Richard Sterling Story Novels & Stories

Ophelia blinked, her fake tears stopping for a second. "What do you mean?" Lord Sterling leaned forward, the light from the fireplace glinting in his eyes. "I have one son who is not yet married. Leonard. He is a director at the Yates empire, as you know. He has a seat at the table, just like you did. He is a Sterling, through and through." Ophelia’s heart skipped a beat. She knew Leonard Sterling. He was cold, arrogant, and just as power-hungry as his father.

Inner Devil 2: “???” Sterling further explained, “Sterling attended one of your father’s business talks in Halliport. You were there. To be honest, the first time he saw you, he was smitten. But the word was, you had high standards and rarely dated. Sterling’s company wasn’t thriving at the time. He didn’t think he was worthy.” Inner Devil: ‘Is he talking in the third person?’ Inner Devil 2: ‘Wait. I can’t wrap my head around this.’

Marcus had been the muscle, Vivienne the strategy, but the man at the top-Sterling himself-was the architect of the entire machine. Sterling was a silver-haired titan in his late fifties, a man who spoke in quiet sentences that moved markets. He didn't look like a predator, which made him infinitely more dangerous. The first two days of the retreat were a blur of high-stakes strategy sessions and vintage scotch. On the final night, Sterling requested a private "portfolio review" with Talia in the estate's observatory-a domed room with a telescope that pointed toward the cold, uncaring stars.

He was the only one here, so this has to be Richard Garcia. He was a distinguished-looking man. Silver hair combed neatly back, tanned skin, reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose. He had been reading a book, completely at ease with the world. He looked up as Maxwell approached, removed his reading glasses, and set them on the table. A calm, curious smile settled on his face. "Maxwell Sterling," Richard said, gesturing to the empty chair across from him. "Take a seat, young man." Maxwell pulled out the chair and sat down across from Richard, unbuttoning his suit jacket as he settled in.

“Where she came from?” “We’ve pulled some threads,” Evelyn said, crossing one leg over the other. “Her name is Vera Sterling. Legally changed back after being reunited with her birth family, Sterlings, old money but off the radar for the last decade or so. Her mother’s dying. There’s talk of inheritance. Nothing’s confirmed.” “She was raised in a village,” scoffed Richard. “Probably never set foot in a ballroom before meeting Asher. And this is who he wants to drag into our world?”

But they don’t know me. As we approach the meeting room, my pulse quickens slightly, but I hold it together. The doors open, and I step inside to meet the people I’ve been preparing to destroy for three years. "Miss Sterling, so wonderful to have you here." Lucas Ashford, the charming patriarch, his silver hair neatly combed back. To society, he was a well-respected man, known for his love for life and giving back to those who needed it the most, but I knew the trash he really was.