Chapter 125

“The first one did what she shouldn’t have, the second one went where she shouldn’t have gone, and the third one I’ve never even seen her.”
The first woman who married in had ulterior motives; she’d been bribed by people from Riverton. No sooner had she entered the house than she started looking for secrets to steal. She barely made it into the study before she was caught.
If there’s one thing Harrison can’t stand, it’s betrayal. There’s no way he’d let her
off easy.
The second woman didn’t have any schemes, just a lack of sense. With a little nudge from Alice, she barged straight into the room where Harrison dealt with traitors. She was too fragile for that went mad with fright on the spot.
The third was Nancy, the one who threatened to jump out a window. She never even made it through the doors of Rosewood Manor, so of course Harrison had never laid eyes on her.
Hearing all this, Anastasia felt both heartbroken and furious.
Heartbroken that her husband had been betrayed, and angry that he, so blameless, was slandered by all those wild rumors swirling outside.
“I knew they were making things up! My husband would never do anything like that!”
At her words, Harrison remembered the party at Aaron Lancaster’s house. He recalled how she’d overheard someone speaking ill of him, the way she’d bristled and jumped to his defense without hesitation. He couldn’t help but smile, his dark eyes warming.
From across the room, Logan watched the scene in silence.
Sure, the rumors out there might be exaggerated, but when it came to Mr. Harrison Lancaster’s temperament and methods… well, there was more than a little truth to them.
Is this what they mean when they say love is blind?
Lost in his thoughts, Logan was startled when Harrison’s icy gaze suddenly fell on him.
That look said one thing, loud and clear: Why are you still here?
Logan froze. Right. He really needed to learn when to make himself scarce. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs.net
Later, just before bed, Anastasia remembered something. She pulled out her phone to check her bank account.
Sure enough, at eight that evening, the Sinclairs had transferred eighty million to her.
Hmph. That would settle the debt, wouldn’t it?
The thought of the Sinclairs’ faces at that moment gave her a rush of satisfaction. But then, just as she was savoring her victory, her phone rang. Gabriel.
She had a good idea what he wanted, but she picked up anyway.
“That eighty million-the Sinclairs paid you back, didn’t they?” Gabriel got straight to the point. “The family business needs funds right now. Transfer the money over.”
It wasn’t a request. It was an order.
Anastasia’s eyes turned cold, her tone edged with sarcasm.
“The family business? And what does that have to do with me?”
Which brought her back to the beginning.
Back when her mother was still alive, the Sterling family had flourished. Sterling Group was the undisputed leader in Fairhaven.
But shortly before her mother’s accident-maybe sensing something was coming -her mother had decisively split the company in two. Half went to her husband, Gabriel, and half to Anastasia and her mother’s side of the family-the very shares Nora later tried to steal.
In her will, her mother had made it perfectly clear: of the half left to her husband, at least 40% was meant for her daughter. Gabriel was only to hold it in trust.
Gabriel had never liked it, but he didn’t dare make a scene he knew he’d contributed little to Sterling Group, which had been built almost entirely by his wife.
But after Cecilia’s death, everything changed.
To this day, the only shares Anastasia had actually received were those her grandfather’s family had held in trust-and even those Nora nearly managed to swindle out of her hands.
As for the 40% Gabriel was supposed to pass to her? She hadn’t seen a single share.
Meanwhile, when Penelope and her sister came of age, each received 20%. Anastasia had objected at the time, of course-but Gabriel’s response?
“You’ve already got plenty. Why fight your sisters over more?”
Fight? That wasn’t fighting.
Those shares were supposed to be her mother’s legacy. They had nothing to do
with Nora’s daughters. Why should they get any of it?