push up to sit, immediately regretting it as the room spun around her.

“Easy, Julia. Just relax. You’re still pretty sick.”

“From seizures?” she asked, panic filling her voice as the words came out.

Grant rubbed her hand. “It’s okay, Julia. You’re okay now. You’re going to get better.”

Her forehead creased as she flicked her gaze between Grant and Kyle. Between them, Alicia’s eyes were shadowed with worry, her gaze fixed on Julia as if willing her to be okay. Next to her, Sierra’s forehead creased in concentration, a visible tension in her shoulders.

“From what?”

“Yes, you had a seizure. Your dry mouth is from the medication to control that. But the rest of it, all of it, was caused by poisoning.”

“Poisoning?” Her voice took on an incredulous tone. “Food poisoning?”

Kyle shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. This is something much more serious. This isn’t a simple case of food poisoning, we ran a full toxicology panel and found arsenic in your system.”

Julia’s stomach twisted at the words, a silent scream echoing in her mind. The betrayal felt as sharp as a knife, the fear of the unknown a heavy cloak around her shoulders. “What? How could this happen?”

“We’re still trying to figure that out, but the good news is we found it in time. We’re treating you, and you should make a full recovery,” Kyle said.

Julia blew out a long sigh as she reached for his hand. “Thank you.”

He smiled at her as he squeezed her hand. “You’re welcome. And the next time I want you to come to the hospital, we’re coming right away. We are not waiting until you pass out and have a seizure, okay?”

“Deal,” she said with a weak smile.

“Now, I know you’re probably still a little nauseous, but I’d like to see if we can get you up and eating, okay?”

She sucked in a breath as she nodded. “Whatever you say.”

“Good. Let’s see how well this medication is doing. I’ll be right back.”

Kyle disappeared from the room, and Alicia filled in at her side as Sierra wrapped an arm around her father.

“Sorry for scaring everyone,” Julia said as she glanced up at their still-concerned faces.

Alicia’s eyebrows knitted. “Oh, Julia, that was as scary as when those rocks dropped on you.”

“Yeah, sorry,” she repeated before she flicked her gaze to Grant and Sierra. “And how are you two holding up?”

“Stop worrying about us, Julia,” Grant said before he kissed her hand. “You need to save your strength and get better.”

“I still don’t understand how this happened?”

Kyle returned with a nurse carrying a tray of food. “Okay, nice and easy,” he said as he raised her bed. “You okay?”

“A little dizzy, but I’m okay.”

She breathed out a long breath as she stared down at the jello and broth, her stomach churning. With a grimace, she took a spoonful of broth. “I still don’t understand how I got arsenic poisoning.”

“We’re trying to figure that out,” Kyle answered. “The way this came on, it was a prolonged exposure to a fairly minimal amount at each time. No one was certain if you had any foods consistently in the last few days.”

She took a bite of the jello, her stomachache easing a little. Her forehead pinched as she tried to recall what she’d eaten in the last few days.

“You don’t have to think about it now,” Grant said as he squeezed her hand.

“Actually, if she has any idea, I’d like to hear it,” Kyle said. “We can’t have this happening again.”

“Uh,” Julia said before she ate another scoop of jello. “I mean, I had my usual breakfast.”

“We already tested the oatmeal, milk, brown sugar, raisins, orange juice, everything from breakfast.”

“Everything?” Julia asked.

“Everything,” Grant answered. “Worthington tore the kitchen apart.”

“You don’t think he did it, do you?” Alicia asked.

Julia shifted in the bed as Grant’s jaw clenched. They both said, “No,” at the same time.

“Worthington would never hurt Julia or any of us,” Sierra said.

“Okay, noted. This time the butler didn’t do it,” Alicia said with a weak grin that faded quickly as Sierra glared at her.

Julia returned to the jello, pleased that it was going down fairly easily. “I don’t think I had anything else more than once over the past few days.”

“Ice cream?” Grant asked.

Julia flicked her gaze to him. “No, I did not have ice cream. I don’t eat it as much as you think.” She took another bite of jello. “And besides, you said Worthington checked everything in the kitchen.”

“So, what else could it be?” Alicia asked. “What else have you had consistent contact with?”

Kyle shook his head as he sighed. “Whatever it was, you got worse even after you stopped eating.”

Julia let her head fall back against her pillow as her mind worked overtime. “But I did eat. Could I have absorbed it before I threw up?”

“Not that fast. You may not have recovered but you wouldn’t have gotten as bad as you did. No, you had another dose of it from somewhere. But where?”

She raked through her mind, trying to find something that was consistent over the days, something that fit with the time frame to have made her worse after she’d been sick.

After a moment, she tossed away her plastic spoon with a sigh. “There’s nothing. I mean, besides the food, the only other thing I had was water–”

“Tested. And if it was that, we’d all be sick,” Kyle answered.

“The acetaminophen,” she said.

“Have you taken it over the past few days?”

Julia shook her head, making it thud again. “No. The first time I took it was when I had the fever.”

Kyle set his hands on his hips, his eyes narrowing. “We can test it, but if that was the first time you took it in days, that’s not it. It’s something consistent, something you consumed daily.”

“But I didn’t have anything else that night. The only thing I did was take that acetaminophen, eat the eggs and toast, throw it all up, brush my teeth and–”

“And what?” Grant asked.

Julia licked her lips, her eyes narrowing. “Nothing. I brushed my teeth. I did that consistently for days. But I did it again before I got worse.”

Kyle tugged his phone from his pocket and pressed it to his ear.

“Who are you calling?” Sierra asked.

“Worthington. I want that toothpaste.”

Julia’s stomach turned over again, though this time it wasn’t from the poisoning, but from the mere idea of the attack. “Who did this?”

“Lydia,” Grant said with a shake of his head.

Her heart skipped a beat. “How? Did she get into the house or…”

“I don’t know but…she’s made threats. She said she’d take everything. And you got that note. It has to be Lydia. How? I don’t know,” Grant said, his jaw tightening.

Julia cupped his face in her hand. It had been a long few days, and he looked tired.

“How are you feeling?” Kyle asked after he finished the phone call.

“Okay. Not terrible. But tired.”

He offered her a smile before he flicked his gaze to her monitors. “Okay, well, I’m going to let you rest while I go oversee the testing of this toothpaste the minute James gets it here.”

Alicia grabbed her hand and squeezed. “It’s really good to see you awake.”

Julia smiled up at her. “Sorry, it seems to be fleeting. I may fall asleep.”

“That’s okay. I’m going to go call Ethan and let him know. You get some sleep, okay?”

Julia nodded as Alicia kissed her cheek and strode from the room.

Julia flicked her gaze to Sierra. “You’ve been quiet.”

Sierra’s features twisted as she reached for Julia’s hand. “It was scary.”

“I’ll bet. But I remember you taking very good care of me at home. Nothing could have happened to me.”

“But something almost did.” Sierra shook her head. “And it probably was Mom. I’m not going to let her get away with this.”

“Hey, Sierra, easy. You do not need to get involved,” Julia said. “We can figure this out, but we need to stay safe while doing it.”

Sierra shook her head, the frown embedding itself in her features. “I swear if she does anything else to this family, I’m going to kill her.”

She glanced down at her phone, her features easing. “Do you mind if I go see James?”

“No, sweetie, go ahead,” Julia said, patting her hand.

Grant offered her a fleeting smile before she left, and he returned his gaze to Julia.

“And that leaves you. Please tell me you’ve gone home at least once.”

He cocked his head, a silent answer to her question.

“Have you slept?”

“I’m fine. There was no way I was leaving you. Although we really have to stop meeting like this.” He leaned forward to give her a light kiss.

“At least this time I remember you.”

“Don’t joke. That was awful, Juls.” Grant caressed her cheek.

“Yes, it was. And it was all a result of Lydia. How did she get out of jail?”

Grant heaved a sigh as he eased into the chair next to her bed, his hand still tight around hers. “She’s remarried.”

Julia’s eyes went wide. “Who married her?”

“Alexander Knight.”

Julia sighed, letting her head fall back against the bed. “You’re kidding. He’s been in with her this entire time. But how did he pull this off?”

“Bribed a judge, most likely.”

“And she’s been making more threats?”

Grant leaned forward, staring down at their clasped hands. “It’s nothing for you to worry about, Juls. I’m handling it.”

She shifted in the bed, ready to argue when Kyle peered into the room. “Still up?”

“Yes. Trying to convince your father to get some sleep.”

“Forget it. You can’t convince either of us to leave you alone while you’re not quite out of the woods.”

Grant’s cell phone rang, and he glanced at it before he shook his head.

“Take it if you need to.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s fine.”

“Grant, it’s fine,” Julia attempted reassurance, yet the heaviness in Grant’s gaze hinted at storms on the horizon, unspoken threats that lingered like shadows waiting to engulf them. “Kyle’s here. I won’t be alone.”

“Yeah,” Kyle said as he shuffled inside, “I’ll be here.”

“Did you find something?” Grant asked, ignoring the conversation.

“The toothpaste tested positive. So, we have our medium.”

Julia heaved a sigh as she shook her head. “Who knew brushing your teeth could be deadly?”

“In your case, it nearly was. Thankfully, it wasn’t,” Kyle said as Grant’s phone rang again.

“Grant, if you need to take that, it’s fine. I’m probably going to fall asleep.”

“And when you do, then I’ll take it.”

She heaved a sigh as she shook her head at him. “All right, I’ll go to sleep.”

She settled back in the pillow, pulling the covers up higher around her. Despite the barrage of information and the crazy story about her poisoning, her exhaustion pulled her into sleep faster than she expected.

She awoke to hushed, but heated voices. Grant and Kyle sniped at each other from either side of her bed.

She shifted, her brow furrowing. “What’s going on?”

Grant tightened his jaw, shaking his head. “Don’t.”

“She should know. This involves her.”

She didn’t know what they were arguing about, but she didn’t like it. She gripped the bedrail, her knuckles whitening. “What is going on?”

Grant slid his eyes closed as he shook his head. “We have some trouble on the horizon.”

Julia’s already sore stomach turned over at the words. What had happened since she’d fallen asleep that had led to this argument?