Chapter 5 - The Beggar in Designer Clothes
Nathan immediately stepped between us, his posture stiffening into a wall of solid stone. "Stand back, Miss Sterling, or I will have Detective Vance escort you to the holding cells right beside your mother."
"Claire, wait!" Sophia pleaded, ignoring Nathan and clawing at the sleeve of his wool coat. "You don't understand! The banks froze my cards this morning! I went to the penthouse to get my jewelry, and the building superintendents changed the digital deadbolts! They threw my luggage into the service alley!"
I paused at the car door, looking back at my younger sister. For twenty-six years, Eleanor had treated Sophia like a delicate porcelain doll while treating me like the load-bearing beam meant to hold up their lavish lifestyle without complaint. Sophia had laughed on the stairs while our mother ground her heel into my ribs. She had held Eleanor’s clutch while our mother reached for my grandmother’s heirloom.
"Why are you telling me this, Sophia?" I asked, my tone flat, devoid of anger or warmth.
"Because Dad is staying in a motel by the docks, and Mom is in a holding cell with... with actual criminals!" Sophia sobbed, tears cutting muddy tracks through her expensive foundation. "You’re the only one Julian Montgomery will talk to! He canceled our corporate alliance! The society board revoked my debutante chair! Claire, please... tell the district attorney it was an accident. Tell them Mom slipped and grabbed you to keep from falling. If you sign the affidavit, the charges get reduced to a domestic civil dispute, and Dad can access his trust!"
A passerby stopped to look, but I didn't care. I turned fully, letting the full weight of my gaze settle on her.
"Do you remember what you said to me on the landing, Sophia?" I asked, taking one slow, deliberate step toward her.
She blinked, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her coat. "I... I was panicked, Claire, I didn't mean—"
"'She’s ruining the family name, Mom, take the ring and push her,'" I quoted, reciting her exact words from that horrific night. "You thought my blood on the marble was just an inconvenience before the champagne toast. You thought you could strip me bare and inherit the empire I designed from scratch."
"I made a mistake!" she shrieked. "We're sisters!"
"We were never sisters," I said, stepping into the back seat of the car. "We were merely competitors trapped in the same gilded cage. And you just lost."
"Claire! If you do this, I have nowhere to go! I have four hundred dollars to my name!"
I looked through the open window as Nathan closed the heavy door from the outside. "Then I suggest you buy a drafting table and learn how to work, Sophia. You’re about to discover how cold the city is when you don't have me paying your heating bill."
The electric window rolled up, sealing out her hysterical screams as Nathan slid into the driver's seat and pulled out into the morning traffic.
"Headquarters?" Nathan asked through the rearview mirror.
May you like
"No," I replied, staring down at my grandmother's ring. "Take me to Montgomery Plaza. The Request for Proposals on the flagship tower closes at noon. Let’s show the board what an architect looks like when she doesn't have a family holding her hostage."
***