All Chapters of Craving Their Touch : Chapter 101 - Chapter 103

The dining room was silent except for the soft clink of silver against porcelain. I had not touched my plate in ten minutes. The food was exquisite, but my appetite had vanished the moment Alexander made his offer. He watched me from the head of the table, his dark eyes patient and unblinking. He had not pushed. He had not threatened again. He had simply laid out his terms and waited, letting the weight of his words settle over the room like a slow-moving fog. My father sat rigid and gray-faced across from me. Marcus was a coiled spring at my side, his hand resting on my thigh beneath the table, his jaw tight enough to crack teeth. Neither of them spoke. This was my answer to give. I set down my fork. The sound was too loud in the quiet room. "I have spent ten years being told what to do by men who believed they owned me," I said. "David told me I was worthless. He told me I was a joke. He told me I

The story broke on a Friday morning, and by noon, every major news outlet in the city was running it. I was in my office at Sterling Tower when Harold called. His voice was tight, the way it got when something had gone very wrong and he was trying not to alarm me before I knew the details. "Miss Sterling, you need to see the morning edition of the Financial Journal. And the City Herald. And the broadcast on Channel Four." "I am on my way to a board meeting, Harold. Can it wait?" "No, miss. It cannot." I sent Helena Vance a quick message postponing the meeting and pulled up the news on my tablet. The headline hit me like a physical blow. Sophia the Survivor or Sophia the Accomplice? New Witness Claims Sterling Whistleblower Helped Build David Miller's Criminal Empire. Below the headline was a photograph of Sophia. Not the composed, determined woman who had tes