Chapter 4 - The Phoenix Rises
The Sterling Foundation’s annual charity auction was the most exclusive event of the month. Victoria Sterling was hosting, preening for the cameras in a diamond necklace, acting as if the humiliation from a month ago had never happened.
The room went completely silent when the double doors opened.
Alexander Vance walked in, holding the arm of a woman who immediately commanded the attention of every billionaire in the room.
Victoria frowned, squinting at the stunning woman. The red power suit, the flawless makeup, the posture of royalty. It took a full ten seconds for the realization to hit her.
"Security!" Victoria shrieked, her voice cracking. "What is that... that waitress doing here?!"
Alexander raised a single, commanding hand, stopping the guards in their tracks. "Waitress? Victoria, darling, you must be confused. Allow me to introduce my new business partner and the CEO of Vanguard Capital, Ms. Clara Vanguard."
Whispers exploded through the room like a shockwave. The Vanguard name was legendary in this city.
Richard Sterling, Victoria’s father, pushed through the crowd. He was a heavily built man with a red, sweating face. He looked like he had seen a ghost. "Vanguard? Thomas’s daughter? You’ve been dead for years!"
"Resurrected, Richard," Clara smiled, her voice dripping with venom coated in honey. "And I’ve come to buy back my father’s hotel."
"It’s not for sale to you!" Richard spat, terrified by the sudden appearance of the girl he had robbed.
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"Everything is for sale if the price is right," Clara said smoothly. She turned to the crowd of investors, the very people Richard needed to survive. "Vanguard Capital is officially launching a hostile takeover of the Sterling Group. Any shareholder who sells their stock to me by midnight receives a twenty percent premium. Anyone who stays with Richard Sterling will drown with him."
It was a declaration of war. Victoria looked like she was going to faint. Clara held her gaze, raising a glass of champagne, and took a slow, deliberate sip.
