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Claimed By The Coldhearted Sterling Heir

Claimed By The Coldhearted Sterling Heir

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100 Chapters
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I was kneeling on the warped linoleum of my trailer, packing my life into a trash bag, when the predatory purr of a luxury SUV echoed through the thin walls. I thought it was a raid, but it was something much worse. Julian Sterling, a federal prosecutor in a charcoal suit, stepped into the mud and bought me from my alcoholic stepfather. He didn't use cash; he used a list of felonies and a legal settlement to trade my freedom for my stepfather's silence. "Throw it away," Julian ordered, pointing at the bag containing everything I owned. I watched my sister's stuffed bear fall into an oil puddle as he forced me into a world of cold leather and silence. By the time we reached Boston, Faith Vance was dead. He forced me to sign papers changing my name to Elara, erasing my past to fit a narrative of Swiss boarding schools and high-society breeding. The horror didn't stop there. The family patriarch, Arthur Sterling, looked at us with hawk-like eyes and issued a command that turned my blood to ice. To avoid scandal, Julian and I were to be introduced as "Brother" and "Sister." Julian's jaw tightened until a vein throbbed in his temple, and when he finally called me "Sister," the word sounded like a curse. I was a prisoner in a mansion with bars on the windows, caught between a "brother" who loathed my existence and a cousin who tried to assault me in my own room. They dressed me in silk armor and expected me to be a doll, a manageable piece of a legacy I never asked for. I sat at a dinner table worth more than my hometown, swallowing oysters that tasted like salt and iodine, while Julian created a physical barrier between me and the wolves. Under the tablecloth, I reached out and squeezed his clenched fist. His fingers uncurled and captured mine in a grip so crushing it felt like a pact signed in the dark. I have a jagged shard of glass in my pocket and five thousand dollars a month to hoard. Julian says the law is a weapon that breaks weak people, but he's about to find out that I'm not a lamb. I'm a survivor, and I'm ready for the casualties.

Contents

Chapter 1 1

Faith Vance knelt on the warped linoleum of the trailer, her knees pressing into the grit that never seemed to sweep away. The air inside smelled of stale beer and damp insulation, a scent that had coated the inside of her lungs for nineteen years. She shoved a faded flannel shirt into the black garbage bag, her fingers trembling so hard she nearly tore the plastic.

Outside, a low rumble vibrated through the thin aluminum walls, shaking the dust motes dancing in the afternoon sun. It wasn't the rattling cough of a pickup truck. It was deeper, smoother. A predatory purr.

The neighbor's dog, a mange-ridden beast named Buster, started barking. It was a frantic, terrified sound that cut through the humid West Virginia heat.

Faith crawled to the window, careful to keep her head below the sill. She peeled back a single slat of the yellowed blinds.

Three black SUVs sat on the gravel road like hearses waiting for a funeral. They were massive, pristine, and completely alien against the backdrop of rusting siding and overgrown weeds. The mud on the tires looked like a mistake, a blemish on perfection.

The door of the middle vehicle opened.

A man stepped out. He didn't look at the mud pooling around the sole of his Italian leather shoe. He stood tall, adjusting the cuffs of a charcoal suit that probably cost more than the entire trailer park. He wore sunglasses that hid his eyes, but Faith could feel the weight of his gaze even through the dark lenses.

Julian Sterling.

Her heart hammered against her ribs, a painful, erratic rhythm. He looked like salvation wrapped in a warning label.

The trailer door groaned open behind her. Faith flinched.

"Who the hell is that?" Her stepfather, Ray, stumbled into the small living space. The neck of a whiskey bottle clutched in his hand was the only clean thing about him.

Faith scrambled up, clutching the garbage bag to her chest. "Don't go out there, Ray."

"I'll go where I damn well please. This is my property." Ray pushed past her, kicking the screen door open. It slammed against the metal siding with a gunshot crack.

Faith followed, her bare feet sinking into the damp earth of the front yard.

A large man in a suit-a bodyguard-stepped in front of Julian, his hand hovering near his waist. Julian didn't flinch. He just raised a hand, a small, dismissive gesture that stopped the bodyguard in his tracks.

Julian took off his sunglasses. His eyes were the color of a winter ocean, cold and indifferent. He looked at Ray, then at the trailer, and finally, his gaze landed on Faith.

He didn't smile. He didn't frown. He just assessed her, like an appraiser looking at a house with a cracked foundation.

"Miss Vance?" His voice was a low baritone that seemed to suck the sound out of the air around them.

Faith nodded. Her throat felt like it was filled with sawdust.

"I'm Julian Sterling. Per Arthur Sterling's instructions, I am here to collect you."

Ray took a step forward, swaying slightly. "You ain't collecting nothing unless you got cash."

Julian looked at Ray with an expression of clinical boredom. He didn't snap his fingers for money. Instead, he reached into his inner jacket pocket and withdrew a folded legal document.

"Mr. Vance," Julian said, his voice slicing through the humidity. "This is a sworn affidavit detailing three counts of child endangerment, one count of distribution of controlled substances from this premises, and tax evasion spanning the last decade. I am a Federal Assistant United States Attorney. I don't carry cash for bribes."

Ray froze, his eyes darting between the document and the armed men behind Julian. The whiskey bottle lowered.

"However," Julian continued, signaling his assistant, Liam, who stepped forward with a clipboard and a modest check. "The Sterling Family Trust is willing to provide a relocation stipend to ensure you do not impede Miss Vance's departure. This is a settlement, legally recorded. Sign the release of guardianship and the non-disclosure agreement, and you stay out of federal prison. Refuse, and the DEA raids this tin can in twenty minutes."

Ray looked at the check, then at the legal threat. The fight drained out of him instantly. He snatched the pen, scribbling his name with shaking hands. He didn't look at Faith. He didn't say goodbye. He just grabbed the check and retreated inside the trailer, closing the door on her forever.

Faith felt a cold hollow open up in her stomach. She had been sold, not for cash, but for her stepfather's freedom.

"Let's go," Julian said. He turned toward the car.

Faith hesitated. She looked back at the small window where her little sister, Patty, would be hiding.

"She stays," Julian said, not turning around. He knew exactly where she was looking.

Tears pricked Faith's eyes, hot and stinging. "She's only ten. I can't leave her with him."

"The agreement was for one," Julian said, pausing with his hand on the car door. He glanced back, his expression unreadable. "However, Child Protective Services has already been anonymously tipped off regarding the conditions here. A case worker is ten minutes out. If you take her now, you become a kidnapper in the eyes of the law. If you leave her, the state takes custody. It is the only legal path to safety for her right now."

Faith stared at him. It was cold comfort, but it was a plan. "Get in," Julian said. The interior was cream leather, spotless and inviting.

Faith gripped the neck of her garbage bag tighter. It contained two shirts, a pair of jeans, a photograph of her mother, and a stuffed bear with one eye. It was everything she owned.

She walked toward him, the mud squelching between her toes. She reached for the door handle, but Julian blocked her path.

His eyes dropped to the black plastic bag in her hand.

"Throw it away," he said.

Faith froze. "What?"

"The bag," Julian said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Throw it in the ditch."

"These are my clothes," Faith whispered. "It's all I have."

"Sterling House does not accept refuse," Julian said. He leaned in slightly, and she smelled sandalwood and something sharp, like ozone. "And frankly, that bag is a biohazard. If you want to survive where you are going, you cannot smell like this place. Leave the contamination in the dirt."

Faith looked at the bag. Then she looked at the open door of the car. The air conditioning wafting out felt like a promise of a different world. If she stayed, she would die here, just like her mother. If she left, she had a chance.

Her hand trembled. She loosened her grip.

The bag dropped. It hit the mud with a wet thud, tipping over. The stuffed bear spilled out, face down in a puddle of oil and rainwater.

Faith let out a small, strangled sound.

"Get in," Julian ordered.

She stepped over the bag, over the bear, and climbed into the car. The door slammed shut, sealing her in a vacuum of silence and leather.

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Latest Release: Chapter 100 100   Yesterday 15:55
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Chapter 1 1
07/01/2026
Chapter 2 2
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Chapter 3 3
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Chapter 4 4
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Chapter 5 5
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Chapter 6 6
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Chapter 7 7
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Chapter 8 8
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Chapter 9 9
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Chapter 10 10
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Chapter 11 11
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Chapter 12 12
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Chapter 13 13
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Chapter 14 14
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Chapter 15 15
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Chapter 16 16
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Chapter 17 17
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Chapter 18 18
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Chapter 19 19
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Chapter 20 20
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Chapter 21 21
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Chapter 22 22
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Chapter 23 23
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Chapter 24 24
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Chapter 25 25
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Chapter 26 26
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Chapter 27 27
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Chapter 28 28
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Chapter 29 29
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Chapter 30 30
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Chapter 31 31
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Chapter 32 32
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Chapter 33 33
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Chapter 34 34
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Chapter 35 35
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Chapter 36 36
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Chapter 37 37
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Chapter 38 38
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Chapter 39 39
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Chapter 40 40
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