Chapter 7

Sterling pushed the heavy oak door open. He was ready to unleash the full weight of the Coleman family fortune on whoever had dared to cross him. Desiree hovered behind him, a smug, expectant smirk playing on her lips.

The man on the sofa slowly turned his head. He held a glass of whiskey loosely in one hand, his posture relaxed but radiating a dangerous energy. His icy gray eyes met Sterling's.

Sterling froze. His confident stride broke, his shoulders dropping in shock. The anger on his face melted into pure disbelief.

"Brother?" Sterling breathed, the word escaping before he could stop it. "What are you doing here?"

The smirk on Desiree's face vanished. It was replaced by a look of absolute, paralyzing horror. The glass in Devin's hand, the expensive suit, the cold eyes-it all clicked into place. The man who had destroyed her career wasn't just some rich sponsor. It was Devin Ayers, the most feared man on Wall Street. Sterling's older brother.

Devin ignored her. He tossed his iPad onto the coffee table with a loud clatter. "This is your taste in women, Sterling? A woman who tries to murder babies with triple doses of Diazepam?"

Sterling's face went pale. He walked over to the table on stiff legs and picked up the iPad. He hit play on the video file already queued up.

The screen showed the ER footage. It showed Desiree's face, twisted in malice, as she swapped the vials. It showed her loading the syringe with a deadly amount of sedative. There was no denying it. The evidence was irrefutable.

Sterling's grip on the iPad tightened until his knuckles turned white. He slowly looked up at Desiree. The love, the concern, the protectiveness-it was all gone, replaced by a disgust so deep it made his stomach churn.

Desiree panicked. She threw herself at Sterling's feet, grabbing his trousers. "Sterling, please! The baby was having a fit! I was just trying to help her! It was a mistake!"

In the bedroom, Kenzie rolled her eyes. "A mistake? She practically salivated when she pushed the plunger. This woman's IQ is lower than my current body weight."

Devin heard the thought and a faint smirk touched his lips. He stood up, walking over to stand beside his brother, looking down at the sobbing woman.

Sterling kicked her hands away. He wiped his leg as if he had been touched by something filthy. "A mistake? Your degree is a fake. You buy drugs on the street. And you try to kill infants. You're going to jail."

He pulled out his phone, his fingers shaking with rage. He dialed the number for his bank's concierge service.

"This is Sterling Coleman. Freeze the supplementary black card. Number ending in 4589. Immediately. And suspend all trust fund allowances linked to Desiree Dillon."

The confirmation on the other end was the final nail in the coffin. Desiree collapsed onto the floor, her makeup running down her face in black streaks. She looked like a clown whose circus had burned down.

"You can't do this!" she shrieked, her voice raw and desperate. "I saved your life, Sterling! You promised you'd take care of me! You owe me!"

The words hit Sterling like a physical blow. The memory of the car accident, the smoke, her pulling him from the wreckage-it flashed in his mind. He remembered her pulling him from the twisted metal, her face strangely calm amidst the chaos, almost as if she had expected it. But the trauma of the night had always overshadowed that detail. His shoulders slumped. The righteous anger flickered, replaced by guilt.

Kenzie saw the change in his posture. "Oh, no," she thought, groaning internally. "The idiot is feeling guilty. Don't fall for it, you fool!"

Devin saw it too. He stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. "Sterling-"

Desiree saw her opening. She clutched her chest, her eyes rolling back. She started gasping, her body convulsing on the floor. "I can't breathe! My heart! Sterling, my pills are at the apartment! Please!"

She writhed on the carpet, putting on an Oscar-worthy performance of a panic attack. Sterling hesitated for only a second. The guilt won. He couldn't let the woman who saved his life die on the floor in front of him.

He bent down and scooped her up in his arms. She buried her face in his neck, her body still shaking with fake sobs.

"I'll take her home," Sterling said, his voice tight. He looked at Devin, his expression a mix of shame and defiance. "I'll handle this, Devin. But I have to make sure she doesn't die first."

He didn't wait for a response. He carried her out of the lounge and down the hall to the elevator. The doors closed behind them, leaving Devin standing alone in the silent room.