Chapter 3 She's Wearing My Mother's Ring

On the third day of my marriage, I went back to the Sterling estate. I needed my mother's ring, the trust documents, and the project files I'd been managing.

Security stopped me at the gate. "I'm sorry, Ms. Sterling. Your access has been revoked."

I'd lived here for over twenty years, and now I needed my father's permission to come home. Adrian stood several steps behind me, not approaching, just waiting quietly. I didn't ask him to follow me inside. I needed to get back what was mine on my own.

When I walked into the office, I almost thought I'd entered the wrong room. The nameplate had been changed to Claire's. My mother's photograph had been moved to the corner. Years of my project files were piled on the floor. Claire sat in my chair, flipping through the budget, wearing my sweater, my mother's ring still on her hand.

"You're back, Evelyn." She smiled as if nothing had happened. "Dad says you may not be returning to the foundation. The office was sitting empty, so I'm using it. Surely you don't mind sharing a desk."

I ignored her and went straight for the filing cabinet. Several critical contracts were missing. But in the shredder bin, half of an unfinished payment-approval form poked out. The payer was the Sterling Foundation, the payee was Whitmore Medical Group, and my electronic signature appeared in the approval field. The date was the night of the Rose Crown Gala. I'd spent that entire day preparing for the event. I hadn't signed a single document.

The moment I picked up the fragment, Claire lunged for it. "Give it to me!"

I sidestepped her and folded the paper. The smile vanished from her face. "What are you hiding a scrap of paper for? Trying to use foundation documents to get revenge on Ethan?"

"Whether I'm nervous doesn't matter." I slipped the fragment into my pocket. "The fact that you're this desperate to grab it does."

She bit her lip. The tears started falling again. My father and Ethan arrived quickly.

I held the fragment up to my father. "Who approved this? Why does it have my signature?"

He barely glanced at it. "The foundation processes hundreds of documents a day. You wouldn't understand the first thing about it."

"The date is the night of the Rose Crown Gala. I never signed this."

Ethan sneered. "Corporate partnerships have approval procedures. You don't get to convict someone over a scrap of paper you pulled from the trash. Don't start snapping at everyone like a rabid dog just because I chose Claire."

My father pushed the document back, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Give me the document. You can have the ring."

Claire immediately covered her hand. "Daddy, this is the engagement ring Ethan gave me!"

My father ignored her, his eyes fixed on me. "You want your mother's ring, don't you? Give me the paper, and I'll have her take it off."

"The ring was always mine." My voice was shaking. "And foundation documents aren't something you can just destroy."

My father's expression went completely cold. "Three days away from home and you think you've grown wings? I'll show you today who runs this family." He sent a servant to retrieve the ring and place it at the end of the Rose Vow Path. The gardeners had just finished pruning, and the entire stone path was covered in thorny branches. He pointed to the far end. "The Sterling heir isn't made by scavenging scraps of paper. You want the ring? Crawl there on your knees."

Ethan sneered and stepped forward, gripping my chin. "Of course, if you're willing to apologize and accept being the other woman, I could put in a good word for you."