Chapter 5
“Cheryl, did anyone notify us about aircraft landing in front of our building?”
Caleb Stratmore suddenly had a bad feeling about this.
“I… I didn’t hear anything about that.”
Cheryl Dalton’s face went pale.
She stepped forward to ask what was going on.
Just then, the aircraft doors opened and over a dozen people quickly descended.
“Which one of you is Dr. Sterling?”
I walked over, and the man nodded respectfully before speaking loudly.
“We’ve been ordered to demonstrate Dr. Sterling’s capabilities. Also, our director wants to know-who just said on the phone that they’d dare him to
come? I’m here to collect on that dare!”
I looked at Cheryl Dalton with a cold smile.
Cheryl instantly went white as a sheet and ducked behind Caleb.
“Mr. Stratmore, help me!”
Caleb took a deep breath and stepped forward.
“Is there some kind of misunderstanding here?”
“I’m Caleb Stratmore of Stratmore Enterprises. Our company is worth billions, and my wife is Vivienne Winchester from one of D.C.’s four major
families, the Winchesters.”
“I see.”
The man nodded slightly, pulled out a notebook, and calmly wrote down these names.
“Stratmore Enterprises, and the Winchester family of D.C. Do you have any other backing?”
Caleb’s face darkened as cold sweat started forming.
“What do you mean? Stratmore Enterprises is backed by investments from the Blackwell and Whitlock families-two of D.C.’s oldest established families. Surely you wouldn’t disrespect those two major families?”
Caleb said urgently.
“The Blackwells, the Whitlocks. Anyone else?” the man asked curiously.
This exchange sent murmurs through the crowd.
“What’s going on? It feels like they’re not asking about the Stratmore family’s connections-they’re making a hit list.”
“That’s impossible. What family in this country would dare target the Stratmores, Blackwells, Whitlocks, and Winchesters all at once?”
“But what if it’s not a family? What if it’s… the government?”
After someone said that, the crowd fell unusually silent.
Caleb was getting more panicked by the second. Something was very wrong here.
He stared at me intensely, his voice hoarse. “Annora Sterling, what the hell have you been doing these past six years?”
“What have I been doing?”
Chapter
I smiled slightly.
I looked up at the towering Stratmore Enterprises building.
A mocking smile played at the corner of my mouth as I said softly, “Caleb Stratmore, you don’t really think you built this empire all by yourself after I left, do you?”
Caleb’s pupils contracted as something finally clicked.
Not long after Annora had left, he’d met the first major benefactor of his life.
He’d just been a small time sales employee back then.
During that contract negotiation, the other party had been very impressed with his performance and convinced him to go independent, offering to
invest.
At the time, he’d just wanted to raise his daughter quietly and didn’t dare take such a risk, but the other party kept painting these grand visions.
Under constant persuasion, he’d finally worked up the courage to try entrepreneurship.
Once he’d started his business, everything seemed to fall into place perfectly.
Right from the beginning, he’d landed contracts that major corporations could only dream of.
The Blackwell and Whitlock families had somehow learned about his small company and each invested a hundred million dollars for only twenty percent of the shares.
Back then, his tiny company’s total assets were worth maybe a few million at most.
This had caused a sensation throughout D.C.
Later, when he’d met Vivienne Winchester and gotten lost in her gentle affection, he’d gradually forgotten about Annora Sterling.
As Stratmore Enterprises established itself in D.C., he’d forgotten so many things.
“You… you were helping me from behind the scenes all along?” Caleb said in disbelief.
“No, that’s impossible!”
“If it was really you, why didn’t you stop me when I met Vivienne?”
I just shook my head slightly, too tired to explain much more.
“Dr. Sterling, shall we begin demonstrating your capabilities now?”
“Let’s begin.”
I said calmly.
