My Billionaire Husband Locked Our Son in the Sun

My son Emery scored a perfect SAT and got early admission to MIT Physics. Eighteen years old. His future was limitless.

My billionaire husband Reid's assistant—his mistress in everything but name—suggested Emery attend some garbage local business school instead. Inherit the empire. Fall in line.

Emery said no. Reid exploded.

He locked my son in the lumber yard and ordered him to split five tons of oak. "No water until he's done. That'll teach him respect."

The sun was brutal. My son's asthma attacked. I knelt before Reid's mistress and begged for his inhaler while Reid crushed my right hand—my surgeon's hand.

I got the inhaler and ran back as fast as I could.

But I was too late. My son was already dead.

Nadia's POV

I had just gotten home when a maid rushed toward me, sobbing.  

"Ma'am! Get to the lumberyard—quick! Emery's in trouble!"

My heart lurched. I kicked off my heels and ran like a madwoman.

I shoved open the wrought-iron gate—and froze.

Under the blazing sun, my son Emery was still swinging an axe, hacking away at a mountain of oak logs.

His sweat-soaked T-shirt clung to his thin back. His lips were turning purple, and every breath came out as a harsh, strained wheeze.

And there—under the only shade umbrella in the entire yard—my husband Reid sat on a patio sofa, whiskey over ice in one hand. His assistant Tessa was pressed against him in a silk slip dress, feeding him chilled watermelon with a small fork.

My son was suffocating in the heat. And they were sipping drinks and eating fruit in the shade.

"Reid! Have you lost your MIND?!"

I charged over and ripped the axe out of Emery's hands. His legs buckled and he dropped straight onto the scorching sand, clutching his chest, gasping desperately for air.

"Mom… I can't breathe…"

Reid didn't even look up.

"Nadia, watch your mouth. Don't make a scene."

"Emery has SEVERE asthma! You made him chop wood in this heat—are you trying to KILL him?!"

"The boy finishes chopping all five tons of that oak today." Reid swirled his glass lazily. "That's the price he pays for running his mouth."

"Running his—what the hell did he DO?!"

I dropped to my knees, fumbling to loosen Emery's collar, desperate to help him breathe.

Right on cue, Tessa's eyes glistened. She shrank into Reid's side.

"Please, Nadia, don't blame Reid. Really, it's all my fault."

She paused, dabbing at tears that didn't exist.

"I just—I suggested that Emery consider Ridgemont School of Business, you know, so he could take over Reid's company someday. But he threw my proposal on the ground in front of the entire board—"

Ridgemont. A diploma mill that couldn't crack the top fifty in the state. I almost laughed.

"—He said I was just some assistant with a lousy degree who knew nothing about real science. He said I was ruining his life."

Tessa lowered her head, her voice shrinking to a whisper. "I know—I know I have no right to meddle in Emery's future. But, I mean, what good is a physics degree, really? Inheriting the family business is so much more practical…"

"Shut the hell up."

I stared her down.

I knew—better than anyone—why Emery had snapped like that in public. It wasn't just about her ridiculous proposal.

Emery knew exactly who she was. Knew what role she really played behind closed doors while hiding behind her "assistant" title. He couldn't stand watching his father humiliate me. He was standing up for me the only way he knew how.

And now he was dying for it.

"NADIA!"

Reid slammed his glass down on the table. He rose to his feet, his tall frame casting a shadow over me.

"Is this how you raised him? No respect for his elders. Arrogant as hell. Look, Tessa was speaking for me. When he humiliated her in front of the entire board, he humiliated ME."

"Reid, he's EIGHTEEN! He has his own life!" I pulled Emery against me as his whole body trembled, my voice cracking. "You want to punish him? Fine—but NOT LIKE THIS! Look at him—he can't BREATHE!"

"Oh, cut the act." Reid sneered. "You two have really learned how to put on a show, haven't you? I saw his checkup report last month. The doctor said his asthma was under control."

"That was while he was RESTING!" I screamed. "It's 105 degrees out here! He's been CHOPPING WOOD!"

Tessa tugged gently at Reid's sleeve.

"Reid, honey, he does sound pretty bad. Maybe—maybe just let it go this time?" She cooed, soft and sweet. "I don't mind taking the hit, really. Don't let this come between you and your son."

The more she pulled back, the harder he pushed forward. I knew this game inside and out. Every word out of her mouth was designed to push Reid further. She knew exactly how to set him off, and exactly how to make herself look blameless.

Sure enough, Reid's fury only deepened.

"Nobody is stopping a DAMN thing."

He pointed down at Emery on the ground.

"He finishes all five tons of that oak. Until he does, he gets no water. No one leaves this yard."

He turned to me, his voice stripped of anything human.

"Nadia, listen to me. If you so much as lift a finger to help him, I'll cut off every dollar of your hospital research funding. Every last dollar."

He grabbed Tessa by the arm and strode toward the estate.

"Reid! Get BACK here! You're out of your MIND!"

I watched their retreating figures, helpless, as Emery's breathing grew weaker and weaker in my arms.

His fingers dug into my arm, nails nearly breaking the skin.

"Mom… my inhaler… it's in… my backpack…" Emery choked out, his eyes beginning to roll back.

Then I saw it. His backpack was outside the gate.

I had to get his inhaler. NOW.