Chapter 5 - The Queen’s Gambit
By midday, the ancestral mansion on Sterling Hill resembled a sinking ship.
Eleanor Sterling sat in her high-backed velvet chair, refusing to leave the dining hall, staring blankly at the cold fireplace as if she could magically rewind time.
The estate staff had already received notice from the court-appointed trustees that their payroll accounts were now managed by my oversight team. Most of the junior maids and cooks had quietly pledged their loyalty to me, realizing that the old regime was crumbling into dust.
Marcus burst through the double doors of the mansion, panting heavily, his suit jacket trailing over his arm.
“Mother!” Marcus shouted, rushing across the Persian rug. “It’s over. The bank just rejected our corporate line of credit. The auditors are locking down the executive suites as we speak. That woman... Clara has legally locked us out of everything!”
Eleanor slowly turned her head, her eyes flashing with a cold, desperate fury.
“She locked us out?” Eleanor whispered, her voice trembling with suppressed rage. “In my house? On my land that I built alongside Arthur fifty years ago?”
“Mother, she has the fourth codicil,” Marcus said, running a hand through his thinning hair. “Judge Harrison validated the signature this morning. Unless we can prove Arthur was non compos mentis when he signed it, every single cent goes to that little boy.”
Eleanor stood up, gripping the edge of the dining table so hard her knuckles turned entirely white. A chilling, calculating smile slowly spread across her wrinkled face.
“Proving he was non compos mentis requires testimony from Arthur’s personal physician,” Eleanor said softly, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. “And Dr. Alistair owes our family a very large favor from twenty years ago.”
Marcus blinked, understanding dawning in his eyes. “You mean... we falsify the medical timeline?”
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“We don't falsify anything, Marcus,” Eleanor corrected smoothly, her eyes gleaming with malice. “We simply help Dr. Alistair remember what really happened during Arthur’s final months. And while we’re at it, we make sure Clara’s fitness as a mother is brought into serious, public question.”
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