CHAPTER 3: THE EMPTY BALLROOM
Back at the Grand Plaza Hotel, Victoria attempted to continue her birthday celebration.
She returned to the ballroom with her shoulders straight and her smile restored.
But the mood had changed.
Guests whispered behind raised champagne glasses.
Several had seen Alexander leave through the service corridor carrying a sickly-looking woman while a frightened child followed behind.
Others had heard the argument.
Victoria approached the stage.
“My apologies,” she announced. “There has been a minor family misunderstanding.”
No one applauded.
Near the front table, Nathan Cole stood and adjusted his tie.
He was sixty-two, silver-haired, polished, and trusted by the Sterling family for nearly thirty years.
Victoria motioned for him to follow her into a private lounge.
The instant the door closed, her composure vanished.
“He found them.”
Nathan’s face remained controlled.
“How?”
“The girl came to the hotel.”
Nathan swore under his breath.
“I told you bringing Lauren to New York was too risky.”
“She had nowhere else to go.”
“You were supposed to make sure she remained invisible.”
“I did.”
“No, you kept her close enough to monitor. That was your mistake.”
Victoria poured herself a glass of brandy with shaking hands.
“Alexander knows about the money.”
Nathan’s expression changed.
“What exactly does he know?”
“He knows Lauren never received it.”
“That does not mean he knows where it went.”
“He will investigate.”
“He always investigates.”
Victoria turned toward him.
“Then stop him.”
Nathan gave a humorless smile.
“He is no longer a grieving young husband desperate to believe his mother. He runs a corporation worth twelve billion dollars. I cannot simply hand him another forged letter.”
Victoria gripped the glass.
“There must be something we can use.”
“The custody agreement.”
“It was fabricated.”
“It was filed under a sealed arrangement through a cooperative clerk.”
“And if Alexander opens it?”
Nathan said nothing.
Victoria’s face tightened.
“You promised no one could trace this back to me.”
“I promised the records would survive ordinary scrutiny. I did not promise they would survive Alexander Sterling declaring war.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Victoria quickly composed herself.
One of her assistants entered.
“Mrs. Sterling, the press is asking why Mr. Sterling left.”
“Tell them there was a medical emergency.”
“There’s another problem.”
The assistant held out a phone.
A video had already appeared online.
It showed Alexander in the hotel corridor, holding the plastic bag of discarded food.
His voice could be heard clearly.
“How can my daughter be searching through garbage when I transfer five thousand dollars every month?”
The video had been posted less than twenty minutes earlier.
It already had hundreds of thousands of views.
Victoria watched the comments multiply.
People demanded to know who controlled the money.
News accounts had begun identifying Sophia.
Several guests were uploading photographs from the party.
Nathan took the phone.
“This is bad.”
Victoria turned to him.
“Then fix it.”
“I may be able to redirect the story toward Lauren.”
“How?”
“We portray her as unstable. We claim she misused the support payments and neglected the child.”
Victoria considered it.
Then she nodded.
“Do it.”
Nathan opened the door, but paused before leaving.
“There is something else you should understand.”
“What?”
“If Alexander gets access to the original bank records, he will not only find the support payments.”
Victoria went still.
Nathan lowered his voice.
“He may find the trust account.”
For the first time that evening, Victoria dropped the glass.
It shattered across the marble floor.
May you like
Because the five thousand dollars had never been the real reason Lauren and Sophia were driven away.
The true reason was worth more than half the Sterling empire.
