Chapter 2 - The Wrath of a FatherThe marble stairs seemed endless as Richard charged upward, his boots pounding against the imported stone with the force of an oncoming freight train. Victoria backed away from the railing, her hands flying to her mouth as she realized there was nowhere left to run. Her elaborate web of control, deception, and cruelty was finally collapsing around her.
"How could you?" Richard yelled, his voice cracking with a mixture of raw grief and murderous rage as he closed the distance between them. "That is your own granddaughter! You tried to kill my child!"
"I did nothing of the sort!" Victoria shrieked defensively, attempting to maintain her haughty composure even as her voice trembled. "The incompetent maid tripped! She dropped the baby, Richard! I was just trying to catch her!"
"Don't you dare lie to me!" Richard bellowed, his hand shooting out to grab Victoria by the shoulder, spinning her around with enough force to send her stumbling against the wall. "I saw you! I walked through that door and saw you throw my daughter over the edge! You are a monster!"
Down in the foyer, Elena cradled little Lily gently, whispering soothing words while rocking her back to sleep. The infant's cries had quieted into soft, rhythmic sniffles, but the tension in the grand house remained suffocatingly thick.
Victoria sneered, shoving Richard’s hand away and straightening her gold dress with trembling fingers. "You're blind, Richard! You've let this low-class family ruin our legacy! That child doesn't belong here, and neither does that pathetic excuse for a wife you married!"
"Get out," Richard whispered, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl that commanded absolute obedience. He pointed a trembling finger toward the grand double doors downstairs. "Pack your bags, strip your name from every account, and get out of my house right now. If you ever set foot on this property again, I won't just call the police—I will ensure you spend the rest of your life behind bars."
Victoria stared at her son, her eyes widening in profound disbelief. For her entire life, she had ruled the Sterling family with an iron fist, bending everyone to her will. To be cast aside by her own flesh and blood felt like an unforgivable treason.
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"You'll regret this, Richard," Victoria hissed, her voice dripping with venomous promise as she turned and marched toward the master suite to gather her belongings. "You think you've won, but you've only just signed your own family's death warrant."
Richard stood alone on the landing, his chest heaving as he watched her disappear down the hallway. He knew his mother was petty, vindictive, and wealthy beyond measure, but he had never imagined her capable of attempted infanticide. As he walked slowly back down the stairs to check on his wife and daughter, he knew that the battle lines had been permanently drawn.
