Chapter 6 - The Enemy Inside The Sterling Family
Emergency lights flickered on.
The ballroom looked completely different.
The perfect celebration was gone.
The flowers.
The music.
The expensive decorations.
Everything looked like a stage after the actors disappeared.
Only the truth remained.
Avery held Leo tightly.
"Liam?"
He was standing beside her.
But his face looked different.
Serious.
Focused.
"What happened?"
Liam looked around.
"Someone cut the power."
Damian walked closer.
"That wasn't an accident."
Victoria immediately spoke.
"Are you accusing me?"
Damian looked at her.
"I'm saying someone wanted this conversation to stop."
Avery noticed something.
A small detail.
The security guards weren't moving toward the doors.
They were moving toward Liam.
Her stomach tightened.
"Liam..."
He noticed too.
The guards stopped around them.
One of them stepped forward.
"Mr. Sterling, we need you to come with us."
Liam frowned.
"Why?"
The guard looked uncomfortable.
"Your mother gave the order."
Everyone turned toward Victoria.
She didn't deny it.
Avery's anger exploded.
"You locked your own son inside his own house?"
Victoria smiled.
"Until he calms down."
Liam stared at her.
"Mom."
"I am protecting this family."
"No."
His voice became colder.
"You are protecting yourself."
Victoria's expression hardened.
The guard hesitated.
Then suddenly...
Another voice came from the entrance.
"Nobody is taking anyone anywhere."
Everyone turned.
It was the head of Sterling security.
Marcus Reed.
And he was holding a file.
"Mr. Sterling."
Liam looked at him.
"What is that?"
Marcus walked forward.
"Proof."
Victoria's face changed.
"Marcus."
He ignored her.
"I have worked for this family for thirty years."
He looked at Liam.
"And I stayed silent because I was afraid."
Avery felt a chill.
Another person.
Another secret.
Another betrayal.
Marcus opened the file.
"Three months before your father died, Victoria ordered a private investigation."
Liam frowned.
"Into who?"
Marcus looked at Avery.
"Into your wife."
Avery felt her heart drop.
"What?"
Marcus continued.
"She wanted information to destroy Avery's reputation."
Liam looked at his mother.
"Is this true?"
Victoria said nothing.
Marcus handed him another document.
"But she found something else."
Liam opened it.
His eyes moved quickly.
Then stopped.
"What is this?"
Marcus lowered his voice.
"The reason Victoria was so desperate to control Avery."
Avery looked confused.
"Why?"
Marcus looked at her.
"Because your mother-in-law discovered something about your past."
Liam stared.
"What past?"
Marcus took a breath.
"The Carter family wasn't as ordinary as everyone believed."
Avery felt cold.
"What are you saying?"
Marcus looked directly at her.
"Your father wasn't a small businessman."
Everyone became silent.
"He was once one of the most powerful financial partners of Sterling Financial."
Avery froze.
"No."
Marcus nodded.
"Your father and Charles Sterling built this empire together."
Liam stared at Avery.
"Why didn't you know?"
Avery's voice broke.
"Because my father disappeared when I was young."
Marcus opened the final document.
"And Victoria was the last person seen with him."
Avery's face went pale.
Liam looked at his mother.
The woman who raised him.
The woman he trusted.
"Mom..."
Victoria said nothing.
Then she smiled.
A cold, terrifying smile.
"Now you finally understand."
Everyone waited.
Victoria looked at Avery.
"Your family and mine have been connected for decades."
She stepped closer.
"And the truth about your father..."
She paused.
"...is the reason I never wanted you inside this family."
Avery held her breath.
"Why?"
Victoria whispered:
"Because your father didn't disappear."
May you like
The room went silent.
"He was murdered."
