An Heir At Any Price: The Billionaire's Obsession - Contemporary Romance by Forbidden Fruit Press Page A

if I’d applied…but my dad was sick and
someone had to take care of my mother.
     
    I took the seat Bridgette offered me
and before we began talking a middle-aged man in a white lab coat
joined us. Bridgette introduced him as Dr. Easton. He was the
doctor caring for my mother.
     
    After exchanging pleasantries he said,
“Miss Valentine, your mother was apparently found by a friend of
hers, passed out in her front yard. She’d been drinking, I’d say
from the blood alcohol level for at least twenty four
hours.”
     
    I thought of myself at the spa and at
dinner and then the opera. I’d left her alone, was I to blame for
this? The doctor was still talking and I made myself focus and
listen.
     
    “Her blood alcohol level was three
times the legal limit. We had to give her several bags of
electrolytes and fluids due to her severe dehydration. I’ve ran lab
tests and a CT of her abdomen and although I spoke to her already,
I feel compelled to speak to you as well and she’s given us
permission to do that. Her liver is barely functioning. Her body is
beginning to build up toxins that her liver should be filtering
out. She has varices in her esophagus; do you know what that
is?”
     
    “Broken veins?” I asked.
     
    “Yes, basically. They come from
long-term and repeated use of alcohol. They can cause internal
bleeding and lead to all kinds of other life-threatening issues.
She has a severe ulcer and from her labs it appears that she hasn’t
been eating well at all because her nutritional state is so poor.
Her blood glucose however, likely from the alcohol intake, was
alarmingly high. We will need to test her for diabetes, and if she
doesn’t have it now, it’s likely she will in the near future if she
keeps going at this rate. She has other physical issues as well,
all related to long term excessive use of alcohol. Her blood
pressure is unstable, she may have an arrhythmia…I can have the
nurses get you some printed information on all of them. The bottom
line however is that if she doesn’t stop drinking, the next time
this happens she might be found dead. She won’t be around long at
this rate. ”
     
    My mind was reeling. I of course knew
my mother wasn’t healthy. She was too thin and her skin always
looked bad. If I wasn’t mistaken, she’d also started losing some of
her hair. Her teeth were almost all rotten and she refuses to go to
the dentist. She was a mess and I knew it, I just hadn’t been aware
how bad off she really was until now. I suppose I hadn’t thought of
how that poison she insisted on using in copious amounts was
destroying her insides as well.
     
    “So what do we need to do for
her?”
     
    “Medically, I can prescribe some
medications and dietary supplements for her to treat the symptoms,
but she’s going to have to stop drinking or nothing is going to
help her for very long. I have to get back on the floor. I’ll let
Bridgette go over the rest with you. She’ll give you my office
number before you go in case you think of any
questions.”
     
    “Thank you, doctor,” I told
him.
     
    “You’re welcome Miss Valentine. I’m
sorry to be the bearer of such grave news.” It was bound to happen.
On really bad days every time the phone rings I think this is going
to be the news, or worse.
     
    Once he’d left Bridgette said, “Dr.
Easton and I had a talk with your mother about all we just went
over with you. She agreed that she needed to stop drinking but
expressed that she was sure she wouldn’t be able to do it on her
own. She tells me that she’s been through rehab before, but that it
would be hard for you to pay for it now. I’ve done a little
research and I’ve found three rehab centers in the area that take
her insurance as long as the share of cost is taken care
of.”
     
    My mother had Medicaid, but because of
a small pension check she gets every month from my father and the
home she now owns since his death, they gave her a high share of
cost. An ER visit