Chapter 2 – The Widow Everyone Erased
The laughter disappeared as though someone had switched off the sound inside the boutique.
Vanessa stared at the elderly woman.
Then she laughed again, louder than before.
"So now you're claiming to be Mrs. Sterling?"
Several wealthy guests joined in.
Someone even pulled out a phone, secretly recording the encounter.
"This is going viral."
"The old lady's completely delusional."
Vanessa leaned closer.
"Mrs. Sterling died decades ago."
The woman smiled gently.
"No."
"People were simply told she disappeared."
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
"Enough."
She nodded toward security.
"Escort her outside."
One guard reached for the elderly woman's shoulder...
But before he touched her...
The boutique's front doors opened once more.
Every employee immediately straightened.
Richard Sterling Jr.—the current CEO of the Sterling family empire—had just entered with several board members.
Vanessa rushed toward him.
"Sir! Perfect timing."
"We have a woman pretending to be your mother."
Richard barely looked up.
"Remove her."
Then...
The old woman quietly spoke.
"Richard."
He stopped walking.
Only his closest childhood friends knew she pronounced his name that way.
Slowly...
He turned around.
Their eyes met.
For several endless seconds...
Neither of them moved.
The board members looked confused.
Vanessa smiled nervously.
"Sir... she's obviously lying."
The old woman reached into her handbag once more.
This time...
She removed a tiny brass key.
"I wondered if you'd remember."
Richard's face turned completely white.
His breathing became uneven.
Because there was only one key like that in the entire world.
It belonged to the hidden vault beneath Sterling Manor.
A vault containing the original ownership documents of Sterling Crown...
Documents no one had seen in over thirty years.
His hands began shaking.
The board members exchanged uneasy glances.
Vanessa frowned.
"Sir?"
Richard slowly walked toward the old woman.
His eyes filled with tears.
Then...
To everyone's absolute disbelief...
The billionaire CEO dropped to one knee in the middle of the showroom.
His voice cracked as he whispered,
"...Mother?"
The old woman looked at him sadly.
"No, Richard."
May you like
"You don't get to call me that..."
"...until you explain why your lawyers declared me dead while I was still alive."
