Page 63 of Texting the Possessive CEO
Doctor Shah nods. “We use a therapy called intravenous immunoglobulin, or IVIG. It works by calming down the part of the immune system that’s causing the problem. Many patients respond well. Some regain strength. In terms of the bigger picture, this condition doesn’t usually affect lifespan. With the right treatment, people often continue living their lives with a good degree of independence.”
I slump back in the chair, struggling to catch my breath. Ever since Grandma’s diagnosis, I’ve been wrestling with the inevitable end, knowing there’s no way out. The best-case scenario has always been that she’ll be comfortable; that’s the most I could hope for. But now…
I let out a laugh that sounds unhinged even to me.
“She’s going to live,” I whisper. “Longer than a year? Or two?”
“This is still something we need to manage carefully,” the doctor cautions. “But it’s a very different situation from what you were first told. Thereisa way forward here. And thereistime.”
A long pause follows as I process the news. Doctor Shah adjusts her elegant gold earring, perhaps sensing the emotional weight in the room.
“What now?” I whisper.
The doctor glances at the door, then lowers her voice. “If I were you—and I may be overstepping here—I would move your grandmother to a different facility.”
“With this condition,” Dom cuts in, “is home care possible?”
“Yes, definitely,” the doctor replies. “But she would require monitoring for a few weeks before that transition is made.”
“What if she had medical staff on hand, twenty-four hours a day, for those initial weeks?”
Doctor Shah’s face brightens. “That would be ideal.”
Dom waves a hand. “It’s done.”
“Dom!” I exclaim, then glance at the doctor. “Uh, could we have a minute?”
“Yes, of course.”
Once we’re alone, I take one of his hands in both of mine, looking deeply into his eyes. “Are you serious about this?”
“Absolutely.”
“You’re so spread thin, Dom, all the jobs and all your employees and?—”
“Hush, Izzy,” he says warmly. “I don’t want to hear another word. This is a goddamn travesty. If you’re worried about the financial side, we can sue the hell out of this hospital and every bastard who was involved in this lie. But she isnotstaying here.”
“Thank you.” I swallow a sob. “So much. You’re a good man, Dom. You’re…”
“What?” he asks, a fierce note in his voice.
“You’re a better man than your father.”
He clears his throat, clearly touched. “We should get the doctor in here to discuss your grandmother’s transition to home care.”
“You’re my lucky charm, Dominic,” Grandma says, as we sit around her bed. “Before you, it was the end for me. But now, I’ve got a chance.”
“I think Doctor Shah should get the credit, ma’am,” Dom says with a warm smile. “But I’m over the moon you’re doing better.”
“How could they make such a mistake?” Grandma asks. “They signed my whole life away!”
“It was Aaron,” I tell her.
She frowns. “Aaronwantedme to think I was sicker than I am? Is that what you’re saying?”
I’m done sugarcoating, done protecting my deranged uncle. “Absolutely,” I tell her. “He wanted leverage on me, to blackmail me into getting secrets about Dom’s business. When you got ill, I guess he saw his chance and seized it. I should’ve known it was suspicious when he wanted to be so involved. But even for him… this is sick.”
Grandma slumps back on her pillows, sighing. “That sick, sick boy,” she whispers. “Where did it go wrong for him?”
