Chapter 6 - The Uncle Nobody Mentioned
Grant Sterling was Charles’s eldest son.
He was forty-two, politically connected, and publicly presented as the responsible heir to the Sterling fortune.
Marcus knew another version.
Grant drank too much.
Lost money quietly.
And treated employees as though silence were part of their salary.
He also hated Marcus.
When Miranda married a soldier instead of the wealthy attorney Charles selected, Grant called Marcus “a temporary rebellion in uniform.”
Now his voice came from Lily’s hidden phone.
“Once she says Marcus frightens her, the judge signs emergency custody.”
Miranda answered, “She will not say it.”
Grant laughed.
“Children say whatever makes the pressure stop.”
Marcus looked at Miranda.
“You allowed him near her.”
Miranda shook her head.
“I tried to stop him.”
“You closed the curtain.”
“Because Grant threatened to ruin all of us.”
“Your daughter was terrified.”
“So was I.”
Marcus’s voice became colder.
“You were the adult.”
The video showed only darkness because Lily had hidden the phone in her pocket.
But the audio was clear.
Charles discussed a family trust established by Lily’s late grandmother.
The trust held Sterling hotel shares worth nearly seventy million dollars.
Lily was a direct beneficiary.
If Marcus retained custody, he would control her voting rights until adulthood.
If Miranda received sole custody, Charles and Grant could direct those rights through her.
A major sale required Lily’s shares.
Marcus had unknowingly become the last obstacle to a transaction that would save Grant from financial collapse.
“You did this for a vote?” Marcus asked.
Charles corrected him.
“For the future of the family.”
“Lily is your family.”
“She is a child.”
“She is not property.”
Charles’s restraint cracked.
“You know nothing about what it takes to preserve a dynasty.”
Marcus looked at the cast on Lily’s leg.
“I know exactly what you were willing to destroy.”
The video ended with footsteps approaching Lily’s hiding place.
Then the image shook.
Grant said, “Give me the phone.”
Lily screamed.
The recording stopped.
Marcus looked toward the doorway.
“Where is Grant?”
Nobody answered.
One suited guard finally removed his sunglasses.
“He left the hospital twenty minutes before you arrived.”
“Why?”
The guard’s jaw tightened.
“Because someone warned him you were coming.”
Marcus turned toward Miranda.
She shook her head.
Then Charles’s phone vibrated.
May you like
The screen displayed Grant’s name.
👉 Grant had fled the hospital—but his call revealed that one of the suited guards was ready to betray the Sterling family.
