Chapter 3: The Ghost from the Past

The glowing screen flashed relentlessly on the polished mahogany desk: Gwen Vance.

​Chloe’s heart dropped into her stomach. Gwen—her older half-sister who had mysteriously disappeared three years ago after embezzling millions from the Sterling Foundation, leaving Chloe and her mother to bear the shame and financial ruin.

​Lucas’s grip on Chloe’s waist tightened for a fraction of a second before he released her, his face turning into a mask of pure, unreadable ice. He reached over, picked up the phone, and slid the green icon without taking his eyes off Chloe.

​"Speak," Lucas commanded, his voice so cold it could freeze fire.

​"Lucas..." a breathless, panicked female voice sobbed through the speaker. "Please... you have to help me! They found me! Julian told them where I was hiding—"

​CLICK.

​Lucas cut the line mid-sentence, slamming the phone face-down on the desk. The silence that followed was suffocating.

​"Was that... Gwen?" Chloe whispered, her hands trembling as she took a step back. "She's alive? Julian knew where she was this whole time?"

​"Your sister is a thief and a fugitive, Chloe," Lucas said, his voice deadly quiet as he adjusted the cuffs of his dark shirt. "And if Julian Hayes is keeping her hidden, it means he has been playing both of us for years."

​"That's impossible..." Chloe shook her head, a wave of nausea washing over her. Julian hadn't just abandoned her and cheated on her—he had been in contact with the sister who ruined her family's life.

​"Nothing is impossible when money and desperation are involved," Lucas stated sharply, stepping around the desk and grabbing a velvet ring box from the top drawer. He popped it open to reveal a massive, pear-cut canary diamond ring that practically blinded the dim room with its radiance. "Forget about Gwen for tonight. Tomorrow morning, your only focus is surviving the press conference."

​He took her left hand. Chloe tried to pull back, but his fingers were like iron. He slid the heavy, breathtaking ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly, as if it had been custom-made for her.

​"From this moment on, you don't look at Julian. You don't speak to your uncle. You look at me, you smile, and you let the world think you are the most cherished woman in my life," Lucas instructed, his dark eyes burning into hers. "Can you do that, Chloe?"

​Chloe stared at the blinding diamond weighing down her finger. She thought of her mother safe in the ICU, and then of Julian’s cruel mockery earlier. A cold, fierce determination ignited inside her chest.

​"I can do it," she said, raising her chin. "I'll play your game, Lucas."

​"Good," Lucas murmured, his eyes flashing with something intense and dangerous. "My driver will pick you up at 7:00 AM. Get some sleep, fiancée."

​At 9:00 AM the next morning, the grand lobby of the Sterling Tower was swarming with hundreds of reporters, flashing cameras, and news crews.

​Uncle Julian and Julian Hayes stood on the raised stage in front of a sea of microphones. Uncle Julian was adjusting his tie, a triumphant, greasy smile on his face as he addressed the media.

​"Thank you all for coming," Uncle Julian announced into the microphones, his voice echoing through the acoustics of the hall. "As you know, the Sterling Enterprises charter dictates that my nephew, Lucas Sterling, must be engaged to a suitable partner by his thirty-second birthday to maintain his executive shares. Since he has failed to do so, I am officially declaring myself—"

​BANG!

​The heavy glass entrance doors of the tower swung open in unison.

​The entire room went dead silent as a fleet of security guards pushed through the crowd, clearing a wide path.

​Lucas Sterling stepped into the lobby, looking utterly formidable in a tailored charcoal three-piece suit. But it wasn't just his commanding presence that made the room gasp—it was the woman walking beside him.

​Chloe looked drop-dead gorgeous. She wore a sleek, knee-length emerald green silk dress that clung perfectly to her curves, her dark hair styled in soft, elegant waves. Her hand was wrapped tightly around Lucas's forearm, and on her finger, the canary diamond caught the dazzling light of a hundred camera flashes.

​Gasps erupted through the crowd. Reporters began snapping photos frantically.

​Julian Hayes’s jaw dropped in absolute shock, his face turning pale as paper as he stared at Chloe. "C-Chloe?!"

​Uncle Julian froze mid-sentence, his microphone feedback screeching loudly through the speakers. "What is the meaning of this?!"

​Lucas guided Chloe onto the stage with effortless dominance. He stepped up to the main podium, pulling Chloe close to his side and resting his large hand possessively on her waist.

​"My apologies for the drama, Uncle," Lucas said into the microphone, his deep voice projecting authority across the entire hall. "I believe you were about to make an announcement about my marital status?"

​"You're bluffing!" Uncle Julian yelled, losing his composure in front of the cameras. "She's your step-sister! Her family is bankrupt! This is a sham!"

​"She is my step-sister by a brief marriage, not by blood," Lucas countered smoothly, raising Chloe’s hand into the view of every camera, letting the massive diamond ring spark a frenzy of flashes. "And as of midnight last night, Chloe Vance is my official fiancée and the future matriarch of the Sterling estate."

​Julian Hayes stumbled forward, his eyes wild with fury and disbelief. "Chloe! Are you insane?! You were crying for my help yesterday, and now you're lying for him?!"

​Chloe looked directly into Julian’s eyes—the man who had cheated on her and left her mother to die. She didn't flinch. Instead, she leaned closer into Lucas's side and offered Julian a sweet, devastating smile.

​"I realized I was wasting my time with a boy, Julian," Chloe said calmly, her voice carrying through the nearest microphones. "When I could have a real man."

​The reporters went wild, shouting questions all at once!

​Lucas smirked, leaning down to whisper in Chloe’s ear, "Flawless execution, darling."

​But before they could exit the stage, a loud commotion broke out at the back of the lobby. A disheveled woman in a dark hoodie pushed past the security guards, holding a thick brown envelope above her head.

​"He's lying!" the woman screamed at the top of her lungs, pulling down her hood to reveal her face to the cameras. "The engagement is a fraud! I have the contract!"

​Chloe gasped, her blood running cold as she recognized the woman instantly.

​It was Gwen.