Chapter 7 - The Scion Returns
The penthouse suite overlooking the Chicago skyline was shrouded in minimalist elegance, smelling faintly of espresso and expensive tobacco. Jonathan Sterling stood before the floor-to-ceiling glass, his reflection showing a man aged well beyond his thirty-two years, his eyes hardened by years of self-imposed exile.
He held the secure phone to his ear, his knuckle joints whitening.
""Say that again,"" Jonathan demanded, his voice dangerously low.
""She thinks I'm dead, Jonathan,"" Elena wept silently, huddled in the rusted van thirty miles from the Sterling estate. ""She has Leo. She told the world I had a psychotic breakdown and jumped from the landing. If I go to the police, she'll know I survived and kill him to hide the evidence.""
Jonathan closed his eyes. Five years ago, he had staged his own disappearance, faking an offshore sailing accident to escape the monstrous web of his mother’s control. He had abandoned his inheritance, his name, and everything he owned just to be free of Marianne's sociopathic empire. But he had left Elena behind before realizing she was carrying his unborn child.
""Listen to me carefully, Elena,"" Jonathan said, turning toward his desk and opening a floor safe beneath the oak floorboards. ""Marianne doesn't just want Leo for affection. My father’s trust has a succession clause. If I died without an heir, the entire fortune reverted to Marianne. But the moment Leo was born and registered with my DNA, the entire seventy-million-dollar trust automatically transferred to him upon his first birthday.""
""His first birthday is next week,"" Elena gasped.
""Exactly. If you are declared dead and Marianne is granted full emergency guardianship, she gains unconditional executive control over the liquid assets. Once that paperwork clears probate, she doesn't need Leo anymore.""
The chill in Elena’s blood turned to absolute ice. ""She's going to kill him.""
May you like
""Not while he's the key to the vault,"" Jonathan replied coldly, pulling out a black passport and a custom automatic pistol. ""Get to the safehouse at Miller’s Creek. I land in two hours.""
As Jonathan hung up, the elevator in his private penthouse chimed, announcing an uninvited arrival on his secure floor.
