Chapter 49
The agent glanced at the property transaction records on her phone and sighed. “You bought the villa next to hers, yet you don’t dare let her know?”
Daniel Sterling stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his fingertips tracing the outline of Evelyn Sullivan’s villa reflected in the glass.
“Not yet.”
The agent scoffed. “Keep waiting, and she’ll have kids old enough to run errands.”
When Daniel first debuted, she had opposed his secret crush. But that rainy night, when the Sterling family’s fleet parked outside the set, she finally understood the lineage behind this quiet newcomer.
“Pick me up at seven tomorrow.”
The moment the villa’s lights flickered on, Daniel’s pupils contracted slightly. Every piece of furniture, every book, even the curtain colors—all perfectly mirrored Evelyn’s tastes. Those out-of-print books had taken him three years to collect.
A sudden ringtone shattered the silence.
“Young Master, the patriarch is on his deathbed…”
Daniel’s knuckles turned white.
“Let his devoted sons keep vigil.”
The steward’s voice trembled. “He wants to pass the Sterling family to—”
“Enough!” Daniel hurled his phone against the wall. The shattered screen still displayed the call log. Slowly, he knelt to pick up the crumpled book—its cover bearing the autograph of Evelyn’s favorite author.
Evelyn paused mid-step as an icy chill greeted her in the living room.
“Decided to come home?” Ethan Sullivan’s voice was glacial.
She headed straight for the stairs.
“Stop.”
Evelyn turned to meet the storm brewing in Ethan’s eyes.
“What does the mighty Mr. Sullivan want?”
“From today onward, you’re forbidden from seeing Daniel Sterling.”
A laugh escaped her. “On what grounds?”
Ethan rose abruptly, his shadow engulfing her. “On the grounds that I can erase him from the entertainment industry.”
“You—” Her grip tightened on the banister.
“What? Getting worked up over an outsider?” He seized her wrist. “Or have you forgotten who your husband is?”
Evelyn tilted her head up, her gaze frosty. “The husband who brought his mistress to galas? The one who let her drug me? Or—” She yanked her hand free. “The husband now threatening me with power?”
