Chapter 3 - The Boardroom in the Ballroom
The wedding was officially called off. Beatrice's father, the Governor, had stormed out, threatening a massive smear campaign. The guests had been ushered away, leaving the lavish estate feeling like a glittering ghost town.
I sat in the Sterling library, sipping a glass of their vintage scotch. The boys were in the adjoining room, playing on their iPads, guarded by my men. Julian and Victoria sat across from me. Victoria looked like she was going to have a stroke; Julian looked like a broken man.
"You hid my heirs," Victoria hissed, pacing the Persian rug. "You stole Sterling blood. I will have you destroyed in family court. I will take those boys, and you will never see them again. You are nothing but a penniless gold-digger!"
I laughed. A genuine, rich laugh that bounced off the mahogany walls.
"Penniless?" I set my glass down. I pulled my phone from my clutch and tossed it onto the table. "You clearly haven't been reading the financial times, Victoria. Let me introduce myself properly. I am the founder and sole owner of AetherTech Logistics."
Julian’s head snapped up. "AetherTech? The AI firm that just went public last month? That’s... that's a seventy billion dollar valuation."
"Seventy-five, as of this morning," I corrected smoothly. "My net worth makes the Sterling family trust look like a child’s piggy bank. You can't out-spend me in court, Victoria. You can't intimidate me. And if you even try to come near my sons, I will unleash an army of lawyers so vicious you’ll be paying legal fees until the next century."
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Julian looked devastated. "You left when you were pregnant. Why didn't you tell me, Clara? Why didn't you let me be a father?"
"Because you were a coward, Julian," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "You let her abuse me. You let her treat me like a breeding mare who wasn't good enough for your bloodline. If I had stayed, she would have taken my babies and pushed me out. I protected them from the disease that is this family."
