Chapter 3 - The Snake in the Garden
Victoria Sterling was the daughter of Arthur Sterling, the majority shareholder of Sterling Logistics—Carter Maritime’s largest corporate rival and former partner. For three years, Victoria had been aggressively pursuing a marriage with Jonathan, viewing a union between their families as the ultimate power move to consolidate control over the Eastern Seaboard’s shipping routes.
She was a woman accustomed to getting precisely what she wanted, and the sight of a humble maid sitting in the estate's most exclusive room was an insult she could barely digest.
"An appointment?" Victoria sneered, taking a step closer, her heels clicking sharply on the hardwood floor. "Jonathan, my father and I are hosting the annual Maritime Gala in forty-eight hours! I came here to finalize our seating arrangements, only to find the entire staff whispering that you’ve lost your mind over a maid and her bastard child!"
"Watch your mouth, Victoria," Jonathan warned, his tone so low and lethal that the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. "You are speaking about the daughter of Ethan Miller."
Victoria froze. Her sharp eyes blinked in sudden surprise, a brief flicker of panic flashing across her face before she quickly masked it behind a cold, mocking laugh.
"Ethan Miller?" Victoria scoffed, though her voice lacked its previous confidence. "Ethan died seven years ago on your ill-fated boat, Jonathan. Are you honestly telling me you're falling for a cheap sob story from a girl who probably picked that medal up at a pawn shop?"
Emily stood up from the sofa, holding Lily tightly against her chest, her face pale but her eyes flashing with quiet fury.
"I didn't buy this at a pawn shop," Emily said, her voice steady despite her trembling hands. "Ethan gave it to me himself. He was the most honest, decent man I ever knew."
Victoria turned her sharp gaze onto Emily, scanning her from head to toe with unadulterated contempt. "Keep your mouth shut when your betters are speaking, girl. You think because you worked a three-day cleaning shift here you can con your way into a billionaire's fortune?"
"That is enough!" Jonathan bellowed, stepping directly into Victoria’s space, his imposing height towering over her. "You will leave my home right now, Victoria. If you say another disrespectful word to Emily or mention Ethan's daughter again, I will pull Carter Maritime’s shipping contracts from Sterling Logistics before the sun sets today."
Victoria gasped, taking an instinctive step back. Threatening the Sterling family's contracts was a nuclear option—one that could cripple her father’s business.
"You're threatening my father for them?" Victoria asked, her voice trembling with rage.
"I am protecting my family," Jonathan stated coldly. "Get out."
Victoria glared at Jonathan, then threw a venomous look at Emily and the quiet infant in her arms. "This isn't over, Jonathan. My father won't let you throw away our business alliance for a dead man's ghost."
She turned on her high heels and marched out of the suite, slamming the heavy oak door behind her so hard the crystal chandelier rattled.
Silence descended upon the room once more.
Emily sank back onto the sofa, shaking. "Jonathan... she's right about one thing. My presence here is going to cause trouble for you. People like her... they won't understand. They’ll think I’m taking advantage of you."
Jonathan walked over to Emily and knelt on one knee in front of her, placing his hands on the armrest of the sofa. He looked up at her with fierce, absolute conviction.
"Let them think whatever they want, Emily," Jonathan said softly. "I spent seven years surrounded by corporate snakes like Victoria, living in a cold house, thinking about what I lost. Today, for the first time in seven years, I felt like my life had a purpose again when I held Ethan’s child."
He reached out, gently touching Lily’s tiny hand. "You and Lily are staying here. I will hire security to ensure no one—including Victoria or her father—comes near you."
"Why would Victoria react like that to Ethan’s name?" Emily asked suddenly, a thoughtful frown creasing her brow. "When you mentioned Ethan, she looked... frightened for a second."
Jonathan’s dark eyebrows drew together. Emily was right. Victoria’s reaction hadn't just been jealousy or snobbery; there had been a flash of genuine panic in her eyes before she masked it.
Why would the daughter of Arthur Sterling be terrified of a dead engineer’s name?
"I’ll have my private investigators look into it," Jonathan said quietly, a dark suspicion beginning to root itself in his mind. "If there was more to Ethan’s accident seven years ago—or his death three years ago—I will find out."
He stood up, adjusting his cuffs. "Rest now, Emily. Tonight, my team is arriving to conduct a full DNA verification test. Once the legal results are confirmed, Lily will officially be named an heir to Ethan’s share of Carter Maritime."
Emily looked at Jonathan, seeing not the terrifying billionaire the staff whispered about, but a loyal man desperate to honor the brother he had lost.
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"Thank you, Jonathan," Emily said softly. "For believing in us."
Jonathan gave her a rare, genuine smile—a light breaking through his dark features. "Thank Ethan, Emily. He guided you home."
