Chapter 7 - The Downfall of a Prince
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While Naomi and I were uncovering the truth in the vault, Evan's life was dissolving into public ruin.
By three o'clock that afternoon, federal financial auditors had seized all assets tied to Apex Events. Evan's corporate credit cards were declined at an upscale restaurant downtown where he was attempting to meet his defense attorney.
When he returned to his penthouse apartment, he found two uniformed sheriffs standing outside his door, holding an eviction notice issued by my legal team. The penthouse was registered under Whitmore Freight's corporate assets.
With nowhere else to go, Evan drove his repossessed sports car to his mother's suburban home in Buckhead.
I was already sitting on the front porch waiting for him, accompanied by two private investigators and Naomi.
Evan slammed his car door shut, his hair messy, his designer suit rumpled and stained. He marched up the brick walkway toward me, his eyes blazing with desperate hatred.
"You took my job! You froze my accounts! You threw my mother out of her office!" Evan shouted, waving his hands frantically. "What more do you want from me, Clara?!"
"I wanted to give you this," I said calmly, holding out a copy of his birth certificate.
Evan stopped short, frowning in confusion. He snatched the paper from my hand. "What is this? My birth certificate? I know who I am!"
"Read the father's line, Evan," I said softly.
He looked down at the paper. His eyes scanned the ink. Once. Twice. Three times.
"Victor Sterling?" Evan whispered, his voice cracking like dry ice. "Who the hell is Victor Sterling? My father died when I was five!"
The front door opened slowly. Barbara stepped out onto the porch, holding a glass of whiskey, her eyes hollow and bloodshot.
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"Mom..." Evan turned to her, holding up the paper with shaking hands. "Mom, who is this man? Why does it say Victor Sterling is my father?!"
Barbara looked at the paper, then looked at me. The glass in her hand slipped through her fingers, shattering into a hundred pieces on the red brick floor.
