CHAPTER 3 — THE PRICE OF PRIDE
The ballroom doors opened once again.
Three black SUVs stopped outside.
An elderly man stepped through the entrance with the aid of a cane.
Every person recognized him immediately.
General Nathaniel Ashford.
The legend everyone believed had withdrawn from the world forever.
The moment he saw Maya...
The cane slipped from his hand.
His eyes filled with tears.
"Emily..."
No title.
No rank.
Just the name of a daughter he had searched for every day for twenty-four years.
Maya stared at him.
Her heart pounded.
She didn't remember his face.
But somehow...
She recognized his voice.
The old general crossed the room.
He stopped only inches away.
With trembling hands, he touched the side of her face.
"I promised your mother I would bring you home."
"I failed her."
"I'm so sorry."
Maya burst into tears.
Without thinking, she stepped into his embrace.
The ballroom erupted in stunned whispers.
Victoria felt her knees weaken.
Her family had spent years trying to earn the Ashford Foundation's partnership.
Tonight...
She had publicly humiliated the general's only surviving heir.
General Ashford slowly turned toward Victoria.
His expression became ice.
"You struck my granddaughter."
"You insulted her."
"You humiliated my great-grandson."
Victoria's lips trembled.
"I... I didn't know..."
"You never asked."
The old general looked toward the Sterling family's lawyers.
"Every agreement between our organizations is canceled."
"Effective immediately."
A collective gasp echoed through the hall.
Within minutes, phones began ringing across the ballroom.
Stock prices dropped.
Investors withdrew.
Business partners quietly walked away from the Sterling family.
May you like
Everything Victoria had built...
Started collapsing before her eyes.
