Chapter 2 - The Whispers in the Courtyard
The temperature on the grand terrace dropped significantly, despite the warm September sun. Victoria’s eyes flicked down to Leo, Sam, and Maya, who stood quietly beside me, their posture unnervingly upright.
“And who,” Victoria said, her voice dripping with aristocratic condescension, “do these children belong to? Surely you didn't bring stray orphans to Liam’s wedding, Gina. That would be wildly inappropriate, even for you.”
A cluster of nearby guests—old-money socialites who used to invite me to charity luncheons before pretending I didn't exist—leaning in to catch every word.
I smiled, stepping protectively in front of the triplets. “They aren't strays, Victoria. They’re family. Allow me to introduce my children. Leo, Sam, Maya, say hello to your great-grandmother.”
Victoria’s breath hitched. A rare, genuine crack appeared in her icy composure. She stared at Leo’s jawline—the exact replica of Liam’s—and Sam’s sharp, analytical eyes.
“That’s impossible,” Victoria whispered, her voice tightening. “When you left, you signed an agreement. You were—the doctors said—you were barren, Gina. That was the entire point of the settlement.”
“Medical science can be terribly unreliable, can’t it?” I replied, my tone dripping with sweet, lethal poison. “Or perhaps the doctors just didn't know what they were looking at. But then, the Sterling family has always struggled with basic biology, haven't they?”
Before Victoria could recover her tongue, a commotion erupted near the double doors leading into the grand ballroom.
“Gina?”
The music from the string quartet stuttered to a halt.
Standing in the doorway, wearing a bespoke midnight-blue tuxedo with a white rose pinned to his lapel, was Liam Sterling. He looked older, harder around the edges, the lines of CEO stress carved deep around his mouth. But the moment his eyes landed on me, every bit of color drained from his face.
He took two steps forward, completely ignoring the hundred elite guests watching us. “What are you doing here?”
“Hello, Liam,” I said, my voice carrying clear across the silent courtyard. “Congratulations on the wedding. You look... stressed. Must be all that last-minute planning.”
Liam’s eyes dropped past me, landing on the three children standing quietly in matching formal wear. He froze. The air seemed to leave his lungs in a single, ragged gasp. He took another step forward, his hand trembling slightly as he reached out toward Leo.
“Who... who are they?” Liam whispered, his voice cracking.
“Dad?” Maya piped up, tilting her head with innocent curiosity as she looked up at the man in the tuxedo. “Is that the man who looks like my brother?”
A collective gasp echoed through the courtyard. Several socialites dropped their champagne flutes.
Liam staggered backward, his eyes wide with horror and realization as he stared at the miniature versions of himself standing right in front of him.
“Gina,” Liam breathed, his voice barely a sound. “Are they... are they mine?”
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“Well, Liam,” I smiled, my eyes flashing with a cold, triumphant fire. “They certainly didn't fall out of the sky. Why don’t you ask your mother? She’s the expert on family legacy.”
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