<b>Chapter </b><b>236 </b>


    Julian’s POV


    +15 <b>BONUS </b>


    Tony wasn’t the only one of my family who was furious. All of them were moving in like a half–moon, closing in around me, forcing me back against the wall.


    We could all still hear the chaos going on in Mom’s room, as the healers and nurses worked to save her from the medical emergency that was threatening her life.


    wanted an exnation, an answer to Tony’s question about what had happened. I still didn’t <b>ad </b>done anything wrong, so I said straightforwardly, “I told her the truth about Amber.”


    amily reacted at once, some groaning, most bing increasingly angrier.


    <b>“</b>I’ll fix it,” I said.


    “How?<b>” </b>Uncle Peter demanded.


    Grabbing my phone, I walked through the arch they had made around me. When I moved into the more open waiting room, I unlocked my phone screen and called Amber.


    “Hello?” she said. Her voice, even in the one world, sounded somewhat standoffish, colder than I expected.


    “Amber,” I said. “I need your help.”


    She was quiet a moment, and when she spoke again, her voice was softer. “What’s going on<b>?</b><b>” </b>


    She must have been able to hear the rms going off behind me, in Mom’s room. Or maybe she could


    hear the guilt and worry in my voice.


    “Mom’s taken a turn for the worse. I hate to ask you this, but… do you think <b>you </b>cane here and take a


    look?”


    She had already said she wouldst night. Then, I had wanted to keep her out of my family drama, but <fn526d> The source of th?s content is find?novel</fn526d>


    ?now, with Mom in her current state and with it being my fault, I was much more receptive to the idea.


    There was no one I trusted more than I trusted Amber, and I knew how good of a doctor she was.


    If she was here, maybe she could help…


    I didn’t know what else to do.


    <b>“</b>I’ll have to bring Alice,” she said.


    “I can watch her,” I said. “I’ll keep her in the waiting room. She’ll have to meet my family…”


    Amber was quiet another moment, and I understood her hesitation. I felt it too. I wasn’t thrilled about potentially exposing my daughter to my family members, especially when they were presently very


    angry with me.


    But she was just a child. She was also their blood rtion, and no amount of denial or anger would change that. Hopefully that would be enough to make the difference for them, and they coulde to be more understanding and epting.


    Plus, Alice was very cute and likeable. If they met her and still chose to dislike her, there was seriously something wrong with them.


    “You are sure?” Amber asked.


    “I am,” I said. “I will protect her.” I didn’t just mean physically. I also meant her heart. If my family started to show any signs of rudeness to her, I would take Alice and leave. We could get ice cream or spend the day together somewhere else, while I restored her confidence.


    My family had plenty of drama, and while I didn’t like to stand in the eye of that storm, I tolerated it for ? the sake of family. But I would not expose my daughter to the same experience.


    “We’ll be right there.”


    After hanging up, I turned toward my family, which had all followed me from the hallway to the waiting room. They were each looking at me expectantly, as if still waiting for an exnation about what I meant and how I was going to fix this.


    “Amber ising to help,” I told them.


    “What good will that do?” Tony asked.


    Penny knew and shushed him. “Amber is Healer Amber. Her reputation is legendary. She is one of, if not the best healer on the continent.”


    “Says a teenage girl,” Tony snapped back at her. “I want an adult to tell me the same.”


    “She was once Healer Amanda<i>,</i>” I said.


    +15