Chapter 4

I stared at her, stunned. I had never known — that someone as formidable as Elizabeth had once carried a humiliation like that.

"I didn't cry. I didn't make a scene. I spent five years methodically stripping him of every decision-making power he had, and in the end, I pushed him out of the company completely." Elizabeth turned to look at me, her eyes sharp as a blade. "Eve, remember this — marriage is a game. There's no such thing as both sides winning. Either you win, or you lose. Never put your faith in a man's conscience."

Daisy hadn't given up.

A woman who had spent her life using men as shortcuts — how could she ever let go of a tree that had been feeding her so steadily?

When William cut off her money, she found other ways to harass him. When he stopped answering her calls, she kept dialing from different numbers.

And then, one Saturday afternoon, a call came through on the house landline.

At the time, Elizabeth was in the living room having tea, and I was going over documents for an acquisition deal. William had just come downstairs.

The butler answered the phone, then paused. "Ma'am, it's a call for Mr. Sterling."

William's expression shifted instantly. He crossed the room in a few quick strides, reaching for the phone to hang up.

But I was faster. I walked over and hit the speakerphone button.

"Will! Why are you ignoring me? I'm pregnant!"

Daisy's sharp, wailing voice echoed through the spacious living room like a bomb going off, sucking all the air out of the space in an instant.

The color drained from William's face. His knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed to the floor.

"What the hell are you talking about?! We've been over for a long time!" he screamed at the phone, his voice shaking.

"I'm not making this up! I'm two months along! Will, you can't just abandon me — you told me you'd divorce that frump of yours and marry me…"

I listened calmly. Strangely, I didn't feel even a flicker of anger. Just a hollow kind of amusement.

I glanced over at Elizabeth.

She set down her teacup, rose slowly and deliberately, and walked over to William.

Crack.

A sharp, vicious slap landed across William's face. He stumbled from the force of it, blood immediately trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"You disgusting piece of trash." Elizabeth's eyes were ice cold. "You've dragged this family's name through the mud."

"Mom, I didn't know — I swear I didn't know she was pregnant…" William pressed a hand to his face, his words tumbling out in a panicked mess.

"You didn't know?" Elizabeth let out a cold laugh. "You couldn't keep yourself in check, so now you deal with the consequences. Call the lawyers. Now. I want the remaining thirty percent of Sterling Group transferred entirely into Eve's name."

William's head snapped up, his eyes wide with horror. "Mom! Are you out of your mind?! That's the backbone of the company! If you give it all to her, what does that leave me?"

"It leaves you nothing — because that's what you are." Elizabeth jabbed a finger at him. "Starting today, you're just a salaried employee. Eve is Sterling Group's majority shareholder. And if you don't like it, get out of this house right now. Go find your little mistress and figure it out on your own."

William completely fell apart.

He knew Elizabeth never made empty threats.

He dropped to his knees in front of me with a thud, wrapping his arms around my legs and holding on for dear life.

"Eve. Honey. Please. Talk to my mom for me. I can't lose the company — I can't. I will never acknowledge that child, I swear. I'll make her get rid of it right now. The only child I'll ever claim is the one you're carrying."

Watching him grovel like that made my stomach turn.

I shook him off with a firm kick and looked down at him.

"William, you're pathetic."

I turned toward the phone. "Did you hear that, Daisy? He wants you to terminate the pregnancy. If you want money, take him to court. Though I'll warn you — there's nothing left in his name."

Then I pulled the phone cord out of the wall.

That afternoon, the lawyers arrived. William signed the share transfer agreement with red-rimmed eyes and trembling hands.

From that moment on, I was the true power behind Sterling Group.

And William became just another salaried employee working under me.