004_The Mother’s Visit

Avery’s POV

I didn't sleep as much as Marcus told me to. Every time I closed my eyes I could still feel the phantom pressure of the needle in my arm. So I spent most of the night sitting by the window and watching the city lights flicker while I drank tea that had gone cold hours ago.

I was just starting to think about getting into the shower when a loud and frantic knocking started at my door. I knew it wasn't Marcus. He never made that much noise unless he was trying to break something down.

I pulled my new silk robe tighter around my waist and walked over to the door. When I opened it I saw Julian’s mother, Beatrice Sterling, standing there with her face twisted into a mask of pure fury and her expensive leather handbag clutched so tight her knuckles were white.

"How dare you hide away in this penthouse while my son is losing everything he worked for?! And how dare you use your family's dirty money to sabotage a man who gave you the best three years of your life?" Beatrice shouted as she pushed her way past me into the room without waiting for an invitation. She started pacing around the living area while she flicked her wrist at the expensive furniture like it was personally insulting her.

"I didn't sabotage anything, Beatrice, I just stopped propping him up with my own resources. And the moment I stepped back his entire empire started to crumble because it was built on a foundation of sand and lies," I said as I closed the door and leaned against it. I still felt a little lightheaded, but I wasn't going to let her see any weakness while she was looking for a target for her anger.

"You were a nobody when he found you and you should be grateful that a Sterling even looked at you twice. Yet here you are trying to ruin his reputation just because he found a woman who can actually give him a family instead of a wife who spends all her time in the office," she spat out as she stopped pacing and stood right in front of me. She pulled a checkbook out of her bag and started scribbling something down with a gold pen.

"I’m here to end this nonsense right now, so I’m going to write you a check for two hundred thousand dollars and you’re going to take it and sign a public statement saying that the server blackout was a technical error on your part, and then you’re going to disappear from our lives forever."

I looked at the piece of paper she was waving in my face and I actually felt like laughing. She really thought my dignity was that cheap.

I walked over to the kitchen island to grab my cold tea just so I could have something to do with my hands.

"Two hundred thousand dollars won't even cover the interest on the loans I gave Julian to start his first three labs, Beatrice, and I think it’s funny that you’re calling me a nobody—" My eyes met hers. "When your own husband had to beg my father for a bailout twenty years ago just to keep your family estate from being foreclosed on."

Beatrice’s face went from red to a sickly shade of purple. She slammed the checkbook down on the counter, her voice dropping to a low hiss that sounded like a snake in the grass.

"That was a private business arrangement and it has nothing to do with what you’re doing to Julian. And if you think you can just waltz back into the Thorne Syndicate and use their power to crush my son then you have another thing coming because Sarah’s father has friends in the governor's office who can make your life very difficult."

Really?

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Is that the same Sarah who has been taking my blood for three years while you told me your daughter was the one who was sick, or is there another Sarah I should be worried about?" I asked, watching as the confidence in her eyes flickered for a split second before she masked it with another layer of arrogance.

Cute.

"Sarah is a delicate girl who needed help and you were the only one who could provide it. Besides, you should be honored that your blood was being used to save someone who actually matters to this society instead of being wasted on a woman who has no soul," she said, and reached out to grab my arm, but I stepped back before she could touch me.

The last thing I wanted was for their Sterling filth to rub off on me.

"I think you should leave now, Beatrice," I said, my gaze hardening. "My brother is on his way back with a legal team and a nurse who is ready to testify about exactly what happened in that hospital yesterday—" A smirk crossed my lips. "And I don't think you want to be here when the police gets here so they wouldn't start asking questions about why you were complicit in medical fraud."

Her eyes widened in choke, making my smirk deepen into a grin.

"You can't do that! We—"

"I've already done it, Beatrice, and there's no going back on that. So you better leave before you make things worse. My patience is already as thin as a thread, and I don't mind snapping at any time," I said, my heart starting to hurt. "And you don't want to know what it's like when I'm actually furious."

Color drained from her face.

To think I actually saw her as the mother I never had, and cherished.

I wasn't just just an idiot, I was a fool—one who was played by the entire Sterling family.

But that was over now.

I walked over to the door and held it open for her while I stared her down with as much coldness as I could muster.

Beatrice looked like she had seen a ghost, fear written all over her. She swallowed hard as she gathered her things and she tried to maintain her dignity as she walked toward the exit, but her hand was shaking as she adjusted her coat and she wouldn't look me in the eye anymore.

"You’ll regret this, Avery, and when Julian is back on top and you’re back in the gutter where you belong I’ll make sure everyone knows exactly what kind of person you are."

That earned her a smile.

"I’m the kind of person who knows exactly how much debt the Sterling family still owes to the Thorne estate, Beatrice, so I’d suggest you go home and start counting your jewelry because you’re going to need to sell it all to pay for the lawyers Julian is going to need by the end of the week."

Her jaw dropped.

Before she could say anything else, I slammed the door shut, hoping deep down that it collided with her stupid face.

Leaning my forehead against the cool wood, I let out a long breath that I didn't even know I was holding, relief washing all over me. The confrontation was finally over and I had held my ground.

Suddenly, my phone rang on the counter. I glanced at it, Marcus's name showing on the screen. My heart softened as I reached out for it.

When I answered he sounded like he was in a much better mood than he had been before.

"I’ve got the nurse in a safe house and she’s already signed a full affidavit detailing every single transfusion Julian ordered over the last three years. She even had copies of the emails from Julian telling her to fake the patient names on the records."

I nodded, even though he wasn't there to see me.

I walked back to the window. "That’s perfect, Marcus." I paused for a few heartbeats. "His mother just left my room—" My lips arched into a bitter smile. "After trying to buy me off for two hundred thousand dollars, so I think they’re getting desperate."

I heard a snicker from the other end.

"Only two hundred thousand? They really are delusional if they think that’s going to stop us."

I laughed too, the whole scene replaying in my head.

"I’ve got the car waiting downstairs," He continued. It’s time to head to the Sterling Global headquarters. The board of directors are waiting for us to show them who really owns the company."

I smirked. "I'll be down in five."

I went into the bedroom and changed into the sharp black suit I had picked out earlier. I spent a few minutes fixing my hair and makeup so I wouldn't look like a patient anymore. When I looked at myself in the mirror I didn't see the quiet wife who had spent three years being walked on. I saw a woman who was ready to take back everything that had been stolen from her.

And as I grabbed my bag and headed for the elevator I knew that Julian Sterling was about to have the worst day of his life.