Chapter 3 - The Truth Behind the Scars
The penthouse garden was a world away from the noise below. Glass walls offered a panoramic view of the glittering city skyline, and the air smelled of night-blooming jasmine and fresh linen.
A quiet waiter brought Louisa a slice of strawberry shortcake with a sparkler on top, making her giggle with delight. For the first time all evening, I saw a genuine, radiant smile touch Evangeline’s face as she watched my daughter.
“She’s extraordinary,” Evangeline murmured, setting her tea glass down. “Children usually mirror the cruelty of adults in rooms like that. But Louisa... she brought humanity into a room that had run out of it.”
“She has a good heart,” I said softly, sitting across from her. “Her mother passed away three years ago. It’s just been the two of us since. I try to teach her that standing up for people isn't optional.”
Evangeline’s gaze softened, a hint of deep, shared pain passing through her eyes. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Daniel.”
“Thank you,” I replied. Then I leaned back, looking at her carefully. “If you don’t mind me asking... why were you sitting alone down there? Why let men like Clinton treat you like that when you could have ruined them with a single word?”
Evangeline looked out at the city lights, her hand resting over her small clutch bag.
“Because two years ago, I almost died,” she said quietly. “My father passed away unexpectedly, leaving me as the sole heir to Monroe Enterprises. I was young, grieving, and overwhelmed. My former fiancé—a man named Richard Sterling—used my grief against me. He allied with several rogue board members, falsified medical records to claim I was emotionally unfit, and pushed me out of my father’s company.”
I felt a sudden tight knot in my chest. “Sterling? The founder of Sterling Capital?”
“The very same,” she said, her voice laced with quiet steel. “Clinton Miller’s ultimate boss. For two years, Richard has circulated rumors through the city’s high society that I was a broken, unstable recluse. Tonight was my first public appearance since I cleared my name in private arbitration. I sat in that main hall to see who in this city still possessed a soul, and who was merely a puppet on Richard’s string.”
She looked at me, her eyes burning with an intense, steady light. “Everyone laughed or looked away. Except a tired single father who refused to let a woman be turned into a punchline... and a tiny girl who gave me her only candy.”
“They picked the wrong woman to push around,” I said softly.
“And Richard Sterling picked the wrong man to humiliate,” Evangeline replied. She reached across the table, placing her soft hand over mine. “Clinton will report everything to Richard by midnight. Tomorrow, your firm will come under immense pressure to fire you for defending me. Richard destroys anyone who doesn't bow to him.”
I looked over at Louisa, who was happily humming a song while drawing on a napkin with a crayon.
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“Let him try,” I said grimly. “I’ve survived losing the love of my life and raising my daughter on an engineer’s salary. A arrogant billionaire doesn't frighten me.”
Evangeline smiled—a slow, lethal, beautiful expression. “Good. Because tomorrow morning, Daniel, you aren't going to be looking for a new job. You’re going to help me take my father’s empire back.”
