Three Jobs for Me, Millions for Her? Fine, I Quit This Family Chapter 09
Eleanor looked at the silver brooch, then turned her warm eyes to me.
“Those two… they were your biological parents, weren’t they?”
I nodded quietly.
She went still for a moment, her grip tightening on my hand.
“Do you want to go back to them, Claire?”
I looked into her anxious, loving eyes and squeezed her hand.
“Wherever you and Dad are, that’s home.”
Eleanor’s face lit up with a brilliant smile.
She pulled me into a tight hug, kissing my cheek.
Even Daniel turned his head slightly, discreetly wiping his eyes.
As we finished packing my few belongings into a small
suitcase and headed toward the building exit,
we found Richard and Victoria waiting for us at the door.
Victoria held a thick folder of documents, thrusting it toward me.
Claire! I fixed your university enrollment!”
“If you come back with us, you can return to school tomorrow.”
“I also spoke to the committee of the National Physics Championship.”
“They agreed to reinstate your registration.”
Your previous scores are still valid.”
“You can go straight to the finals!”
“Whatever you want to do, your father and I will support you.”
“We won’t interfere ever again.”
She sobbed, clutching the folder.
“Please, just come home.”
Richard stepped forward, his eyes scanning Daniel and
Eleanor’s simple traveling clothes.
A trace of snobbery returned to his tone.
Claire, what kind of future can you have with people like this?”
“Living in a run–down place like this… they can’t offer you anything.”
“You will only suffer.”
“Come with us.”
I promise you will have more wealth than you could ever spend.”
Daniel let out a cold chuckle.
He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
“President Miller? Yes, it’s Daniel Sterling.”
“Tomorrow morning at ten, bring a special admission packet
to my estate in Greenwich.”
“My daughter is transferring to Columbia.”
He hung up, putting his phone back in his pocket.
He looked at Richard and Victoria, his expression utterly
indifferent as he brushed an imaginary speck of dust from his sleeve.
“I forgot to introduce myself,” Daniel said smoothly.
“My wife’s maiden name is Sterling. As in Sterling Industries.
And my name is Daniel Sterling.”
The alley fell into a dead, heavy silence.
The names of the Sterling dynasty were known to every
major hedge fund and investment firm in the country.
Bennett Capital was nothing more than a minor player
compared to their global empire.
Eleanor took my hand, her smile warm and bright.
“Let’s go home, sweetheart.”
I looked at her hand, then looked back at my biological
parents, whose faces had turned completely pale with shock and realization.
I placed my hand in Eleanor’s.
Daniel walked on my other side, his hand resting protectively on my shoulder.
We walked out of the alley together, leaving the shadows of
the old building behind us, stepping into the bright, open night.
END