Chapter 2 - The Sealed Will
The silence inside the executive corner suite was heavy enough to crush a man's skull. Grayson stood completely paralyzed, his dark eyes locked onto Natalie’s rounded stomach. Exactly six months ago, Natalie had vanished from his life overnight—no explanatory note, no phone call, no text message, leaving behind only a locked apartment and a severed relationship. During his darkest, most reckless period right after his father Thomas Sterling’s sudden passing, Grayson had assumed she abandoned him because he was a failure.
Now, she was standing in his late father’s office, pregnant, her delicate features pale under the harsh fluorescent lights, looking down at the carpet with eyes brimming with fresh tears.
"Natalie..." Grayson’s voice cracked, all the aggression completely draining out of his body. "What is this? Whose baby is that?"
Natalie took a shaky, fragile breath, her trembling hands resting securely over her bump. She didn't answer him directly. Instead, her eyes flicked nervously toward Elliot, who was slowly and awkwardly pushing himself up off the floor, dabbing at his bleeding lip with a white linen pocket square.
Harold stepped between the two brothers, tapping his ring finger against the red-wax-sealed folder sitting on the table.
"Three years ago, when Thomas Sterling passed away, he knew his biological son was living a reckless, dangerous life—gambling, racing sports cars, and burning through his trust fund," Harold explained, his clear voice echoing off the glass walls. "Your father gave me strict, legally binding orders: Elliot would manage Sterling Enterprises temporarily, while Grayson’s primary inheritance files remained locked in my vault until Grayson proved he had fully matured."
Grayson gritted his teeth, stepping closer to the attorney. "I grew up, Harold! I’ve been clean and sober for two years! I built my own logistics firm from the ground up without a single dime from my father's estate!"
"I know you did," Harold said, his stern tone softening just a fraction. "Which is precisely why I brought Natalie here today. Your father's will contained a secondary conditional clause, Grayson. One that Elliot spent the last six months desperately trying to destroy before you ever found out."
Elliot straightened his navy blue jacket, his slicked hair messy. "Harold, keep your mouth shut if you value your legal license and your partnership at the firm."
May you like
"My loyalty has always been to Thomas Sterling, not to a manipulative thief," Harold snapped back without flinching. He tore open the heavy red wax seal on the folder and pulled out a single sheet of heavy parchment paper. "The Sterling Trust doesn't just pass through age or sobriety, Grayson. It automatically transfers to the first legitimate grandchild of the founder. And six months ago, when Elliot discovered that Natalie was pregnant with your child, he bribed her obstetrician, faked a corporate transfer order, and forced her out of New York City."
Grayson’s head snapped toward Elliot, his dark blonde hair falling over his forehead as his eyes blazed with renewed fury. "You did what to her?!"
