All Chapters of The Sterling Vow : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"Get back down!"The warning came a second too late. The air split open with a sharp, deafening tear that shook the metal floor plates under their boots. A massive wave of heat slammed straight into the side of the rig, tossing grown men into the air like loose gravel. Heavy black smoke and gray concrete dust swallowed the entire corridor in less than two seconds, wiping out the overhead utility lamps."Move, move! Leave the tools!"Panic tore through the darkness. Men screamed, tripping over torn electrical wires and falling over collapsed steel beams as they scrambled toward the emergency exit stairs before the secondary gas tank blew the entire lower level apart.Nobody looked back. Nobody stopped to check who was missing.Except her.Sienna coughed hard into a wet cotton rag, pressing it tight against her mouth and nose. Her chest felt like someone was pouring boiling water straight down her throat. Her lungs burned violently against the thick chemical fumes, but she did not run

"Sign on the dotted line, Mr. Sterling. Right beside the red mark."The city magistrate did not look up from his metal desk. He was an older man with thick glasses resting on his nose, smelling of stale black coffee and dry paper. The small room at the edge of the industrial town had yellow walls, peeling paint, and a wall clock that made a loud clicking sound every single second.Alec stood over the desk. His tall frame blocked the morning light coming through the dirty blinds. His hair was combed neat, but the white bandage was still wrapped tight around his forehead. He wore a dark business suit his assistant had brought from the city hours earlier. He looked completely out of place in the dusty government office.He picked up the heavy black pen. His hand did not tremble, but his fingers pressed into the plastic casing until his skin turned white."Is this valid right now?" Alec asked, his voice low, flat, and dry."The second both of you finish signing," the magistrate said, stam

"Who is the girl behind you, Alexander?"Eleanor Sterling stood at the edge of the private wooden dock. The ocean breeze blew across the water, but her beige linen dress stayed perfectly straight. Her hands were folded over her silver walking stick, her sharp gray eyes scanning the yacht deck."Her name is Sienna."Alec walked down the gangplank first. His heavy leather shoes hit the wooden planks with loud, hollow thuds. His suit jacket was slung over one broad shoulder, his dark hair messy from the salt air."That is a name, Alexander. It is not an explanation.""She is my wife, Mother."Eleanor did not flinch. She did not raise her voice. She simply adjusted her grip on her walking stick, her eyes drifting past Alec's wide chest to the small figure walking slowly down the wooden ramp behind him."The magistrate from the lower district telephoned my private office two hours ago," Eleanor said, her voice smooth and cold as polished stone. "He informed me that the senior heir of Sterl

"Take your hands off that luggage!"Genevieve’s sharp voice cut through the grand foyer like a siren.She marched across the white marble floor, her emerald heels clicking with aggressive force. She wore a tailored green pencil dress, oversized dark sunglasses, and thick gold chains resting against her collarbone."Miss Genevieve," Thomas the butler said, holding two heavy leather suitcases with white-gloved hands. "Madam Eleanor gave direct orders for your luggage to be placed in the carriage house suite.""The carriage house?" Genevieve snatched the vanity case straight out of his grip with a sharp snap of her wrist. "Are you out of your mind? I am Alexander's future wife. My belongings go into the master villa on the south bluff. Where is he? He went completely silent for four days after that explosion. My father and I have been calling the harbor office nonstop. Why was he not waiting at the landing pad when my father’s pilot touched down?""I am right here, Genevieve."Alec walke

"Take this discussion off my foyer floor."Eleanor Sterling did not raise her voice, but the sharp, resonant strike of her silver-topped cane against the marble commanded instant obedience.The two junior maids quickly gathered the silver water carafes and slipped out through the service door, keeping their heads bowed low. "We are not conducting municipal negotiations in the entrance hall, Richard," Eleanor said, fixing the Mayor with a frigid, aristocratic stare. "Alexander. Julian. Take Richard and Genevieve into the north study."Sienna remained completely motionless on the velvet sofa. She clutched the edge of Chloe's oversized linen shirt in her lap, her knuckles white, her breath rattling faintly beneath the clear oxygen tube. She did not dare utter a single word. Looking at the solid gold municipal pin gleaming on the Mayor's coat and Genevieve's tear-streaked designer makeup, Sienna felt smaller than she ever had in the orphan wards. She kept her head lowered, praying the he