Chapter 3 - The Name Nobody Expected to HearThe microphone crackled.
The orchestra stopped.
Every guest turned toward the stage.
Charles Bennett walked through the entrance.
He was sixty-two, silver-haired, impeccably dressed, and known throughout Wall Street as the mysterious chairman of Sterling Global.
Marcus immediately straightened.
“There he is.”
He walked toward Charles.
“Charles, thank God.”
Charles didn't shake his hand.
Instead, he looked past him.
Straight at me.
“Mrs. Sterling.”
The room fell silent.
Marcus froze.
Lydia stared.
“What did you call her?”
Charles smiled.
“Mrs. Sterling.”
Marcus laughed nervously.
“She's Eleanor.”
“Yes.”
Charles nodded.
“Eleanor Sterling.”
Marcus swallowed.
Charles turned toward the guests.
“For those of you who don't know, I serve as Mrs. Sterling's public representative.”
He paused.
“She is the controlling owner of Sterling Global.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Someone dropped a champagne glass.
It shattered across the floor.
Lydia stared at me as though seeing a stranger.
Marcus whispered:
“No.”
Charles continued.
“She owns seventy-two percent of the voting shares.”
Marcus shook his head.
“That’s impossible.”
Charles looked at him.
“You signed twelve contracts using her company’s name.”
Marcus's face turned white.
“I had authorization.”
“No.”
Charles smiled faintly.
“You didn't.”
Marcus looked at Lydia.
“Tell her.”
Lydia didn't move.
“Tell her this isn't true.”
I stepped forward.
“It's true.”
My daughter stared at me.
“You own Sterling Global?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I wanted one part of my life that belonged to me.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You lied to me.”
I almost laughed.
“You just demanded fifty million dollars from me.”
“But you could have told me!”
“I could have.”
My voice softened.
“But then you might have loved the company instead of me.”
She looked away.
That sentence hit her harder than anything else.
Marcus stepped forward.
“This is irrelevant.”
Charles looked at him.
“No.”
He opened a folder.
“This is very relevant.”
He handed me several pages.
I read them.
Then I looked at Marcus.
“You've been representing yourself as an authorized partner of Sterling Global.”
Marcus said nothing.
“You used our reputation to obtain loans.”
Nothing.
“You used my daughter's name to secure investor confidence.”
Still nothing.
“And you attempted to acquire control of my company through marriage.”
Lydia looked at him.
“Marcus?”
He turned toward her.
“Baby, listen to me.”
She stepped backward.
“You knew?”
“I knew her company had assets.”
“So you married me because of my mother?”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“I loved you.”
Charles quietly said:
“Then why did your financial planner draft a contingency plan three months before the engagement?”
Marcus turned toward him.
Charles continued.
“The document states that if the marriage occurred, Mrs. Sterling's assets would become accessible through Lydia.”
Lydia covered her mouth.
The room erupted.
Guests whispered.
Phones recorded.
Someone called the police.
Marcus suddenly grabbed Lydia’s arm.
“We're leaving.”
She pulled away.
“Don't touch me.”
His face changed.
For the first time, I saw the real man beneath the polished exterior.
“You ungrateful little—”
I stepped between them.
“Finish that sentence.”
Marcus stopped.
I looked directly into his eyes.
“You wanted my money.”
I paused.
“But you underestimated something.”
May you like
“What?”
“My patience.”
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