Chapter 2 - The Mask of Scorn
Twenty-four hours passed with deceptive tranquility at the Sterling manor. Evelyn sat by the bay window sipping Earl Grey, running her fingers over the diamond-encrusted bracelet she had promised Elena before discovering Marcus’s secret liaison with Chloe Vance—or at least, who she assumed was the sole heiress of the Vance fortune.
""The girl was an embarrassment, Marcus,"" Evelyn muttered, flicking away an imaginary speck of dust. ""You handled it appropriately. A stray dog needs to be kicked once to know where the fence begins.""
Marcus straightened his silk tie, admiring his reflection in the antique gilded mirror. ""She threatened to call the police, Mother. Can you imagine? The Sterling family dragged through precinct corridors because a nobody got her feelings hurt over dinner.""
He checked his gold watch. The high-stakes shareholders' banquet for the Sterling-Vance partnership was set for eight o’clock that evening. It was the crowning achievement of Marcus's corporate career—a fifty-million-dollar infusion that would rescue the Sterling shipping dynasty from quiet insolvency.
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A sudden courier arrived at the door, delivering a formal black envelope stamped with a gold wax seal. Marcus broke it carelessly, expecting a congratulatory note from his future partners.
Inside lay no congratulations. Only a single legal summons, demanding an immediate freeze on all Sterling overseas assets pending an investigation into corporate espionage and stolen intellectual property.
