Chapter 8 - The Ghost of Sterling Press
That afternoon, while Penny was napping under Titan's watchful eye, Willa retreated to the quiet sanctuary of the library on the lower level of the penthouse.
She needed space. She needed air. The golden cage of the Ashford syndicate was closing in around her, and Elena’s warning echoed in her ears like a ticking clock.
He will find them. It's only a matter of time.
Willa walked down the towering rows of leather-bound books, running her fingers along the spines until she reached the back corner near the fireplace. There, half-hidden behind a decorative globe, sat a sleek, secure terminal connected to the private encrypted network of the penthouse.
Against every instinct of self-preservation, Willa reached out, tapped the screen, and typed in a proxy search string.
She searched for her own past: Victoria Sterling. Sterling Press. The 2020 Collapse.
The screen flickered, bypassing standard commercial search engines and diving deep into archived federal financial databases and dark-web syndicate logs.
Articles flashed across the glass: STERLING PRESS DECLARED BANKRUPTCY AMID FRAUD SCANDAL. ARTHUR STERLING FOUND DEAD IN CONNECTICUT HOME. FAMILY FORTUNE SEIZED BY ASHFORD HOLDINGS.
Willa’s breath hitched in her throat as she stared at a scanned photograph of her father smiling proudly beside her on her sixteenth birthday, months before the tragedy destroyed their lives. The Ashfords hadn't just ruined her family financially; they had framed her father for corporate embezzlement, driving him to despair and an untimely grave, while swallowing his publishing empire whole to launder syndicate money.
"Looking for old memories?"
The deep, velvety voice came from directly behind her.
May you like
Willa gasped, spinning around so fast she nearly knocked the terminal off its stand.
Kendrick stood leaning against the bookshelf, his arms crossed over his chest, his dark eyes fixed on the glowing screen displaying the tragic history of the Sterling family.
