Chapter 11 - Behind the Iron Bars
Across the city, in the women’s correctional facility, Evelyn Sterling clung to the bars of her cell, screaming at every guard who walked by.
"Do you know who I am?!" she shrieked, her gray hair tangled and wild. "I am Evelyn Sterling! My grandfather built the civic theater! I demand my private physician! This food is slop!"
"Shut up, cell forty," a female guard barked, tapping her baton against the steel bars. "You're inmate number 88412. Your bail hearing was dismissed. Your attorney quit because your checks bounced. Get used to the porridge, granny."
A visitor was called for Evelyn later that afternoon.
Evelyn practically sprinted to the visitation room, expecting an old friend from the country club or a high-powered corporate lawyer.
Instead, sitting on the other side of the glass was me.
I wore a pristine white wool coat and simple pearl earrings. I looked healthy, radiant, and completely untouched by the poison that had consumed the Sterling family.
Evelyn stopped dead in her tracks. Her hands clawed at the glass partition.
"You..." Evelyn hissed, venom dripping from every syllable. "You ruined my son! You destroyed my home! You deceitful little viper! You played us!"
"I didn't ruin you, Evelyn," I said calmly through the intercom. "You ruined yourselves. You were bankrupt before I ever met Julian. My father kept the roof over your head and food on your table for three years. All you had to do was treat me like a human being."
Evelyn began to weep—not with remorse, but with pure, helpless rage. "Give me my house back, Clara! Please! I have nowhere to go! My sister won't answer my calls! My friends blocked my number!"
"The penthouse has already been demolished for urban redevelopment," I replied smoothly. "A pediatric charity clinic is being built on that land under Lily's name. You will never set foot on that ground again."
May you like
I stood up, adjusted my coat, and turned toward the exit.
"Clara! Clara, don't leave me here!" Evelyn wailed, banging her fists against the partition until the guards dragged her backward toward the corridor.
