Chapter 3 - The Shadow of the Sterling Family
By nine o'clock the following morning, news of the rooftop incident had exploded across every global news network and financial portal.
STERLING HEIRESS ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER OF CALLAWAY MATRIARCH
BILLION-DOLLAR WEDDING TURNS INTO CRIME SCENE AT CALLAWAY TOWER
CATERING MAID HERO RISKS LIFE TO SAVE ELEANOR CALLAWAY
The stock price of Sterling International, Victoria’s family-owned pharmaceutical empire, plummeted by forty percent within two hours of the market opening.
Inside the quiet, private VIP wing of St. Jude’s Memorial Hospital, Rose sat in a plush armchair beside Eleanor Callaway’s hospital bed.
Eleanor was propped up against soft pillows, an IV line in her arm, but her eyes were alert and filled with overwhelming gratitude as she held Rose’s bandaged hands.
“You have your mother’s brave eyes, child,” Eleanor said softly, her voice raspy.
Rose blinked in surprise. “My mother? You didn't know my mother, Mrs. Callaway.”
Eleanor smiled sadly, reaching for a glass of water on her bedside table. Before she could speak, the double doors of the private suite opened, and Nathaniel walked in. He was wearing a dark suit, his face exhausted, holding a thick leather dossier.
“Mom,” Nathaniel said, kissing his mother’s forehead before turning to Rose. “Miss Lin. I’m glad you’re both here.”
“Nathaniel,” Eleanor asked, her voice turning sharp. “What did the police find at the Sterling estate?”
Nathaniel pulled a chair up to the bed and opened the dossier, laying several financial documents and bank ledgers across the blanket.
“Victoria’s family is completely bankrupt,” Nathaniel revealed, his tone dark and cold. “Sterling International has been running a massive offshore Ponzi scheme for five years. They owe over eight hundred million dollars to foreign investment cartels.”
Rose listened in shock. “Eight hundred million?”
“Yes,” Nathaniel nodded, looking at Rose. “Victoria didn't fall in love with me at that charity gala six months ago. Her entire marriage to me was a orchestrated corporate setup engineered by her father, Julian Sterling.”
“They needed access to the Callaway Family Trust,” Eleanor explained, her eyes narrowing. “Our family trust is worth three billion dollars. Under our family’s charter, once Nathaniel married, his wife would gain signing authority over thirty percent of the liquid investment capital.”
“And yesterday,” Nathaniel continued, “just before the wedding ceremony, my mother intercepted a encrypted wire transfer authorization on Victoria’s personal tablet.”
“I caught her sending forty million dollars from our account to a shell company in the Cayman Islands before the reception even started,” Eleanor said, her teeth clenching. “When I confronted Victoria on the rooftop and told her I was calling the federal prosecutors... she shoved me.”
Rose felt a cold chill run down her spine. The utter coldness of Victoria’s calculation was terrifying. She had been willing to murder an innocent elderly woman just to hide her family’s financial theft.
“Where is Julian Sterling now?” Eleanor asked.
“He fled the country on a private jet three hours ago,” Nathaniel said. “Interpol has issued a red notice for his arrest.”
Suddenly, a loud commotion broke out in the hospital hallway outside the suite.
“You can't go in there!” a nurse yelled.
The door to the suite was violently shoved open.
A tall, elegant woman in a red designer suit stepped into the room, flanked by two expensive defense attorneys carrying leather briefcases.
It was Evelyn Sterling—Victoria’s ruthless mother and the chief operating officer of Sterling International.
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Evelyn didn't even look at Eleanor or Nathaniel. Her piercing, icy gaze locked directly onto Rose.
“So,” Evelyn sneered, stepping into the room with supreme arrogance. “This is the little kitchen peasant who ruined my daughter’s life.”
