Chapter 4 - SECRETS BURIED BENEATH THE CRYSTAL CHANDELIER
The opulence of the grand foyer felt suffocating as David escorted his mother toward the private elevator leading to the secure family wing. Maya bent down to pick up the metallic silver mop handle, wiping it clean before placing it neatly onto her yellow cleaning cart.
"Wait a moment, Maya; don't leave just yet, I need you to brief me on everything that happened while I was away on business," David instructed. Maya paused, turning her gaze toward the handsome corporate heir with a mixture of professional respect and lingering apprehension.
"Mrs. Sterling has been systematically cutting off her medical caretakers and isolating her from outside contact for the past six months," Maya revealed. David clenched his jaw so tightly a muscle twitched sharply along his cheek, absorbing the devastating betrayal of his trust.
"I trusted her to look after my mother while I was closing international acquisitions across Europe, and she turned this home into a prison," he muttered. Upstairs in the master suite, Vanessa paced frantically across the Persian rug, clutching her smartphone to dial her high-priced divorce lawyer.
"Listen to me very carefully; my husband just walked in early and caught us in a domestic dispute, you need to draft asset freezes immediately," she hissed. Her attorney on the other end paused, warning her that attacking a wealthy corporate executive without leverage was professional suicide.
"I don't care about leverage! Find a way to twist this or I will find someone else who can protect my financial settlement!" Vanessa screamed. She slammed the phone down onto the antique dressing table, her chest heaving as she glared at her own reflection in the gold-trimmed mirror.
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Downstairs, David instructed his head of security to lock down all perimeter gates and revoke Vanessa's biometric access cards immediately. The mansion was no longer a playground for a cruel socialite; it was a crime scene waiting for federal investigators to arrive.
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