"Tell me the truth, Richard! What inheritance? My mother was a nurse, she had nothing!" Ester screamed at the locked office door, her fingers white as she gripped the manila envelope.
From behind the heavy oak, Richard Blackwood's voice sounded muffled but eerily calm. "A nurse? Is that what they told you? Your mother was the sole heiress to the Wijaya maritime fleet, Ester. When she disappeared thirty years ago, the Sterling Group—Dominic's father's company—swallowed her assets to stay afloat during the Asian financial crisis. It was a theft disguised as a merger."
Ester felt the hallway floor tilt beneath her. "You're lying. You're just trying to turn me against him because he's winning."
"Am I?" Richard chuckled, a dry, raspy sound. "Why do you think your father was so easily framed for that bridge collapse? It wasn't just about the bolts, Ester. It was to keep him quiet about where the Sterling seed money actually came from. Dominic didn't find you at university because he liked your sketches. He found you because you are the only person who can legally sue his family for every cent they own."
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Ester hammered her fist against the door.
The sound of tires screeching on the gravel outside drowned out Richard's response. Blue and red lights began to strobe against the frosted glass of the front door. The police were here. And so was he.
The front door was kicked open with a thunderous bang. Dominic Sterling stormed into the foyer, his face a mask of frantic worry, followed by a swarm of officers in tactical gear. He saw Ester standing by the office door, clutching the envelope to her chest, and he was at her side in an instant.
"Ester! Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Dominic reached for her, his hands trembling with a rare, raw emotion.
Ester stepped back, avoiding his touch. Her eyes were wide, darting from the office door to the man who had supposedly been her guardian angel. "Is it true, Dominic?"
Dominic froze, his hands hanging in mid-air. "Is what true? Ester, we need to get you out of here. The police need to process the scene."
"The Sterling-Wijaya merger," Ester said, her voice dropping to a dangerous, flat tone. "Did your father steal my mother's company?"
Dominic's expression didn't shatter; it hardened. He glanced at the office door, then back at Ester. The silence that followed was more deafening than the sirens outside. "Ester, it's complicated. That was thirty years ago. My father is dead."
"That's not a 'no,' Dominic," Ester whispered, her heart breaking all over again.
"Officer! Open this door!" Dominic barked at the nearest policeman, clearly trying to pivot.
The police made quick work of the lock. The heavy oak door swung open, revealing Richard sitting calmly in a leather chair and Xavier cowering in the corner, his face red from shouting.
"Richard Blackwood, Xavier Blackwood, you are under arrest for corporate fraud, embezzlement, and conspiracy to commit safety violations," the lead officer announced, stepping forward with handcuffs.
Xavier looked at Ester, his eyes filled with a desperate, pathetic rage. "You bitch! You ruined everything! You think Sterling loves you? He's just keeping his enemies closer! He's been paying for your life so you won't realize he's living in a house built with your mother's blood!"
"Get him out of here," Dominic ordered, his voice cold and sharp.
As the officers dragged Xavier past her, he spat at Ester's feet. Richard, however, walked out with his head held high. He stopped for a second next to Ester, leaning in to whisper just loud enough for Dominic to hear.
"Check the vault in the London office, Ester. The one under the name 'Stella.' You'll find the original merger papers there. Ask your 'protector' why he has the only key."
Richard was led away, leaving Ester and Dominic alone in the chaotic foyer. Outside, the rain had slowed to a drizzle, and the first grey light of dawn was beginning to bleed into the sky.
"Ester, listen to me," Dominic said, stepping toward her again. This time, he didn't try to touch her. "Everything I told you about my feelings for you... that was real. The university, the sketches, the letters... I didn't do that for the company."
"But you knew," Ester said, holding up the letters she had found in the safe. "My father wrote to you. He knew who you were. He knew what your family did. Why did he trust you of all people?"
Dominic sighed, looking suddenly exhausted. He rubbed a hand over his face, the cool, untouchable CEO replaced by a man burdened by a decade of secrets. "Because I was the only one who hated my father as much as he did. I promised him I would return everything to you once I had full control of the Sterling Group. I just... I needed time to settle the debts so I wouldn't be handing you a bankrupt empire."
"So, all those 'gifts'?" Ester asked, gestures to the world around them. "The tender, the funding, the house? That wasn't love, Dominic. That was a repayment plan."
"It can be both!" Dominic shouted, his frustration finally boiling over. "I loved you before I knew who you were, Ester! I found out about the merger during our senior year. That's why I had to go back to London. I had to fix the mess so I could be worthy of standing next to you without a lie between us!"
Ester looked at the manila envelope in her hand. She felt a strange, hollow sensation in her chest. For five years, she had lived a lie with Xavier. Now, it seemed her "fairytale" with Dominic was built on a foundation of historical theft.
"I can't do this right now, Dominic," Ester said, walking past him toward the front door. "I need to be alone. I need to think."
"Where are you going? You don't have anywhere to stay," Dominic called out, following her onto the porch.
"I'll find a place. I have my name back, don't I?" Ester replied, not looking back. "And apparently, I have a maritime fleet somewhere in London."
"Ester, wait! It's dangerous. Richard's associates are still out there."
Ester stopped at the bottom of the steps. She turned around, the morning wind whipping her hair across her face. She looked at the midnight-black Rolls-Royce, then at the man who had been her sun for the last forty-eight hours.
"You said you wanted me to be the Queen of your empire, Dominic," Ester said, her voice steady and cold.
Dominic nodded fervently. "I meant it. Every word."
Ester tucked the envelope under her arm and took a step back into the light of the rising sun.
"Then tell me the truth, Dominic. If I go to London and open that vault ... will I find my mother's death certificate signed by your father, or yours?"