Chapter 5 - The Heir and the Empire
"Catherine, please," Richard begged, his voice cracking, the polished CEO entirely broken. "We're having a son. We're a family. You can't leave me with nothing."
"You left yourself with nothing the moment you decided I was disposable," Catherine replied, her voice devoid of any pity.
She signaled the waiter, who immediately glided over with a silver tray. Dominic signed the exorbitant check without looking at it.
"Dominic and I are transferring the Sterling assets into a new holding company," Catherine said, standing up gracefully, her designer coat draped over her shoulders by the maître d'. "It will be placed in a blind trust for my son. He will inherit an empire built on solid ground, not on his father's lies."
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Richard stood rooted to the carpet, humiliated, ruined, and entirely alone.
Catherine didn't look back at him. She placed her hand lightly on Dominic Thorne’s offered arm, and together, the two most powerful people in Ethelgard walked out into the cool Manhattan night, leaving Richard Sterling to choke on the ashes of the life he had burned down all by himself.
