Chapter 2 - THE SECRETS OF THE STERLING ESTATE
Victoria didn't cry. She didn't drop to her knees to ask for forgiveness.
Instead, the soft, elegant socialite vanished, replaced by a ruthless woman who realized her corner was turned.
"Don't be naive, Richard," Victoria sneered, stepping back toward the hospital entrance as the police officers shifted their gaze from Lily to her. "You think a tech empire belongs to a sickly child whose dead mother left him half your shares? If Noah dies, those shares revert to the estate—and as your legal fiancée, my contract guaranteed control!"
"You sociopath!" Richard yelled, lunging forward, but Dr. Julian stepped between them.
"Officer, arrest her for attempted first-degree murder!" Julian demanded.
Victoria smirked slyly. "Try it. My father owns half the judicial board in this city. I’ll be out on bail before the sun sets." She turned her heels and bolted toward the sliding glass doors where a sleek black sedan was already idling. The police rushed after her, sirens wailing into the night.
Meanwhile, Richard stood frozen, looking down at Lily.
The handcuffs had been removed, leaving bright red rings around the child's wrists. She was sitting on a waiting room chair, her bare, bloody feet dangling inches off the floor. A nurse was trying to clean her wounds with antiseptic, but Lily barely flinched.
"Why?" Richard asked, his voice cracking as he knelt before the little girl. "You don't even know my son. Why did you carry him seven blocks until your feet bled?"
Lily looked at Richard with deep, ancient sadness in her large green eyes. "Because nobody should be left behind in the dark. My mommy died in the dark because no one carried her. I wasn't going to let him die too."
Richard felt a sharp pang in his chest, a wave of unbearable guilt washing over him. He had built a billion-dollar empire, yet he couldn't see that the woman sharing his bed was a viper, and the street child he called a thief was an angel.
"What is your name, little one?" Richard asked gently.
"Lily. Just Lily."
"Where are your parents, Lily?"
Lily shook her head quietly. "I live in the abandoned railyard near the docks. With the old shoemaker, Mr. Thomas. But he's very sick now too."
Before Richard could respond, the ER doors swung open. The head surgeon stepped out, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Mr. Sterling," the surgeon announced. "Noah is stabilized. The severe lack of oxygen nearly induced brain damage, but because this young girl brought him here within the crucial 15-minute window, his life was saved. She literally pulled him out of death's hands."
Richard dropped his face into his hands, sobbing silently. He looked up at Lily, taking her small, dirt-covered hand into his own.
"Lily," Richard promised, his eyes burning with intense resolve. "You saved my son’s life today. From this second onward, you will never walk barefoot again. You will never hungry again. Welcome to the Sterling family."
But as Richard ushered Lily toward the private VIP elevator to see Noah, he failed to notice the receptionist, Mrs. Vance, secretly dialing a number on her phone from behind the counter.
May you like
"It failed," Mrs. Vance whispered into the receiver, her voice trembling. "Victoria was caught on tape. The boy survived. And Richard just took the street girl into the family."
On the other end of the line, a deep, raspy voice replied: "Then execute Plan B. Make sure the little girl doesn't live long enough to tell anyone what she saw in the park before Noah collapsed."
