Chapter 13 - The Prison Bargain
With Blackwood Holdings’ reputation torpedoed overnight, Marcus desperately reached into his dirty tricks bag. Three hours later, I received an encrypted message from the state penitentiary where Sterling was awaiting trial.
I walked into the visitation room wearing an off-white cashmere coat. Sterling sat behind the glass, wearing an orange jumpsuit, looking hollowed out and ten years older.
"Genevieve," he rasped, pressing his hands against the glass. "You have to help me. Marcus forced my mother into that deal! He promised he’d post my bail if we ran the smear campaign!"
"You sold your daughter’s safety twice, Sterling," I said, sitting down with cold grace. "Once to Victoria, and once to Marcus."
May you like
"I have something you need!" Sterling pleaded, his voice breaking into a panicked squeak. "Marcus didn't just target you. He forged Hazel’s trust documents before we broke up! He’s trying to claim she isn't legally your daughter so he can freeze her inheritance!"
I leaned closer to the glass, my eyes dark as midnight. "Sterling, do you really think I left my father's house six years ago without protecting my child's lineage? Marcus didn't forge Hazel's documents. He forged bait."
