3
I stared at Julian Sterling, my ID badge clicking in my hand.
“Do you really think so too?”
Julian Sterling merely nodded, offering no explanation.
“Let’s wipe the slate clean, and then we go our separate ways.”
It felt like a jagged knife had ripped through my chest, and my throat tasted of rust.
“The Sterling family plays a good hand.”
“The international art dealer’s Renaissance ceramic fraud case, the stolen ancient manuscripts switching case… I personally exposed the fakes and recovered the smuggled artifacts. Each and every one brought honor to Sterling Antiques, didn’t it?”
“Not to mention the Jade and Porcelain Masterpiece‘ at that international auction, which put the auction house into the global top three. Over the years, when did the benefits ever fall to someone else?”
Grandpa Sterling leaned on his cane, his expression complex.
But Julian Sterling’s face remained indifferent.
“You’ve come this far because you used the Sterling family’s platform, and you used Sterling Antiques‘ resources.”
“That was your duty.”
I scoffed,
“So that’s how it is. What a. Sterling family indeed.”
11:11 AM P
<
“Then you all listen up. From today on, I have no ties with the Sterling family.”
In front of everyone, I raised my hands and removed everything I wore that was associated with Sterling Antiques.
Finally, I took off the last remaining shirt on my body, my voice steady:
“It’s been a pleasure doing business with you all these years.”
Julian Sterling’s expression suddenly changed. He strode forward, as if to grab me.
But I stepped back, my eyes like chips of ice.
“Mr. Sterling, are you satisfied now?”
Someone gasped. Some even secretly started recording with their phones.
I ignored them and walked towards the main door.
Countless eyes were fixed on my back. I heard someone scoff loudly:
“What good is great skill if you’re just a stray dog fed by the Sterling family?”
As soon as I stepped out, Sterling Antiques employees began to whisper, some snickering:
“Look, that’s her! The once highly sought–after Professor Sterling, she’s in real trouble now, tsk tsk.”
“I heard she stole artifacts from the company and was stripped and kicked out!”
“Ungrateful wretch, she deserves it! She really thought she was something special. Let’s see who recognizes her once she leaves Sterling Antiques?”
Before the words fully faded.
Serena Hayes rushed forward, shouting loudly for all to hear:
“This woman has always been scheming, trying to seduce my fiancé! I caught her red–handed!”
“What’s worse, she stole confidential data from Sterling Antiques, attempting to sell it to other auction houses! Now with undeniable evidence, everyone, judge for yourselves!”
A low murmur immediately spread through the crowd, some pointing fingers at me.
“What’s going on? How could she do something like this?”
“Sterling Antiques treated her well, but she turned her back on them and even dared to bite the hand that fed her?”
Reporters swarmed in.
I coldly observed the gathered crowd, my voice hoarse:
“Believe what you want. I did nothing wrong. The truth will come out eventually”
11:11
<
As soon as the words left my lips, a cup of scalding hot coffee was instantly poured over my head.
My body involuntarily trembled, and I nearly slipped to the ground.
“Stella Sterling, how dare you pretend to be innocent here!”
Amber Evans held up her phone, live–streaming, the camera shoved directly into my face:
“Stella Sterling, don’t you feel any shame? You seduced Mr. Sterling for money, and even stole Serena’s hard–earned latest
research!”
Her live stream chat was flooded with comments like “slut” and “get out of Sterling Antiques.”
Before I could react, a male reporter next to me swung his tripod, hitting my forehead. A wave of dizziness washed over me.
“Stella Sterling, people like you should be expelled from the restoration industry!”
“No integrity! Still dreaming of Julian Sterling? He doesn’t even want you, wake up!”
“Plagiarist, deceiver, someone who climbed by using men!”
In an instant, all the curses rained down on me.
The ridiculous part was that among these people was an intern I had mentored. She cried theatrically into the camera:
“Professor Sterling, she made me forge restoration documents before. She said she’d ruin my future if I didn’t comply…”
My secretary, whom I had saved from being laid off during company cuts, also clenched her fists and shouted:
“How can someone with such bad character be called a master? She doesn’t deserve to work anywhere!”
On the live stream, someone had mass–sent a photo of Julian Sterling and me attending an international exhibition, with headlines like “How Stella Sterling Seduced Mr. Sterling and Rose to High Society?”
My shoes were lost in the crushing crowd, and I stood barefoot in the rain, utterly humiliated.
Yet, my mind was terrifyingly clear.
When Amber Evans first started, her family faced a sudden crisis. I personally sponsored her tuition and living expenses, and I taught her every word of those professional papers myself,
The intern tearfully accusing me? I rushed to be with her at 3 AM to care for her until dawn.
I used to believe kindness would always be rewarded, but I never imagined today it would become the very knife stabbing me.
Amber Evans leaned in close, a vicious sneer on her lips:
“Stella Sterling, all those artifacts you worked so hard to restore, in the end, only Serena Hayes’s name was on them. Your hard work only brought others fame and success. What’s left to hold onto?”
My gaze was vacant as I stared at Sterling Antiques Tower.
Through the revolving doors, Julian Sterling’s expression was utterly devoid of emotion.
11:11 AM P
<
I stood numbly, letting the onlookers shove their live–stream cameras into my face.
Suddenly, from behind the crowd, came the screech of tires.
A Rolls–Royce sped through the heavy rain, pulling to a halt right in front of me.
A middle–aged man quickly got out, removed his sunglasses, and bowed:
“Excuse me, are you Ms. Stella Sterling?”
“My boss wishes to speak with you.”
