Like I was a game he had already won.
“Tomorrow, Madeline signs the final guarantees,” Eleanor said, lifting her crystal champagne flute. “After that, no matter how much she cries or threatens, everything will be legally locked in. The Sterling legacy will be secure.”
A visceral, icy dread crawled down my spine.
Alexander threw his head back and laughed. “She’s not signing anything tomorrow, Mother,” he said smoothly. “She already signed.”
Chloe’s eyes widened, her manicured hand flying to her chest. “What do you mean she already signed, Alex?”
“Her signature has been on the bank annexes since Thursday,” Alexander grinned, taking a sip of his scotch. “Nobody checks what they think they already control. She’s oblivious.”
Eleanor smiled. It was a slow, poisonous expression. “She always thought she was such a powerful businesswoman. But the Sterling name still holds more weight than her little spreadsheets.”
For a moment, I couldn’t feel my fingertips.
For years, I had endured variations of that exact insult. I was told I was too intense. Too bossy. Too analytical. Too ambitious. Eleanor had constantly reminded me that I needed to admire Alexander more, to make him feel like a “real man,” to let him shine in boardrooms so his fragile ego wouldn’t bruise.
So, I had stayed quiet. I let him stand at the podium while I carried the entire company on my shoulders.
But this wasn’t just a clandestine affair. This was a calculated, financial trap.
Then, Eleanor pulled a small, velvet red box from her clutch. She snapped it open to reveal an antique, emerald-cut diamond ring—the legendary Sterling family heirloom they paraded at every society gala like it was crown jewels.
“This was always meant for the true wife of the Sterling heir,” Eleanor said, looking warmly at Chloe. “Now, it will finally be in the right hands.”
Chloe lowered her eyelashes, feigning a bashful modesty, while Alexander leaned down to kiss her forehead.
