Chapter 1 - The Stranger
I stared at the older man in the gray suit, desperately trying to wipe the pathetic tears from my face.
My hands trembled violently as I realized how miserable I must look standing on the sidewalk with my packed suitcase.
"I am fine, sir, thank you," I lied, my voice cracking from the heavy weight of my shattered life.
The man did not roll his window back up or drive away like most strangers would.
He slowly put the luxury SUV into park and stepped out onto the quiet, wealthy suburban street.
He was tall, with silver hair and an air of unmistakable, quiet authority that commanded absolute respect.
He looked closely at my face, his eyes widening in a mixture of profound shock and deep sorrow.
"You look exactly like her," the man whispered, his voice trembling with an emotion I could not understand.
"Look like who?" I asked, taking a hesitant step backward, suddenly feeling very vulnerable on the empty street.
"My daughter," the man replied softly, never taking his intense gaze off my tear-stained face.
"She passed away twenty years ago in a terrible car accident, just a few miles from this very neighborhood."
He reached into the inner pocket of his tailored suit jacket and pulled out a worn, leather wallet.
He carefully extracted a small, faded photograph and held it out for me to see.
I looked at the old picture, and the remaining breath completely left my lungs.
The young woman in the photograph was practically my exact mirror image, right down to the shape of her eyes.
"My name is Arthur Sterling," the man introduced himself, his voice steadying as he extended a manicured hand.
Sterling was a name that commanded immense power in this city, a family that owned half the real estate downtown.
"I'm Mariana," I replied, nervously shaking his firm hand while trying to process the impossible resemblance.
Arthur looked past me, his sharp eyes lingering on the massive suitcase resting heavily on the concrete sidewalk.
"It seems you are having a terrible day, Mariana," Arthur observed with a gentle, fatherly concern.
"I just found out I am pregnant," I confessed, the painful words tumbling out before I could stop them.
"And I also just found out my husband of eleven years is replacing me with a younger woman."
Arthur’s kind expression instantly hardened, a dark, protective fury flashing in his pale blue eyes.
Mariana left completely alone with her suitcase. Nguồn: Facebook
"Nobody should ever be left alone on the street like this, especially not a mother-to-be," Arthur stated firmly.
He walked over to my heavy suitcase, effortlessly lifting it into the spacious trunk of his luxury SUV.
"Get in the car, Mariana," Arthur ordered gently, opening the passenger door with a polite bow.
"I am going to make sure the man who did this to you regrets it for the rest of his miserable life."
I hesitated for a fraction of a second, looking back at the house where Ryan and his new mistress were celebrating my departure.
I climbed into the passenger seat, completely unaware that accepting Arthur's help was about to ignite a catastrophic war.
As Arthur started the engine, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a private number.
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"Cancel all my afternoon meetings," Arthur commanded the person on the other end of the line.
"And tell the legal team to immediately purchase the mortgage on Ryan Montgomery's property."
