Chapter 1 - THE LAWYER AT THE DOOR
Dominic’s fear lasted only a second.
Then arrogance returned.
He placed his phone on the glass table and leaned back beside Brooke.
“You have always enjoyed dramatic entrances.”
I kept smiling.
“And you have always mistaken silence for ignorance.”
Victoria handed me a glass of water as though she were doing me a favor.
Her fingers were decorated with diamond rings purchased through the company account I had spent two years rebuilding.
I did not drink.
I placed the glass beside my suitcase and looked beneath the coffee table.
Leo had curled himself against one leg of the table.
His knees were pressed to his chest.
He watched every adult movement with the terrified concentration of a child who had learned that danger arrived without warning.
“Leo,” I whispered.
“You do not have to come out yet.”
His crying softened.
I did not reach for him again.
I had already frightened him once by moving too quickly.
Dominic stood.
“We need to discuss your behavior before you upset Liam.”
The healthy boy beside Victoria was still eating cake.
Frosting covered his mouth.
Brooke wiped it gently with a silk napkin.
My own son wore a shirt so dirty that the original color was impossible to identify.
“Where is Leo’s nanny?” I asked.
Dominic crossed his arms.
“She resigned.”
“Maria loved him.”
“She became unstable.”
“Where is his pediatrician?”
“He did not need one.”
“His therapy appointments?”
Victoria sighed.
“We stopped wasting money.”
I turned toward her.
“The company paid for every appointment.”
“That company belongs to my son.”
My smile widened.
“No.”
The doorbell rang.
Dominic’s head snapped toward the hallway.
A moment later, the housekeeper opened the door.
My attorney, Evelyn Hart, entered with two associates, a private child-welfare specialist, and three uniformed police officers.
Dominic went pale again.
Evelyn carried a black leather case.
She looked at me first.
“Mrs. Sterling.”
“Everything is ready.”
Brooke stood so quickly that Liam’s plate fell to the floor.
“What is this?”
Evelyn removed several documents.
“An emergency protective order for Leo Sterling.”
“A court authorization allowing immediate medical evaluation.”
“A preservation order covering every electronic device in this house.”
“And notice that Clara Sterling is resuming direct control of Sterling International Holdings.”
Dominic laughed.
The sound came out weak.
“You cannot resume control of my company.”
Evelyn turned the final page toward him.
“Mrs. Sterling owns seventy-two percent of the voting shares.”
“You own nine.”
Dominic stared at the signature.
Mine.
He looked at me.
“You transferred the Singapore division into a holding company.”
“Yes.”
“You said it was temporary.”
“I said it was necessary.”
“You never asked why.”
One of the officers knelt near Leo.
The child screamed and struck his head against the table.
“Don’t touch him,” I said.
The officer moved back immediately.
I lowered myself onto the floor.
“Leo, nobody is taking you away from me.”
His breathing came in broken gasps.
“Mommy?”
“Yes.”
He stared at my face.
Then he crawled forward one shaking inch.
“Are you staying?”
The question destroyed the last piece of my heart that still knew how to break.
“I am never leaving you with them again.”
Behind me, Evelyn spoke to Dominic.
“You are required to surrender your phone.”
Dominic stepped backward.
“No one touches my property.”
An officer reached for him.
Dominic suddenly grabbed his phone and threw it toward the fireplace.
The screen shattered against the brick.
May you like
But it was too late.
Every message he had tried to destroy had already been copied.
