Chapter 3: The Financial Guillotine
Liam didn't yell. He didn't throw things. He simply pulled his phone from his pocket, his eyes never leaving his mother’s face.
"Liam, put that phone away," Eleanor demanded, finally showing a crack in her armor. "I am your mother. I built this family name."
"You built a lie," Liam replied. He tapped the screen.
"Bank services, this is Liam Sterling," he said, his voice icy. "Initiate the freeze on all secondary accounts. Yes, the ones linked to the primary estate. Specifically, the ones under Eleanor Sterling."
"Liam, don't you dare!" Eleanor screeched, lunging for the phone, but Liam stepped back, his presence alone enough to make her recoil.
"Remove her from the company board of directors. Effective immediately. Revoke all access to the family properties, including the summer estate and the vehicle fleet."
"You’re cutting me off?" she shrieked, her voice cracking. "I am the matriarch of this empire! You are nothing without my guidance!"
"I am the CEO," Liam corrected. "And you are a guest who overstayed her welcome. Security is on their way."
May you like
It was clinical. It was fast. It was absolute. I watched as Eleanor’s world, which she had spent years building on power and fear, evaporated in less than five minutes. She tried to plead, then she tried to threaten, but Liam simply turned his back on her, focusing his entire attention on me. He knelt, checking my face, his hands trembling as he touched my cheek.
"I am so sorry," he whispered. "I let this happen. I let her do this."
