Chapter 2 - THE SECRETS OF STERLING INVESTMENTS
The local police arrived fifteen minutes later, but the situation quickly deteriorated.
Instead of a standard patrol unit, a black SUV pulled up to the curb. Out stepped Detective Vance—a man Andrew recognized from various high-profile corporate investigations. Vance had a reputation for being thorough, but also highly transactional. He was a man who knew how to make problems disappear for the right price.
"Mr. Sterling," Vance said, walking into the lobby with his hands on his belt. He glanced at Penny, who was now colored with crayons at the reception desk under the watchful eye of Andrew’s secretary. "We received a call about an attempted kidnapping."
"The suspect is in the holding room," Andrew said, his voice clipped. "My security team neutralized him. He was carrying a concealed firearm without a permit, and he was stalking this child."
Vance nodded, but his expression was curiously blank. "We'll take custody of the suspect. And the child will need to come with us to Child Protective Services until we can locate the mother."
"No," Andrew said immediately.
Vance raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Sterling, with all due respect, you have no legal authority over this child. If she isn't yours, she goes with state services."
"She is mine," Andrew lied, the words slipping past his lips before he could stop them.
The lobby went dead silent. Even his secretary stopped typing.
Andrew stepped closer to Vance, lowering his voice. "Her name is Penny. She is my daughter. She was born out of wedlock, and her mother and I have a private custody agreement. The man who tried to take her was attempting a ransom kidnapping. I am not letting her out of my sight."
Vance stared at Andrew, searching his face for a bluff. "A private custody agreement? I’m going to need to see documentation, Mr. Sterling. Otherwise, I’m legally obligated to take her."
"You'll have the paperwork by noon," Andrew said coldly. "In the meantime, if you try to take her, my legal team will file a harassment lawsuit against the department before you make it to the parking garage. Now, take the suspect and leave."
Vance held Andrew's gaze for a long, tense moment. Finally, he gave a tight, warning smile. "You're playing a dangerous game, Sterling. Some secrets are better left buried."
With that, Vance turned and signaled his men to retrieve the suspect.
Once they were gone, Andrew walked back to his private office, carrying Penny in his arms. She felt incredibly light, her small fingers clutching the lapel of his expensive suit. He sat her down on his leather sofa and ordered his assistant to bring up a hot chocolate and some cookies.
"Marcus," Andrew said, dialing his security chief on his secure line. "I need you to run a full background check on Rebecca Chen. She’s a nurse. Find out which hospital she works at, her address, her family history, and any connection she might have had to my father, Richard Sterling, before he passed away."
"On it, boss," Marcus replied. "What about the kidnapper?"
"He was targeted," Andrew said. "Detective Vance was too eager to get his hands on the kid. He didn't even ask for the suspect's name. They are working together, or someone very powerful is pulling both their strings."
Ten minutes later, Marcus walked into the office, his face grim. He handed Andrew a tablet.
"Rebecca Chen," Marcus said. "She was a pediatric nurse at St. Jude’s. But here’s the kicker, Andrew. Ten years ago, before your father passed, he funded a highly confidential medical research facility. Rebecca Chen was the head nurse in charge of the experimental trials."
Andrew leaned forward. "What kind of trials?"
"Gene therapy," Marcus said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "They were researching rare cardiac anomalies. Specifically, the hereditary heart defect that killed your father. And the same defect that you were diagnosed with three years ago."
Andrew felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck. He had kept his diagnosis a closely guarded secret. If the board of Sterling Investments found out he had a degenerative heart condition, the stock would plunge, and his enemies would oust him in a heartbeat.
"There's more," Marcus continued, glancing at Penny, who was happily drinking her hot chocolate. "The trial was shut down abruptly after your father's death. All records were deleted. But Rebecca Chen didn't just disappear. According to her medical file... she was the surrogate for a private donor."
"Who was the donor?" Andrew whispered.
Marcus tapped the tablet, bringing up a scanned document from ten years ago. It was a frozen embryo release form, signed by Richard Sterling himself.
"The donor wasn't your father, Andrew," Marcus said softly. "It was you. During your college years, when you stored your specimens at the Sterling fertility bank. Your father took them. He created her. Penny isn't just a random child."
Andrew stared at the document, his mind spinning.
Penny was his biological daughter. Created in a lab, authorized by his ruthless father, and hidden away for four years.
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"And her mother?" Andrew asked, his voice shaking.
"Rebecca Chen was admitted to Mercy Hospital under an alias two hours ago," Marcus said. "She was found unconscious in her apartment. Severe head trauma. She's currently in a medically induced coma. Andrew... they are trying to erase everyone who knows the truth."
