Chapter 25 - The Breach at Twilight
We did not let Dominic Sterling inside the main house. Instead, we met him in the formal glass conservatory at the estate’s outer courtyard, surrounded by blooming white orchids and monitored by four armed security guards positioned discreetly in the shadows.
Sterling was a man in his late fifties, silver-haired, with cold, reptilian blue eyes and the predatory smile of someone who had never lost a courtroom fight.
"Lauren Vance," Sterling said smoothly, extending a manicured hand. I ignored it, remaining seated behind a stone table, my fingers laced calmly over my lap. Clara sat beside me, silent and poised.
Sterling’s smile thinned, but he withdrew his hand without embarrassment. "Always dramatic. Just like Margaret. And this must be Clara Dubois. The little art therapist dragged into a world of titans. You look out of your depth, my dear."
"Say what you came to say, Sterling," Daniel said coldly, standing like a wall of granite behind my chair.
"Very well," Sterling said, opening a leather dossier on the table. "I hold a certified two-hundred-million-dollar senior lien against the Vance Clean Energy patents. Under international maritime corporate law, I will foreclose on Thursday morning at ten o'clock. Vance Industries will be dismantled, sold off piecemeal to our European consortium, and your trust funds will be tied up in litigation until those twins of yours are middle-aged."
He leaned forward, lowering his voice into a greasy, paternal tone. "Or... we settle today. Sign over fifty-one percent of the clean energy voting stock to Apex Meridian. In exchange, I release all liens against Briarwood, give you a fifty-million-dollar settlement trust, and guarantee you will never see my face again. You keep the house, you keep your peace, and you raise your children in luxury."
"And if we refuse?" I asked, my voice as calm as a frozen lake.
Sterling’s eyes flickered with a cruel, venomous light. "Accidents happen on country roads, Lauren. Brake lines fail. Heating systems leak carbon monoxide. It would be a terrible tragedy if Noah and Lily grew up without a mother... or didn't grow up at all."
Daniel stepped forward, his hand dropping toward his weapon, but I raised my hand, stopping him instantly.
I looked Dominic Sterling dead in the eye and smiled. It was the coldest, most terrifying smile I had ever given in my life.
"You made a fatal mistake, Dominic," I said softly.
Sterling’s brow furrowed. "And what is that?"
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"You threatened my children to my face," I said, standing up. "Now, take your forged documents and get off my property. Because on Thursday morning in Manhattan, I am not merely going to defeat you. I am going to bury you."
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