Chapter 32: The Old Guard's Pact
Chief Adenuga sat in the elder Sterling's study, the air thick with the smell of expensive tobacco and the desperation of a failing merger. "Alexander, the girl is twenty-two," Adenuga pleaded, his voice cracking with artificial humility. "She is a child of privilege, yes, but she has a good heart. Liam was too harsh. He shamed her in front of the whole city. How can we let a single slap ruin a union that would control the entire West African shipping lane?"
The elder Sterling coughed, his chest rattling, but his eyes remained sharp. He hated weakness, yet he hated losing a business advantage even more. He knew his son. Liam was stubborn, a man of cold principles who didn't believe in second chances. "Liam has a mind like an iron trap, Adenuga," the Chief wheezed. "Once it snaps shut, it stays shut. He won't listen to me. He won't even take your calls."
Adenuga leaned forward, his eyes glinting. "Then don't make him listen. Make him look. If they are in the same house, seeing each other every morning, every night... eventually, the ice will melt. Let her move into the Sterling mansion. Tell him it's a 'cultural immersion' or a 'gesture of goodwill' between families while we finalize the logistics deal. He won't kick her out of your house, Alexander. He respects your roof too much for that."
Liam was in the middle of a global conference call when his father's assistant interrupted him with a message that made his blood run cold. He didn't wait for the call to end; he excused himself and drove straight to the family estate. He found his father in the garden, looking frail but triumphant.