Chapter 14 The Vice Chairman
Victor’s eyes narrowed into cold slits. He looked at Ethan. "Someone inside Hart Group helped cover up your framing."
Sophia now turned to look at the young man standing near the mirror for the first time. She had been so focused on the schematics she hadn't truly looked at Victor's newly discovered bloodline.
When her eyes locked onto Ethan's face, she froze.
The file folders slipped slightly from her manicured hands. She recognized him. The cleaner…the young man who had been beaten by security guards, dragged out in handcuffs, and publicly ruined on television just yesterday and the young man from the boutique. He wasn't lying after all.
"Sophia," Victor said smoothly, watching her realization with a knowing gaze. "Meet my grandson. Ethan Sterling."
Sophia’s breath caught. The arrogant corporate thief Damien Cross had described was a lie. The man standing before her was the sole heir to the largest empire in the world, and she hadn’t acknowledged him.
Sophia's composure snapped slightly. Her eyes widened and lips parted.
"Ethan Sterling," Victor continued. "The grandson I lost twenty-eight years ago."
Sophia stared at Ethan. Her gaze swept over him. "You're..." She stopped. Swallowed. "You were the one arrested."
Ethan's jaw tightened. "I was."
"But I saw the video. They said…"
"Now you see why I called you here." Victor's voice was soft but firm. "Ethan was framed. Someone inside your Hart Group wanted him to take the fall. The question is, who?"
Sophia's mind was racing. Ethan could see it. She was putting pieces together. The restaurant, the arrest, and destroyed server.
"Damien Cross," she said finally. "He was the one who reported the theft."
Victor nodded slowly. "He was."
"Damien doesn't have the connections to destroy a server room. He wouldn't even know how." Sophia's eyes narrowed. "Someone else is pulling strings."
Victor leaned back in his chair. "Who?"
Sophia's expression was grim. "I don't know yet. But I'll find out."
Ethan watched her. She was beautiful, intelligent, and dangerous in her own way. He could see why Victor trusted her.
"Thank you, Sophia." Victor stood. "My grandson and I have a banquet to attend."
Sophia rose as well. She didn't look at Ethan again. But stopped to speak to him. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "For what happened to you."
Then she was gone.
The banquet hall was enormous. It was nothing that Ethan had ever seen. The hall was decorated expensively. The scent of expensive perfume and expensive food filled the air.
Flashbulbs erupted like a thunderstorm outside the Sterling ballroom. The media had gathered, reporters shouting as luxury cars arrived in an endless stream.
Damien stepped out of his father's limousine, adjusting his designer lapels as he offered his hand to Kim. She stepped out in a glittering silver gown, her Ashford-family diamonds catching the light. They walked up the red carpet with utmost arrogance, ignoring the lesser billionaires parting ways for them.
Ethan stood in a side room, watching it all through a window. He was terrified.
"Breathe," Victor said from behind him.
Ethan turned. "I can't do this."
"Yes, you can."
"I don't know anyone. I don't know how to act. I don't know what to say."
Victor smiled. "You don't have to know anything. Just be yourself."
"Being myself got me arrested."
Victor's smile faded. "Being yourself got you through twenty-eight years of hardship. Being yourself kept you alive. Being yourself made you the man standing in this room tonight." He paused. "Never apologize for who you are, Ethan."
Ethan swallowed. "What if I disappoint you?"
Victor's expression softened. "You could never disappoint me. You're my grandson. That's all I ever wanted."
The banquet was in full swing.
Damien stepped into the magnificent, gold-draped ballroom, scanning the crowd for the guest of honor. Instead, his eyes landed on someone else.
Standing near a huge champagne tower, Ethan was casually speaking with Mr. Harrington.
He was wearing a suit that made Damien’s look cheap.
Damien let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Unbelievable."
Kim followed his gaze. "What?"
"Look." Damien pointed. "Ethan. He bribed his way in."
Kim's eyes widened. "He's wearing…"
He grabbed Kim's hand and marched directly toward them.
"Ethan." Damien's voice was loud and mocking. "Who invited you?"
Ethan turned. His expression was calm. Almost amused.
"I did," he said, calmly. "Didn't you receive my invitation, Damien?"
"You bribed your way in? Security really failed tonight."
Kim covered her mouth, giggling. "Honestly, Ethan, are you stalking us? Sneaking into a Sterling banquet is a federal offense."
Ethan simply looked at Damien with a terrifyingly calm, steady gaze.
Damien continued, laughing harder, shaking his head. "You are completely psychotic. Keep dreaming, garbage boy." He turned and walked away, pulling Kim toward the VIP section, entirely oblivious to the mistake he was making.
From the balcony above the ballroom floor, another pair of eyes watched what was happening.
Adrian Sterling swirled the amber liquid in his crystal glass. He was twenty-eight, strikingly handsome, with a cold expression. As Richard Sterling’s son, Adrian had spent his entire adult life being groomed for the position. He had sacrificed everything, believing he would eventually inherit the Sterling empire.
Then, yesterday, a ghost returned from the dead.
Mr. Harrington walked up the balcony steps, stopping a respectful distance away. Adrian didn't turn around. His eyes remained locked on Ethan. "Is that him?"
"Yes, sir," Harrington replied evenly.
Adrian smiled but it wasn't warm. It was an intense, predatory smile of a wolf watching a lamb enter its cage.
"Interesting," Adrian said quietly, taking a slow sip of his drink. "Twenty-eight years dead…and now he wants my family. We will see about that."
Mr. Harrington said nothing.
Adrian's eyes narrowed. "Bring me everything you have on him. His childhood. His adoptive parents. Every detail."
"Understood."
Adrian turned away. His smile never wavered.
"Tonight is going to be fascinating."
The orchestra abruptly stopped playing.
A respectful silence fell over the ballroom as Victor Sterling stepped onto the enormous, brightly lit stage at the end of the hall. Hundreds of America’s most powerful people held their breath. Damien and Kim stood near the front row, their eyes shining with eager anticipation.
Victor adjusted the microphone. He looked out over the faces of billionaires, politicians, celebrities and tycoons. Then, his eyes stopped on Ethan, standing quietly in the crowd. Victor smiled, it felt like a fierce, protective pride beaming from him.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Victor's raspy, commanding voice echoed through the speakers. "For twenty-eight years, my family has bled from an open wound. Tonight, that wound is healed. As I announce my lost grandson…the future heir of the Sterling Empire."
The massive doors at the very back of the ballroom suddenly burst open.
"Stop, Grandpa!"
Every single head in the room whipped around.
Adrian Sterling stepped through the doors, his expression perfectly calm, his voice scoring through the silence. He walked slowly down the center aisle, the crowd gasped in shock.
"Before you announce a new heir to this empire," Adrian said loudly, his eyes locking directly onto Ethan with cold malice. "I believe everyone in this room deserves to know the absolute truth...."
