Chapter 6 - The Newport Conspiracy
"What do you mean, danger?" Leo asked, his posture instantly shifting back to his guarded street defense stance.
Before Richard could answer, the glass door slammed open.
Eleanor stood there, her face pale, holding her smartphone. "Richard! My mother just called the board of directors! She’s called an emergency summit at the Sterling estate in Newport for tomorrow morning! She's demanding that we present Leo to the board or forfeit the Sterling Trust entire capital backing!"
Richard’s face darkened. "She’s backing us into a corner."
"What is she planning, Richard?" Eleanor asked, her voice shaking with anger. "Why is my mother doing this?"
Richard looked at Leo, then at Eleanor. He knew he couldn't keep the truth hidden any longer.
"Because your father paid Martha to steal Leo fourteen years ago, Eleanor," Richard revealed quietly. "Your mother knew about it the whole time. They did it to control the trust money."
Eleanor stumbled backward as if she had been struck across the face. "My... my parents? My father stole my baby?"
"Yes," Richard admitted, stepping forward to catch her hand. "And now that Leo has resurfaced, Evelyn is terrified that the truth will destroy the Sterling family name and freeze the trust funds. She wants us in Newport tomorrow so she can force us to sign a legal agreement declaring Leo an 'unrelated imposter' and shipping him off to an overseas boarding school in Switzerland."
Tears of absolute fury burned in Eleanor’s eyes. Her grief turned into something terrifying and fiery.
"She wants a war?" Eleanor whispered, her jaw clenching. "Then we will give her one."
Julian stepped out onto the balcony, having heard everything from the doorway. He walked over to stand beside Leo, gripping his brother’s shoulder.
"We're going to Newport together," Julian declared. "All four of us."
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Richard looked at his two sons standing side by side—identical, united, unyielding. For the first time in fourteen years, something inside Richard’s cold, calculated corporate heart broke open. He looked at the family he had almost destroyed with his ambition.
"No," Richard said, a slow, dangerous smile appearing on his face. "Not four of us. We're bringing our legal team, three news crews from the Financial Times, and every state investigator I can pull favors with. If the Sterling family wants to burn down the house to hide their sins, we'll light the match ourselves."
