Chapter 10 - The Iron Gate
The private maternity wing at New York-Presbyterian had been completely cleared under Eva’s strict advance directives. Vance had posted four private security operatives at the corridor doors, ensuring that no unauthorized personnel, media, or estranged family could step onto the floor.
Eva sat propped up in the adjustable hospital bed, wearing a soft gray cashmere robe. Little Maya was sleeping soundly in the clear plastic bassinet beside her, swaddled tightly in hospital cotton. Eva’s face was pale from exhaustion, but her eyes were sharp, dark, and predatory.
Diane walked into the room carrying a stack of injunctions and a fresh pot of herbal tea.
""Judge Alvarez signed the emergency protective order at four in the morning,"" Diane said, setting the papers on the rolling tray. ""Weston is legally barred from coming within five hundred feet of you, Maya, or any Vance property. If he steps foot on this floor, he violates bail and goes straight to Rikers Island without the possibility of release.""
""Who posted his bail?"" Eva asked, taking a sip of the tea. ""His accounts were frozen. Eleanor’s accounts were frozen. Where did two million dollars in liquid cash come from?""
Diane’s expression darkened. ""That’s what I came to tell you. It wasn't an anonymous backer. It was Sterling Holdings.""
Eva paused, the porcelain cup hovering near her lips. ""Robert Sterling? My senior board director?""
""The very same,"" Diane confirmed grimly. ""We pulled the corporate registries. Sterling isn't just an investor in Vance Global; he’s a silent partner in Weston’s Delaware shell company. Weston wasn't embezzling for himself and Eleanor alone. He was siphoning capital to help Sterling orchestrate a hostile takeover of your voting stock while you were on maternity leave.""
Eva let out a quiet, dangerous laugh. It all made sense now. Weston was never intelligent enough to engineer a corporate coup of this magnitude. He was a pawn, an attractive, charming frontman used by Eleanor for social mobility and by Sterling for corporate sabotage.
""They thought my pregnancy was a vulnerability,"" Eva whispered, looking down at little Maya’s tiny, rhythmic breathing. ""They thought a woman in labor couldn't defend her board seat.""
Suddenly, a loud commotion erupted outside in the hallway. Shouting voices echoed through the heavy double doors, followed by the dull thud of a physical scuffle.
Eva didn't panic. She calmly reached over, touched Maya's small back to soothe her, and nodded at Vance, who was standing by the door.
Vance pulled open the door.
In the hallway, Weston was pinned against the linoleum wall by two private guards. He looked manic, his hair disheveled, his suit wrinkled, his crutch clattering to the floor. Behind him stood Robert Sterling, flanked by a high-priced corporate defense attorney.
""Get your hands off me!"" Weston screamed, spotting Eva through the open doorway. ""That is my daughter in that room! I have a constitutional right to see my child!""
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Robert Sterling stepped forward, adjusting his gold cufflinks, his tone sickeningly polite. ""Eva, my dear. Let's not make this uncivilized. We have a court order granting Weston supervised access pending a custody hearing. Let us in, or your guards will be arrested for obstruction.""
Eva didn't flinch. She swung her legs out of the bed and stood up slowly, commanding the entire room despite having given birth mere hours before.
