Chapter 4 - The Mother’s Arrival
The heavy double doors at the end of the executive corridor burst open, the sharp clack of high heels shattering the tense atmosphere.
Eleanor Sterling walked into the hallway wearing an immaculate navy blue dress, flanked by two private security officers in dark suits.
The sixty-year-old matriarch of the Sterling dynasty carried herself with the supreme, terrifying authority of old East Coast money.
“What is the delay, Marcus?” Eleanor demanded, her eyes sweeping across the hallway before freezing on the girl in the dark green maid uniform.
The color instantly drained from Eleanor’s face, her icy blue eyes narrowing into two dangerous slits as she recognized her former daughter-in-law.
“You,” Eleanor spat, her aristocratic voice laced with venom as she stepped forward, her security guards trailing closely behind her.
“I paid your family two hundred thousand dollars to stay in Ohio, girl. How dare you show your face in this hotel!”
Claire stood her ground, smoothing down the front of her dark green uniform, her classic girl-next-door appearance contrasting sharply with the wealth surrounding her.
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“I didn’t take your money, Mrs. Sterling,” Claire replied firmly, her light freckles bold under the bright chandelier lights.
“I gave the check to your legal team’s receptionist and took a bus to Greenwich so I could pay off my father’s medical debts myself.”
