I'm Afraid I Won't Be Able to Leave

“A little bolder?”

“Yes! A little bolder!”

Leah Sinclair thought it over again, her expression growing incredulous. “Don’t tell me… she sleeps with clients? The Sterling Family is so wealthy. Do they really need to resort to that?”

“It’s about half and half. The Sterling Family is certainly rich and willing to throw money around, and Madeline Sterling herself enjoys being the center of attention. So while the family uses her for her fame, the other reason is exactly what you just said.”

“There are always occasions where her presence is required. The men she accompanies are all dignitaries and powerful figures, but it’s still accompaniment. The Sterling Family is really just treating her like a pawn.”

Sean Yates kept his eyes on the road, chatting casually with Leah Sinclair. Leah was rendered speechless. ‘The Sterling Family really will stop at nothing,’ she thought. ‘To do this to their own daughter.’

Then again, she remembered how Brandon Jacobs had been persecuted by Thomas Sterling to the point of faking his own death to escape. ‘It makes sense,’ she mused. ‘Some people are just rotten to the core.’

‘Even a vicious tiger won’t eat its cubs, but humans?’

「At the hospital.」

Hugh Sterling’s mind was a complete mess. This had all happened so suddenly. He didn’t know what Morgan Sterling had discussed with Madeline Sterling when he visited the prison, only that she had become unhinged after that visit.

After she’d slit her wrists, Morgan Sterling, concerned about his reputation, had applied for her to be released on medical parole. Hugh had heard reports recently that her condition had improved, and she was just about to be sent back to prison.

When they arrived today, Madeline Sterling had seemed to be doing well. She even clearly greeted Morgan Sterling, saying, “Brother, you’re here.”

But just as Morgan Sterling sat down, before he even had a chance to light his cigarette, Madeline Sterling snapped.

She produced a small fruit knife she’d hidden somewhere and plunged it straight into Morgan Sterling’s stomach, screaming wildly with a twisted expression on her face.

“All of you ruined my life! I’ll kill you! You all deserve to die!”

The fruit knife wasn’t large, and it disappeared completely into Morgan Sterling’s abdomen. Madeline Sterling couldn’t pull it out. Morgan immediately kicked her away, but he was already badly injured. Madeline then smashed the vase on the table and took him hostage with a glass shard.

She kept screaming maniacally for Asher Keating and Leah Sinclair, shouting that she wanted to die along with them and Morgan Sterling. She was completely frenzied. As Morgan Sterling’s bleeding worsened, the SWAT team finally decided to take the opportunity to shoot her dead.

Although Hugh Sterling immediately tried to lock down the news, the commotion from the police cars and ambulances was too great to conceal. All sorts of rumors began to fly, with some people even swearing they saw Morgan Sterling being carried out under a white sheet.

Hugh Sterling’s phone was blowing up with calls. When the battery finally died and the screen went dark, he felt a wave of relief.

He stared at the red light above the operating room door, his hands shaking uncontrollably. ‘Just let me rest for ten minutes,’ he thought. ‘Five minutes would be fine. Even two minutes would do.’

“Is Morgan Sterling’s family here?”

Hugh Sterling shot up as if he’d been shocked. “Doctor, I’m his assistant! Chairman Sterling… how is he?”

The doctor removed his mask. “He’s out of immediate danger for now, but he lost a lot of blood. He’ll need to be monitored in the ICU.”

“Okay, okay, thank you, Doctor. When will he wake up?”

“That’s unclear for now.”

After Asher Keating dropped Leah Sinclair off at home, he went straight to the office. He still wasn’t back by the time Mrs. Lowell had reheated dinner twice. Knowing he must be busy, Leah sent a message to Sean Yates asking if they had eaten.

Sean Yates replied that they had eaten, but mentioned that Asher Keating had barely touched his food. So, Leah had Mrs. Lowell pack up the meal. After a moment’s thought, she cooked one of Asher’s favorite dishes herself and headed to the Keating Group with the insulated food container.

When Leah Sinclair arrived, the 68th floor of the Keating Group building was brightly lit. Edward Yates was on the phone when he stepped out of a conference room and saw her. He quickly muffled the receiver and came over to say hello.

He gestured to let her know that Asher Keating was in a meeting inside. Leah nodded and pointed toward Asher’s office, and Edward nodded back in understanding.

After she waited for nearly half an hour, Asher Keating finally came in, pinching the bridge of his nose. He gently squeezed her cheek. “What are you doing here so late? Didn’t I tell you to get some sleep?”

“I asked Sean Yates, and he said you barely ate. I was worried you’d be hungry.”

Leah Sinclair wrinkled her nose; Asher Keating smelled as if he’d been marinating in a pile of tobacco. She opened the food container and urged him to eat something first.

Asher Keating had been in meetings ever since he got back, only grabbing a few bites in between. Now, the aroma of the food made him realize he was actually quite hungry.

Leah Sinclair moved behind him and began gently massaging his shoulders. “Asher, is it going to be much longer?”

Asher Keating leaned back against the sofa, slowly sipping his soup. “Yeah. We just got word. Morgan Sterling is out of immediate danger, but he hasn’t woken up. The Sterling Group is in a bit of a mess right now, but they’ll issue a statement by tomorrow morning at the latest.”

Ever since Morgan Sterling took charge, he and Asher Keating had clashed numerous times, both openly and behind the scenes, with wins and losses on both sides.

Overall, Asher Keating won about seventy percent of the time, to Morgan Sterling’s thirty. However, Morgan was always willing to burn cash, and Asher couldn’t be bothered to engage in such wasteful tactics.

Now, with the Sterling Group yet to release a statement and the situation uncertain, many of their partners would be panicking. Asher Keating had no qualms about using the opportunity to acquire some of their projects at a reduced price.

That’s why they had to finalize everything tonight. Otherwise, once the Sterling Group made their announcement in the morning, those fair-weather partners would sway right back. After all, no one turns their back on money.

Leah Sinclair understood the business dealings involved, so she didn’t say anything. When the coffee she’d ordered earlier was delivered, she went out to hand it out. A chorus of “Thank you, Mrs. President!” erupted from the outer office, and she was blushing so hard her face was still red by the time she returned.

Amusement danced in Asher Keating’s eyes. His gaze made Leah even more flustered. She placed the coffee in front of him, then reached out to cover his eyes. “Stop looking.”

Asher Keating chuckled and pulled her hand away, then drew her in for a long kiss. He tilted his chin toward the dish he’d eaten the most of. “You made this?”

Leah Sinclair glanced over. It was indeed the dish she had made. She nodded. “You could tell?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Asher Keating squeezed her cheek and glanced at his watch. “You should go home. Go on to bed, don’t wait up for me.”

Leah Sinclair agreed. She figured Asher Keating might not even make it home tonight. She packed up her things and left.

In the elevator, Leah Sinclair ran into Phoebe Peyton’s assistant. After the assistant greeted her, Leah casually asked, “Working late?”

The assistant looked down, flustered, and tried to hide what she was holding behind her back. “Uh, yeah… something… something held me up.”

Leah Sinclair nodded without a word. When the elevator reached the ground floor, the assistant said, “Goodbye, Miss Grant,” and then practically fled. Leah’s gaze fell on the item the assistant had tried to hide.

It was a brand of nutritional supplement she was quite familiar with. During her first year in Eldoria, Mabel Grant used to send it to her regularly. She remembered it being quite effective as a blood supplement.