Chapter 7 - The Contract of Ruin
The grand study of Sterling Manor was suffocatingly hot.
Daniel paced across the Persian rug, running his fingers through his graying hair. Over the past few years, bad luck had struck his estate like a plague. His ships had sank, his coal mines had flooded, and his investments had turned to ash. He was broke, facing public ruin and the loss of his noble title.
His mother, Lady Genevieve, sat in an armchair, her hands trembling as she adjusted her pearl necklace. "Where is this Madame Vance? She is late. Does she not know who we are?"
"Silence, Mother!" Daniel snapped nervously. "She is the only person in the province willing to lend us fifty thousand gold sovereigns. If she pulls out, the bailiffs will repossess the estate by Monday!"
The heavy mahogany doors of the study flew open.
Two tall guards in black coats stepped inside, followed by a tall, striking woman dressed in a magnificent obsidian gown. A delicate black lace mask covered her eyes, but her posture was that of an absolute monarch. Behind her walked a handsome five-year-old boy in a tailored suit, holding her hand, and an elderly woman carrying a leather ledger.
Daniel stepped forward, bowing hastily. "Madame Vance! Welcome to Sterling Manor. Please, sit."
Eleanor walked silently across the room, her eyes taking in every detail of the mansion she had once been thrown out of to die. She did not take a seat. She stood over Daniel’s desk, her aura commanding and terrifying.
"Lord Daniel," Eleanor’s voice was smooth, disguised with a low, cultured accent. "I have reviewed your financial requests. The fifty thousand sovereigns have been transferred to your account."
Daniel let out a massive sigh of relief, a triumphant smile breaking across his face. "Thank you! Oh, Madame Vance, you have saved the Sterling name! I assure you, the repayment terms—"
"There are no repayment terms," Eleanor interrupted coldly.
Daniel paused, confused. "I... I beg your pardon?"
Eleanor signaled to Martha, who stepped forward and threw a thick stack of legal documents onto the desk.
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"You did not read the fine print of the mortgage agreement you signed yesterday, Daniel," Eleanor said, dropping the artificial accent, her true voice echoing through the room like a thunderclap. "You pledged immediate forfeiture of the entire Sterling title and estate if it was proven that your lineage was built on fraud."
Lady Genevieve stood up, her face pale. "Who do you think you are to talk to my son in such a manner?!"
