Chapter 1 - The Emergency Injunction
The autumn wind whipped through the glass doors of the law firm in downtown Manhattan, but I felt completely numb to the cold.
Inside the private office of my attorney, Marcus Thorne, the air was warm and smelled of expensive leather and fresh coffee. I sat in a high-backed chair, staring at my reflection in the dark glass windowpane. My short, ruined hair—jagged, uneven, and brutally shaved down to the scalp in patches by Victoria Vance—was a physical reminder of the disrespect I had allowed myself to endure.
Marcus walked into the office, carrying a heavy blue legal binder and a steaming mug. He stopped when he saw my head, his eyes widening in shock, before his expression hardened into pure, professional fury.
"Sarah..." Marcus breathed, setting the coffee down on his desk. "My God. What happened to you?"
"Victoria," I answered softly, my voice completely devoid of emotion. "And Julian stood by and watched."
Marcus didn't offer empty pity. He pulled out his chair and sat down, opening the binder with a sharp flick of his wrist. "The five minutes you gave him on the phone have passed. He didn't come."
"No," I replied, leaning forward. "He thinks this is a domestic spat. He thinks I'm going to run to my apartment, cry for three days, and wait for him to send me a bouquet of roses and a designer handbag."
Marcus smiled, a cold, ruthless glint in his eyes. "He forgets who built Sterling Logistics."
People saw Julian Sterling as a self-made titan of transport. They forgot that ten years ago, when he was broke and facing bankruptcy, it was my family's venture capital fund—and my father's extensive political connections—that financed his first fleet of trucks. They forgot that my name was listed as a co-founder on the original corporate charter, holding fifty-one percent of the voting shares in a private family trust.
"The emergency injunction is active as of three minutes ago," Marcus said, tapping a document on the desk. "We have frozen all corporate accounts under the Sterling umbrella, revoked Julian's signature authority on the line of credit, and issued a formal cease-and-desist order barring Victoria Vance from entering any company property."
"What about his personal assets?" I asked.
"Your joint accounts are frozen pending a full forensic audit," Marcus replied. "His corporate credit card was declined sixty seconds ago."
I pulled out my phone. The screen was already blowing up with missed calls and frantic text messages from Julian.
Sarah, where are you? The company credit card just got rejected at the venue for the board dinner. Call me right now. Stop playing games.
May you like
I ignored every single message.
"Call the chief of police, Marcus," I said, looking up from my phone. "I want to file formal charges against Victoria Vance for aggravated assault and battery. And I want the arrest warrant served at headquarters."
