Chapter 6 - The Domino Effect
By the next morning, the video of Chloe’s wedding reception had accumulated over forty million views across social media. Headlines screamed across every major news portal: “Bride Frames Pregnant Sister-in-Law at $1M Wedding—Discovers She’s the Daughter of a Billionaire Real Estate Tycoon!”
The backlash was swift and ruthless.
Sterling Enterprises, already struggling financially, saw its stock price plunge by eighty percent in pre-market trading after news broke that Vance Capital had pulled its funding. Banks froze the family’s business accounts, and clients pulled their contracts by the dozen to avoid being associated with the viral scandal.
Inside a holding cell at the central police station, Chloe and Eleanor spent the night arguing viciously with their court-appointed attorneys. Chloe’s newly wedded husband, a wealthy heir named Julian whom she had spent two years angling to catch, had his legal team file for an immediate annulment before the ink on their marriage license was even dry.
Dominic spent the entire Sunday sitting on the pavement outside our former apartment building, pleading with the building security guards to let him up. But the guards—who had known my true identity all along and had strictly followed my father's orders—refused to even let him set foot in the lobby.
By Sunday evening, Dominic was forced to move back into his parents' mansion, only to find moving trucks parked outside. The bank was foreclosing on the property to settle the massive debts racked up by Sterling Enterprises.
In less than forty-eight hours, the proud, arrogant Sterling family had lost their business, their social standing, their home, and their freedom.
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I spent the weekend resting in my childhood home, surrounded by lush gardens, private medical staff, and the quiet comfort of a family that actually loved me. But as I sat on the veranda sipping tea, Mr. Harrison approached with a dark expression on his face.
"Mrs. Vance," he said quietly. "We have a problem."
