Chapter 3 - The Dupont Diamond Scandal
Evelyn Dupont’s sharp, silver-clad figure stiffened as she processed Claire’s words, her eyes darting between Marcus and the young maid.
As the daughter of Connecticut’s most powerful defense contractor, Evelyn had spent three months believing she was Marcus Sterling’s sole fiancee.
Their upcoming engagement gala downstairs in the grand ballroom was supposed to merge Sterling Logistics with Dupont Aerospace in a multi-billion-dollar merger.
“Marcus, tell me she’s lying!” Evelyn demanded, her voice rising into a sharp pitch that echoed off the high mahogany-paneled walls.
“My father just signed the four-hundred-million-dollar investment deal with your company ten minutes ago in the suite!”
Marcus slowly turned his head toward Evelyn, his expression cold, guarded, and devoid of the romantic charm he had displayed at dinner.
“The deal is based on false pretenses, Evelyn,” Marcus said flatly, his broad shoulders squaring as he stepped between the two women.
“I never filed the divorce papers my mother prepared six months ago.”
“In the eyes of the state of Connecticut, Claire Vance Sterling is still my legal wife and the co-owner of my shares.”
Claire gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as the gray vacuum cleaner handle rattled against the marble baseboards.
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She had spent six months hiding in this hotel, cleaning rooms for eighteen dollars an hour to keep her father’s pension safe from the Sterling family attorneys.
She had no idea that the legal documents she had been forced to sign under duress had never been submitted to the probate court in Hartford.
