Chapter 6 - The Unwanted Reunion
It was six months later. I was attending a charity auction in the city, the first public appearance I had made since the birth of the twins. I was there on behalf of the foundation, representing the Sterling family.
The ballroom was filled with the elite—the same people who had toasted Weston’s success two years prior, now tripping over themselves to offer their support to me.
I was standing near the center of the room, talking to the city’s Mayor, when a familiar voice caused my blood to freeze.
"Jade?"
I turned to see my mother—the woman who had abandoned me at the orphanage when I was five.
She looked older, her face lined with a desperation that was almost pitiable. She had clearly heard about the Sterling inheritance and was attempting to crawl back into my life.
"I’ve been looking everywhere for you," she started, her hands clasped together. "I heard what happened to you. I heard about the babies. I wanted to come, but I didn't know where you were."
"You were my mother for five years, and then you were nothing," I said, my voice cold. "What do you want?"
"I’m sick, Jade," she lied, her eyes searching mine for any sign of softening. "I don't have much time left. I just wanted to see my grandchildren."
I laughed, a short, sharp sound. "You don't have grandchildren. You have a daughter who survived despite you, and that is all."
She tried to grab my arm, but one of the security guards stepped between us instantly.
"Don't touch her," the guard warned.
My grandfather appeared beside me, his eyes fixed on the woman who had once been his daughter-in-law. "You were paid off twenty years ago, Elena. You signed a contract forfeiting all claims to this family. If you approach my granddaughter again, we will not be using money to settle the account. We will be using the court system to pursue every cent of the bribe you took, along with damages for abandonment."
May you like
She turned and fled, her heels clicking rapidly on the marble floor.
I took a deep breath, looking around the room. I was surrounded by power, by wealth, by the people who had once ignored me. And I knew that I would never be ignored again.
