CHAPTER 4 â The Woman He Tried to Break Owned Everything
Nathan couldn't speak.
His lips moved.
No words came out.
His eyes drifted across the grand hallâthe imported Italian marble, the hand-carved staircase, the museum-quality paintings, the antique piano Celeste loved showing off to guests.
For years, he had proudly introduced every corner of Blackthorn Manor with the same sentence.
"I built this."
Now those words echoed in his head like a cruel joke.
My father looked at him without a trace of satisfaction.
"This isn't revenge."
Nathan looked up.
"No?"
"It's accountability."
He nodded toward the leather binder lying open on the coffee table.
"You've spent four years living inside a house that legally belongs to my daughter."
Nathan laughed nervously.
"That's impossible."
"My name is on the deed."
"No."
My father corrected him.
"Your name is on the occupancy agreement."
"The deed has always been held by Sterling Heritage Trust."
Nathan frowned.
"I've never heard of that trust."
"Of course you haven't."
"It was never meant to be public."
An attorney in a charcoal-gray suit stepped forward carrying another folder.
He placed it in front of Nathan.
"Certified copies."
Nathan snatched the documents.
His hands shook as he turned each page.
Purchase agreement.
Land registry.
Construction financing.
Property insurance.
Every signature belonged to me.
Every payment originated from Sterling Heritage Trust.
Every legal owner listed the same beneficiary.
Victoria Sterling.
Not Victoria Ashford.
Victoria Sterling.
Nathan looked at me as if seeing a stranger.
"You..."
"You never changed your legal ownership records."
I met his eyes.
"My father advised me not to."
Celeste suddenly stepped forward.
"This proves nothing."
She forced confidence into her voice.
"They're husband and wife."
"What's hers is his."
The attorney calmly smiled.
"That would be true..."
"If there had been no prenuptial agreement."
Nathan froze.
"What?"
The attorney opened another folder.
"Signed four years ago."
"You personally insisted on separate assets."
Nathan blinked repeatedly.
He remembered.
At the time, Ashford Global had just begun expanding internationally.
His lawyers convinced him to protect his growing fortune.
He had proudly demanded the strictest prenuptial agreement possible.
Separate property.
Separate investments.
Separate liabilities.
He had believed he was protecting himself from a woman with nothing.
Instead...
he had signed away every legal claim to the woman who owned almost everything.
The attorney slid the final page across the table.
"You drafted this clause yourself."
Nathan read it aloud, barely able to breathe.
'Neither spouse shall acquire ownership of the other's separately held assets under any circumstance.'
His shoulders slowly collapsed.
"My God..."
My father folded his hands behind his back.
"I thanked your lawyers the day they wrote it."
Nathan suddenly looked desperate.
"Victoria..."
His voice softened.
"This doesn't have to become a war."
I said nothing.
He took another step.
"I wasn't myself."
Still nothing.
"I made mistakes."
Silence.
"I'll end things with Celeste."
Celeste whipped around.
"What?"
Nathan ignored her completely.
"We can fix this."
"We'll start over."
"I love you."
The words echoed through the hall.
For a moment...
the room became perfectly still.
Then I smiled.
Not because I believed him.
Because I finally recognized the expression on his face.
Fear.
Not love.
Loss.
Not regret.
I slowly walked toward him.
Every step made him hope.
Until I stopped only inches away.
"Nathan."
He nodded eagerly.
"Yes?"
"Do you remember what you told me after pushing me down the staircase?"
His face stiffened.
"I..."
"You said..."
I repeated his exact words.
'No judge will ever choose a nobody over a man like me.'
Nathan lowered his eyes.
"I was angry."
"You were honest."
Celeste suddenly exploded.
"You pathetic coward!"
She shoved Nathan hard enough to make him stumble.
"You promised we'd own everything!"
Nathan turned.
"Shut up."
"No!"
She pointed at me.
"She manipulated you!"
Nathan laughed bitterly.
"No."
"I manipulated myself."
She stared at him.
"What?"
"I never asked who she really was."
"I never questioned where the money came from."
"I just assumed..."
He looked at me.
"...that she needed me."
One of the officers entered carrying another evidence box.
"Sir."
"The accounting servers have finished processing."
My father nodded.
"What did we find?"
The officer placed several printed documents on the table.
"Additional transfers."
Nathan frowned.
"There shouldn't be any."
"There are."
The officer pointed to one account number.
Nathan's expression changed instantly.
"No..."
"That's impossible."
I recognized it immediately.
So did Celeste.
It was the hidden account they believed no one knew existed.
The officer continued.
"Three months ago..."
"Forty-two million dollars were transferred from Ashford Global."
Nathan swallowed.
"Yes..."
"To Monroe Consulting International."
Celeste remained silent.
The officer turned another page.
"Within forty-eight hours..."
"The funds disappeared."
Nathan slowly looked at Celeste.
"Where did the money go?"
She didn't answer.
"Celeste?"
Nothing.
His voice became louder.
"Where is it?"
Finally...
she whispered,
"I moved it."
Nathan frowned.
"To where?"
She looked away.
"My personal accounts."
Silence.
Nathan blinked.
"You said..."
"You told me..."
"It was temporary."
Celeste laughed softly.
"I lied."
His breathing stopped.
"You stole from me?"
She smiled coldly.
"I learned from the best."
Nathan staggered backward until he hit the marble staircase.
Everything around him suddenly made sense.
The missing funds.
The disappearing invoices.
The offshore companies.
For months, he had believed they were partners.
In reality...
Celeste had been robbing him while convincing him to destroy the only person who had ever been loyal to him.
My father looked at Nathan calmly.
"You sacrificed your wife..."
"...for someone who was stealing from you."
Nathan covered his face with both hands.
Years of arrogance.
Years of cruelty.
Years of betrayal.
All crashing down at once.
Then another officer hurried into the room.
"Sir."
"The forensic team has completed the vault search."
My father nodded.
"And?"
The officer looked directly at me.
"Mrs. Sterling..."
"We found something you need to see."
Nathan slowly lowered his hands.
His heart was already in ruins.
May you like
He had no idea...
the next discovery would destroy what little hope he had left.
