Chapter 1 The Last Dollar

• Riley's POV
• "Ma'am, you need to move that car now or I'm calling the tow truck!"
• The security guard's voice cut through the rain as I fumbled with my keys, my hands shaking so badly I could barely grip them. The Honda's engine turned over once, twice, then died with a final wheeze that sounded like my last hope disappearing.
• "Mommy, I'm hot," Lily whispered from her car seat, her small voice barely audible over the storm.
• My hands shook as I counted the crumpled bills in my wallet. Again. Twelve dollars and thirty-seven cents. The same amount as five minutes ago, no matter how desperately I wished for a miracle.
• "I know, baby. We're going to see the doctor now."
• The security guard was already walking toward us, his yellow raincoat making him look like a walking caution sign. I grabbed Lily and ran for the emergency room entrance, my worn sneakers splashing through puddles that soaked through to my socks.
• "Ma'am, you can't leave that vehicle there!" he called after me.
• "Five minutes!" I shouted back, pushing through the automatic doors.
• The hospital lobby hit me like a wall of antiseptic and air conditioning. Everything was gleaming white and chrome, from the marble floors to the reception desk where a woman in perfectly pressed scrubs looked up at me with barely concealed disgust.
• "I need to see someone about my daughter," I said, shifting Lily's weight in my arms. "She has a fever and she's been sick for two days."
• The receptionist's eyes traveled from my soaked hair to my thrift store jeans. "Insurance card?"
• "I don't have insurance right now, but I can pay"
• "How much can you pay today?"
• The question hung in the air between us. I could feel other people in the waiting room staring. A woman in a Chanel suit pulled her purse closer when I walked past.
• "I have twelve dollars," I said quietly.
• "The emergency room fee is four hundred dollars before any treatment." Her voice was flat, rehearsed. "I can give you information about free clinics."
• "Please." The word came out cracked. "She's only four. I'll figure out how to pay you back."
• The receptionist's expression didn't change. "I'm sorry, but we can't provide treatment without payment or insurance. There's a free clinic on"
• "They're closed until Monday!" My voice rose, causing several heads to turn. "My daughter has been sick for two days. She needs help now."
• Lily stirred in my arms, her small hand pressing against my chest. Her fever was getting worse. I could feel it through her thin pajamas.
• "If you can't pay, I'll have to ask you to leave," the receptionist said. "Or we can call social services to discuss your daughter's care."
• The threat hit me like ice water. "No. No, please don't call them."
• I backed away from the desk, my heart pounding. Social services meant losing Lily. They'd take one look at our situation—living in a car, no job, no home and decide I was unfit.
• "Mommy?" Lily's voice was small and scared.
• "It's okay, baby. We're going to figure this out."
• I walked toward the seating area, my mind racing. There had to be something I could do. Someone I could ask for help. But my family had disowned me months ago, and I'd burned through every friend's goodwill already.
• That's when I heard the whispered conversation from two nurses near the coffee cart.
• "Did you see Brett Graham is here again?" one said, stirring sugar into her coffee.
• "The billionaire? What's he doing here?"
• "Charity event in the west wing. Though after that scandal with his ex-fiancée, I'm surprised he shows his face anywhere."
• "I heard he's looking for a new girlfriend. Someone to clean up his image."
• "A fake girlfriend, you mean. Like those Hollywood contracts."
• My feet stopped moving. Brett Graham. Everyone knew that name. The tech mogul who'd built an empire from nothing, worth billions, cold as ice and twice as ruthless.
• "How much do you think someone would pay for that kind of arrangement?" the first nurse asked.
• "With his money? Probably enough to solve anyone's problems."
• The second nurse laughed. "If you could survive six months with that man. They say he's impossible to please."
• I clutched Lily tighter, my mind spinning. It was insane. Desperate. The kind of idea that only occurred to someone who had absolutely nothing left to lose.
• But as I looked down at my daughter's flushed face and felt her fever burning through her clothes, I realized that was exactly what I was.