Chapter 4 - The Patriarch’s Verdict
Mr. Sterling’s polished leather shoes clicked rhythmically against the stone terrace as he approached the tense circle. The wedding guests held their collective breath, the champagne tower now entirely forgotten in the wake of corporate and personal devastation.
"Father," Julian choked out, his voice a pathetic whisper. "This is all a misunderstanding. Clara and Eleanor... they conspired against me. They're trying to ruin the merger."
Mr. Sterling stopped two feet away from Julian. Without a single word of warning, the older man raised his right hand and struck Julian across the face with an open palm. The sharp crack echoed loudly across the manicured lawn. Julian stumbled, catching himself against the edge of a floral arrangement table, knocking over a vase of white roses.
"You arrogant little fraud," Mr. Sterling said, his voice terrifyingly quiet. "You married my daughter to access the board credentials, and you kept a mistress on the side to bleed the charity accounts. Did you honestly believe my legal team wouldn't trace every single penny back to your offshore accounts in the Caymans?"
Clara wiped the blood from her lip with the back of her beige sleeve, her eyes wide as she watched the empire crumble around the man who had promised her everything. "He told me you were old-fashioned, Mr. Sterling. He said you would disown Eleanor if you knew the truth about our relationship, so we had to keep it secret."
"He lied to both of us, Clara," Eleanor said, finally lowering the wedding knife completely and handing it to Doctor Harrison, who slid it safely into a leather case. Eleanor stepped toward Clara, extending a hand—not in violence, but in an offer of steady support. "He told me you were a stalker who had fabricated a relationship with him to extort our family."
Clara looked down at Eleanor’s outstretched hand, hesitating for a long, agonizing moment before tentatively placing her fingers in the bride's palm. The contrast between the pristine white lace and the dusty beige fabric was stark, a visual testament to the shared deception they had both suffered under.
"Why?" Clara whispered, tears spilling over her lashes. "Why go through with the wedding today if you already knew everything?"
Eleanor’s lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. "Because a thief deserves to be caught in broad daylight, where everyone can see his true face."
May you like
Before Julian could scramble to his feet to offer another defense, the low rumble of heavy engines filled the estate driveway. Three unmarked federal vehicles rolled past the wrought-iron gates, their emergency lights flashing silently in the afternoon sun.
---
