Chapter 3 - The Secret Behind the Invitation
The invitation had been the first piece of the trap.
Miranda had sent it personally.
She wanted Valerie at the gala because she needed extra staff.
“Wear something black,” Miranda had ordered.
“Stay near the kitchen.”
Valerie had simply nodded.
Instead, she arrived wearing teal.
Miranda had laughed when she first saw her.
“That's not appropriate.”
Valerie had smiled.
“You said black tie.”
Miranda hadn't understood.
The invitation wasn't merely an invitation.
It was proof.
Printed on thick ivory paper with a gold crest, it contained a handwritten line from Miranda herself:
“All Sterling household staff are required to attend and serve.”
Valerie had kept it.
Because three weeks earlier, the Sterling legal team had attempted to claim she had never been employed at the mansion.
They wanted to deny she had access to certain records.
The invitation proved otherwise.
But that wasn't the most important document in her folder.
Behind the deeds was a copy of Arthur Sterling's private trust agreement.
Valerie had read it hundreds of times.
The first page contained her mother's name.
The second contained Arthur's signature.
The third contained the clause that changed everything.
If any Sterling heir attempted to sell or transfer trust-owned property without authorization, control would immediately pass to Arthur's designated beneficiary.
Valerie.
But there was one problem.
Julian had already transferred several properties.
Miranda had signed some of the documents.
And the family's attorney had certified them.
Which meant the fraud had become much larger than Valerie originally thought.
Someone had deliberately helped them.
Someone inside the Sterling legal team.
At the gala, Julian stared at Valerie.
“Where did you get those documents?”
“From the estate.”
“My estate?”
“No.”
Valerie's voice remained soft.
“Your family's mistake.”
Miranda stepped between them.
“Julian, stop talking to her.”
Valerie looked at Miranda.
“You really don't remember me.”
Miranda frowned.
“Should I?”
Valerie's expression changed.
Just slightly.
“You should remember my mother.”
Miranda went still.
For a fraction of a second, her face betrayed her.
Then she recovered.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“You do.”
Valerie closed the folder.
“That's why you're afraid.”
Miranda's champagne glass trembled.
Julian noticed.
May you like
And for the first time, he looked at his mother differently.
👉 Miranda's reaction told Valerie something the documents couldn't: she remembered Amelia Cross.
