Chapter 23: Jade Fractures
The antiseptic bite of the hospital’s VIP suite stung the air.
Anna Blackthorn lay propped on silk pillows, her gaunt fingers tracing a silver–framed photograph
There–Nova Sterling at twenty–two, poised like a debutante in ivory lace,her head bowed before the ancestral portrait wall.
Gilded frames watched as her gloved hand brushed dust from the oldest Blackthorn patriarch’s nameplate–a gesture of respect as timeless as candlelight.
“Madam,” the butler murmured. “Ms. Sterling is here.”
Anna’s head jerked up. The door opened.
Nova Sterling stood framed in the doorway, a forest–green cashmere coat knifing through the sterile light, her hair coiled at her nape with precision. Every trace of submission had been refined into unassailable poise.
“Nova-” Anna scrambled from bed, collapsing to her knees on the cold linoleum.
Nova instinctively stepped forward–then halted.
Anna clutched Nova’s coat hem, tears splashing the floor. “I failed you…”
Nova looked down at the woman whose rattan cane had once striped her back. Now she trembled like last autumn’s leaf at her feet. As Nova bent to help her up, Anna seized her wrist.
Anna fumbled with the heirloom diamond bracelet trembling on her wrist. “This belongs to the Blackthorn bride…” She pressed the cold stones toward Nova’s hand. “I was blind not to give it to
you sooner-”
Nova pulled back as if burned.
The bracelet clattered to the floor, its platinum chain snapping like a spine.
“Remember?” Nova’s voice chilled the air. “At the garden party, you told everyone its brilliance would be wasted on me.‘
Anna’s sobs choked off.
The memory struck–her handing that same bracelet to Ivy Callahan by the champagne fountain, praising how it “matched her spirit.”
“That viper!” Anna clawed at Nova’s coat. “She poisoned Zane’s mind! Ruined us all—‘
banter 23: Jade Fractures
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“And your role, Madam?” Nova’s interruption was scalpel–precise. “The whispers you encouraged? The cruelties you permitted?”
Anna wheezed, evading the blade. From beneath her pillow, she dragged out a document.
“Blackthorn’s last five percent… Help Zane rebuild. It’s yours-
“So this is why you summoned me?” Nova pushed the papers away. “Faking critical decline? Hoping my pity would open Sterling’s yaults?” She shook her head. “The Blackthorn sinkhole? I won’t drown in it.”
“No! You loved him once!” Anna’s eyes were raw wounds. “Have you no heart left?”
“You carved it out.” Nova adjusted her cuffs. “The medical bills are settled. Consider it… gratitude for your ‘guidance‘ these three years.” She turned to leave.
Anna tasted copper. Swallowing blood, she clawed at Nova’s handbag strap. “Nova… Please. Just… see him. Once-”
“Unnecessary.”
The door clicked shut. Behind it, a cardiac monitor screamed its flatline dirge.
Medical staff stampeded past. Nova backed away–but didn look back.
Dawn brought news of Anna’s death.
Lorenzo set blacke tea beside Nova’s drafting table. “The funeral is tomorrow. I’ll accompany you. If you wish.”
Nova’s pencil didn’t pause on the sapphire gown sketch. “This hemline refinement can’t wait for… irrelevancies.”
She felt Lorenzo’s stillness. “Do you think me cruel?”
His finger brushed a stray hair from her temple–a touch feather–light, absolving.
“No, Nova” His thumb brushed her scarred knuckles–the ones that had signed divorce papers and built empires. “I’m just… in awe of your courage.”
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