Chapter 18
Sterling stood by the tall floor–to–ceiling window, a freshly lit cigarette between his fingers.
Ever since he realized Aurora was the one he’d been looking for all along, he had men combing the
entire city for her–but found nothing. Every way he tried to reach her led to a dead end. Her
numbers were deactivated. Her presence, erased.
All that remained in him was guilt–and desperation.
He hated that he hadn’t recognized her. Hated even more that after everything he’d done, he might
not even get the chance to explain.
Now, all he could think about was one thing: finding her. Fast.
A knock on the door pulled him out of his haze. He stubbed the cigarette out immediately.
“I heard you’re threatening to go public with this?” His voice was cold as ice. “Is that supposed to
scare me?”
Mr. Wyndham, who had just stepped inside, visibly flinched. The air in the room had turned arctic.
“N–No, of course not. You’ve got it wrong,” he stammered. “I’m just… just trying to save a good
marriage from falling apart…”
Gone was his usual arrogance–his voice had a pitiful, almost groveling tone.
Sterling let out a low chuckle, the contempt in his eyes sharp enough to cut.
“A good marriage?” he repeated. “Do you think I’m stupid, Mr. Wyndham? That I’d just let you and your daughter con me like that?”
Mr. Wyndham couldn’t meet his gaze. But thinking of his daughter starving herself at home, he
braced himself and tried again.
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“My wife and I–we were thrilled about the match,” he said. “Does it really matter who took care of you, as long as you two got along? I figured, why not just… go with it.“.
Sterling stared at him for a long beat, then took a step forward, grabbing the man by the collar and yanking him off his feet.
“So you’re admitting it wasn’t Scarlet?” he growled. “It was Aurora. Say it.”
Mr. Wyndham, already trembling, looked down at the street far below–and collapsed to the floor
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in fear.
“Yes! Yes–it was Aurora! Not Scarlet!”
“We didn’t know at first, I swear,” he sputtered. “But then Scarlet said the girl you were looking for looked a lot like Aurora, and… we just went with it. That bracelet? That was Aurora’s too.”
Sterling’s jaw tightened.
“You think I wouldn’t care who you married me off to? That either daughter would do?”
“Scarlet is the daughter we waited years for,” Mr. Wyndham said quietly. “Aurora… she was born just to save her sister. That’s all.”
Hearing those words, Sterling suddenly understood.
Understood why she’d cut ties with them.
Understood how much it must’ve taken to survive in that family at all.
His chest tightened with a sharp, unfamiliar ache.
“Where is she now?” he demanded. “Did you hide her somewhere?”
“She left for England,” Mr. Wyndham said quickly. “But I don’t know the address.”
Sterling stared at the man’s face, saw nothing but cowardice and callous indifference.
He turned to the bodyguards. “Take him downstairs. Lock him up with his wife.”
Mr. Wyndham’s face turned white. “What? But I told you everything! You can’t do this!”
“Not afraid of consequences, Mr. Wyndham?” Sterling said flatly, his voice dry as bone.
His cries echoed as the guards dragged him out. Then–silence. Just the steady tick of the clock.
Sterling returned to the window, pulled out another cigarette. But his lighter refused to work. Enraged, he hurled the glass ashtray to the floor. Shards scattered in every direction. A piece cut his forearm, blood welling to the surface.
But he didn’t flinch. Didn’t even feel it.
His heart was elsewhere.
Aurora…
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Where are you?
I know the truth now.
Just once–please. Let me see you again.
