Chapter 2 - Shattered IllusionsEleanor’s posture stiffened. The mask of the gracious hostess dissolved, leaving behind a hardened matriarch cornered by her own machinations. She glanced dismissively at the murmuring guests before turning her piercing gaze back to her son.
"I did what had to be done, James," Eleanor said, stepping away from the cake and lowering her voice to a harsh hiss. "Catherine was never right for this family. She lacked the pedigree, the ambition. I was protecting your future. Our legacy."
"Protecting my future?" James echoed, tightening his grip on Annie, who was still quietly weeping against his shoulder. "By convincing my wife I wanted a divorce? By telling my daughter I didn't love her and throwing them onto the street?"
"They were a distraction!" Eleanor snapped, her composure cracking. "You were meant to take over the empire, not play house with a woman who belongs in the suburbs. The forged letter was a kindness. A clean break."
Disgust washed over James, heavy and suffocating. For six months, he had lived in an agonizing void, believing Catherine had abandoned him, taking their daughter and fleeing without a word. He had drowned himself in work, honoring his mother's urging to "move on," all while his family was out there, thinking he had discarded them.
"You are no mother to me," James said, his voice echoing with absolute finality. "And you will never see my daughter again."
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He turned his back on her, the crowd parting like the Red Sea as he walked away. He didn't care about the gala, the business empire, or the whispers of high society. The only thing that mattered was the trembling little girl in his arms and the woman who was still out there in the dark.
"Mr. Sterling," James called out to the attorney as he reached the grand double doors. "Freeze all of my mother's access to my personal accounts. Tomorrow, we start auditing the company. But tonight, I have a wife to find."
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