Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

When the flash went off, I wasn't looking at the camera.After the shoot, Jamie, the photographer's assistant, came over with the bill. We'd booked the entire studio for a private couture shoot, and the total came to over $300,000.Carlos was bent over, helping Vivian out of her heels. Austin was telling the bodyguards to clear the room, and Leon was showing Vivian the shots on the camera.No one paid Jamie any attention.I'd been the one footing bills like this for the past ten years.I stepped up and handed Jamie my black card."Put one-fifth on my card. Split the rest among those three gentlemen."Jamie froze, but took one look at my cold expression and did as I asked.Beep. Payment approved.I took off the janitor's uniform, threw it in the trash, and walked out."Wendy! What's that supposed to mean?"Austin stormed after me as soon as Jamie pressed him for payment. He grabbed my wrist, scowling."It's just a photo. Do you really have to make such a scene? And what's with splitting

After their public humiliation, the gloves came off for Austin and Carlos.First thing the next morning, I got an internal notice from the group."By unanimous decision of family management, Wendy Sterling is stripped of all executive authority. All projects under her name are hereby transferred to Vivian Rhodes."The project they took was a $30 billion international deal. I'd poured my heart into it for three full years and pulled countless all-nighters to land it.It was Silverfang Group's lifeline for the next decade.Now they'd taken it without a second thought and slapped Vivian's name on it, just to make her look good.Leon even went out of his way to send me a voice message to gloat."See, Wendy? This is what you get for being so petty."You think the group stops running without you? Vivian's way more likable than you. The investors signed the second they saw her."A smile tugged at my lips as I listened.They had no idea what they'd just signed.I opened my laptop and typed in

Herman crossed the rubble-strewn floor to me.He took off his black trench coat and draped it over my blood-soaked shoulders."I'm late."His voice was low, his fury barely contained.I managed a small smile for him."You're not late. Your timing's perfect."Herman and I had met three years earlier in the borderlands of Northern Europe.He'd been badly wounded in a power struggle within his family, and I'd used my own pure blood and my medical training to pull him from a pile of bodies.After that, he took control of an international empire, and I became his sole strategic partner.Austin was slumped on the floor, his teeth chattering."M-Mr. Kessler... this is a family matter. Why are you getting involved?"Herman didn't even look at him.The doctor who'd come with him hurried over and treated the wound on the back of my neck with a clotting spray and nano-bandages."A family matter?"Herman turned and fired.The bullet grazed Austin's ear and shattered the metal wall behind him.Aust

I put everything I had into that slap. Blood ran from the corner of Austin's mouth, and he toppled over.Clutching his cheek, he stared at me in shock."That was for forgetting Dad's dying wish and letting an illegitimate daughter take what was rightfully mine."I backhanded him across the other cheek, hard."And that was for locking your own sister in an underground interrogation room, all for money."Austin was seeing stars, his mouth flecked with bloody foam.All the dignity he'd prided himself on as head of the family was gone."Wendy, I'll give you the shares! I'll give you everything!"Shaking all over, Austin dug through his bag for the documents."Please drop the charges. Assault and unlawful imprisonment will put me away for life!""Drop the charges?"Herman cut in from beside me, his tone flat."The international court has already opened a criminal case. No one can make it go away."And while we were at it, we looked into Vivian's background."Morgan tossed a DNA test report

A month later.Silverfang Group officially changed its name to Nova International.All the bloodsucking executives who used to cling to Austin were purged, every last one.The restructuring went smoothly, and the international project I'd poured three years into was officially underway.The day of the press conference, every reporter in the city crammed into the venue.Under the spotlights, I stood at center stage in a custom-made couture gown.No one would ever take my place from me again.An update on the project played across the big screen, and the audience broke into thunderous applause.After the press conference, I went back up to my office on the top floor.Herman was already on the couch waiting for me.Two glasses of champagne sat on the table."Congratulations, Chairwoman Sterling."Herman raised his glass, a smile in his eyes.I sat down and clinked my glass against his."Half the credit goes to you, Mr. Kessler."I heard there's news from the mine?"Herman set his glass do