Chapter 17 - The Ultimatum
Mark returned home from a meeting with Sarah to find Emily completely missing, causing sheer panic to instantly grip his chest.
Before he could dial the police to report her disappearance, the front door opened, and Emily walked in looking utterly drained but fiercely determined.
She immediately confessed what she had done, explaining that they now had a powerful, highly motivated ally on the inside of the estate.
Elena Sterling was completely devastated by the truth, and she had sworn she would confront her corrupt husband that very night.
But Alexander Sterling was absolutely not a man who surrendered easily, nor was he someone who tolerated betrayal from his own wife.
At exactly midnight, Mark’s cell phone rang loudly with an unknown, heavily encrypted international number.
When he answered the call, Sterling’s cold, heavily calculated voice echoed menacingly through the phone's speaker.
The arrogant diplomat did not even bother to deny the horrific allegations Emily had brought to his wife.
Instead, he dropped his charming public facade entirely, revealing the ruthless monster hiding underneath.
He casually told Mark that his wife was currently heavily sedated and permanently locked inside her lavish bedroom.
Sterling claimed he had easily convinced his private doctors to declare her medically unstable and suffering from a severe psychotic break.
He then laid out his terms with a terrifying, sociopathic precision that made Mark's blood run completely cold.
He freely admitted that he paid Dr. Patel millions to secure a healthy child because his wife’s severe depression over their infertility was threatening his political image.
He arrogantly reminded Mark that Victoria was completely legally registered as his biological daughter in his powerful home country.
He held absolutely all the political power, all the endless money, and all the legal protection in the world.
He severely warned Mark that if he ever dared to approach his wife again, or if he leaked the story to the press, he would personally destroy Mark’s entire life.
He threatened to aggressively use his political influence to have Grace and Lily permanently taken away by child protective services on fabricated charges of severe abuse.
He threatened to have Sarah completely disbarred and ruined, ensuring she would never practice law again.
And he threatened to ensure that Hope, the undocumented baby with no legal parents, would be thrown into the darkest, most broken corners of the state foster care system.
He firmly told Mark to quietly accept the five million dollars he was willing to wire into his bank account, walk away, and pretend Baby C had died during childbirth.
Mark gripped the phone so tightly the screen nearly cracked, a dark, primal rage erupting violently in his chest.
He looked over at Emily, who was standing right beside him, listening to the horrific threats on speakerphone.
She did not look scared or defeated; she looked exactly like a fierce lioness completely ready to burn the entire world down for her cub.
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Mark sternly told Sterling to keep his disgusting blood money and prepare for absolute war.
He promised the arrogant diplomat that before the week was over, his precious career would be in ashes, and his daughter would be back in her real mother's arms.
