Chapter 9

Jackson’s black Mercedes waited outside, engine purring—he’d gotten there quicker than she’d expected.

Once inside, he glanced at Zinnia in the passenger seat. His thoughts wandered to her upbringing in that poor, remote town—where the fanciest ride was an electric scooter. Without thinking, he asked, “Need help with that seatbelt?”

But his worry was overblown. Sure, she’d grown up isolated, but she’d been with the Shaws long enough to know how a seatbelt worked. Still, he couldn’t help treating her like some helpless kid.

The way he talked to her like she was five made Zinnia bite back an eye roll. She jammed the buckle in herself.

Jackson caught the faintest hint of annoyance from her.

“Alright, let’s go,” he said, firing up the engine. The Mercedes rolled smooth as silk out of the gates.

Outside, the trees blurred past. Exhaustion hit Zinnia hard—she yawned, curling into the seat as sleep took her. The meds had left her drained and achy. Rest couldn’t come soon enough.

At the hospital, she’d been thinking about leaving the Shaw family. Meanwhile, her body ached, and her mind wouldn’t settle, making sleep impossible.

Jackson looked at the small girl curled up in the seat, his heart softening a little. She could be tough sometimes, but now she looked so fragile that it made him want to protect her.

He’d never met Zinnia before. When the Shaws got her back, he was overseas handling company business.

His grandparents had dragged him back home for Zinnia’s birthday, insisting he couldn’t miss it. But when he arrived at the Shaw residence with them, Zinnia was nowhere to be found.

Betty said Zinnia was probably upset about not having her own party.

Jackson had frowned at the time. “The Shaws have plenty of money. What’s so hard about throwing two parties? This is Zinnia’s first birthday with them, her actual birthday. Doesn’t she deserve her own celebration? Betty’s had sixteen birthday parties. Zinnia can’t even get one? The poor girl’s never had a proper birthday before. Making them share is just cruel,” he had thought angrily.

To make matters worse, no one had even announced Zinnia’s existence. Everyone at the party still thought it was all for Betty.

When Sofia found out, she went to Maelis and suggested throwing two separate parties.

But Maelis rejected the suggestion, insisting one party sufficed since both girls were born on the same day. The previous celebration had been Zinnia’s, yet Betty hadn’t objected, so she saw no need for Zinnia to take issue either.

At the time, Sofia stood stunned by Maelis’s casual attitude. Her repeated questions about Zinnia’s whereabouts met only shrugs from Maelis and the others.

Sofia had come specifically for Zinnia. Between the girl’s mysterious absence and Maelis’s insensitive remarks, she finally grabbed Henry’s arm and left in frustration. They hadn’t traveled all this way to watch Betty command everyone’s attention.

Jackson departed with them, which explained why he knew nothing about the subsequent pool incident involving both girls.

The Lynns didn’t learn the full story until morning. The moment Sofia heard, she sent Jackson to the Shaw residence. Now, seeing Zinnia’s condition, Jackson knew with cold certainty—if he hadn’t stepped in, Zinnia would have disappeared for good.

When he saw Zinnia dragging her suitcase toward the exit, every instinct screamed that if he didn’t stop her right then, they’d lose her forever.

Noticing Zinnia’s flushed complexion, Jackson remembered Lucy’s warning about a fever. His hand against her forehead confirmed it—she was running dangerously hot.

He’d mistaken her flushed cheeks for anger rather than recognizing the severe fever beneath.

Jackson cranked up the AC, threw a blanket over her, then hit the gas while calling Charlie Lynn, his younger brother.

Charlie was Zinnia’s cousin and a doctor—his coming to check on her was only right.

Jackson already considered Zinnia part of the Lynn family. If the Shaws wouldn’t appreciate her, his family would. And he wouldn’t tolerate anyone mistreating her again.

Sofia and Henry were anxiously waiting outside the Lynn residence when Jackson arrived with Zinnia. Seeing how pale she looked in his arms, they immediately asked, “What happened? Why is she so pale?”

Zinnia stayed unconscious as Jackson carried her inside, her breathing hot and labored. Henry and Sofia felt terrible seeing how pale and weak she looked.

“She’s running a fever,” Jackson explained. “Grandpa, Grandma, is Charlie back yet?”

“Take her upstairs,” said Charlie, who was already in the living room.

Noticing Jackson’s concern, he glanced at the feverish girl and pointed to the second floor.

Jackson carried her upstairs with Charlie following. The worried grandparents trailed behind.

“102°F,” Charlie announced after checking with the thermometer, his usual calm replaced by concern. “She’s had medication too recently for another dose. We’ll need to cool her physically.”

As Charlie applied a cooling patch, Jackson gently wiped Zinnia’s neck and arms with a damp towel, hoping to reduce her fever quickly.

Sofia carefully spooned water into Zinnia’s mouth, her heart breaking.

“This is unacceptable,” Henry murmured. “Donald and Maelis can’t even care for her properly. We told them this would happen—they never treated both girls fairly. But they just wouldn’t let us take her in. Now look at her—burning up with fever, and nobody even noticed.”

Henry’s body tensed as he watched Zinnia’s labored breathing. The girl who’d been perfectly healthy days ago now burned up before his eyes.

He swallowed his anger toward his daughter, but Donald’s neglect stuck in his throat. ‘Two grown adults, both completely failing their own child,’ he thought, shaking his head.

Sofia’s voice cut through the room. “That’s settled. Zinnia stays with us. If the Shaws can’t care for Zinnia, and Maelis won’t make time, I will.” The thought of her daughter’s negligence made her blood boil.

“Grandma,” Jackson whispered, “Zinnia thinks Maelis is kicking her out. I found her leaving the Shaw residence with her bags. Had to lie that you were sick to get her to come with me. She can’t find out I lied when she wakes up.”

Water splashed as Jackson dunked the towel again. He twisted it tight between his fists before laying it across Zinnia’s burning skin. The unnatural heat radiating from her skin turned his stomach.

Jackson’s lie about her being sick caught Sofia by surprise—she was perfectly healthy, after all. She nodded absently at first, still focused on Zinnia, until the truth crashed into her.

“Wait,” Sofia said, her voice rising. “Maelis is kicking her out? Is she crazy?” Rage burned through her.

The sheer heartlessness of a mother abandoning her own child left Sofia and Jackson speechless.