Chapter 3

Twenty-four hours later, a refined butler with a sharp British accent arrived at my penthouse with a single suitcase.

"Ethan, your father is currently occupied with a major merger in London. He instructed me to assist you with anything you need."

"I have full authorization to use all of the Sterling Group's global resources to resolve your... issue."

I nodded. Just then, my phone rang. It was Chloe.

The moment I answered, her screeching voice echoed through the speaker.

"Ethan! What the hell did you say to my mother?"

"You pathetic loser, threatening a sick woman? And here I thought you were a gentleman."

"I'm warning you, if you have a problem, bring it to me. My mother is scheduled for her organ transplant next week. If you dare mess with her medical care, I will destroy you!"

She slammed the phone down before I could even reply.

Listening to the dial tone, I turned to the butler.

"Your name is..."

"You may call me Alan, sir."

"Alright, Alan. You heard her. My former mother-in-law needs some medical help."

"I was the one who pulled strings to get her to the top of the donor list three years ago. Now, I regret it."

Alan nodded smoothly. "Understood, sir. I shall contact our medical associates immediately. They will know what to do."

Without making any grand phone calls, Alan simply sent a brief, encrypted text.

Within an hour, the head of the transplant department from the city hospital arrived at my penthouse.

"Mr. Sterling, it took us a year to secure a matching donor for Mrs. Miller. Are you certain you want to cancel the private funding and revoke her priority status?"

I took a sip of my water. "Yes. Cancel it."

A year ago, when Chloe was pretending to be on her deathbed, she had held my hand, weeping.

"If I die, it's fine, but my mother has been bedridden for years. You have to save her, Ethan."

Her mother had an incredibly rare blood type, making finding a compatible donor nearly impossible.

I hadn't given up. I spent millions, utilizing global networks, until I finally found a matching donor—a healthy kid whose family was struggling financially in South America.

Although I hated exploiting someone's situation, for Chloe's sake, I had practically begged the parents and promised them a massive trust fund of $150,000 annually.

With that life-changing money, they had agreed.

"Send $300,000 to the donor's family as compensation for canceling the contract," I instructed the doctor. "Tell them they are free from any obligation."

The doctor took my black card, nodded respectfully, and left.

Once he was gone, I turned back to Alan.

"Also, look into Chloe's death certificate from six months ago. Find out which corrupt official signed off on it."

"And one more thing. Find her younger half-brother, Leo Miller. The one Chloe kicked out of the country four years ago."

Alan didn't ask a single question. He took the notes and immediately set to work.

Jax, who had been sitting on the couch, looked completely bewildered.

"Wait, I get canceling her mom's surgery. That's a killer move."

"But why are we looking into her dead father's illegitimate kid and her fake death certificate? She's alive, so obviously the certificate is a fake."

I smiled faintly.

Chloe and I had been together for seven years, married for six. She was a meticulous woman. She knew a cheap fake certificate wouldn't fool me.

So, that death certificate had to be legally registered in the system.

And as for the Miller family empire, Chloe wasn't always the sole heir. Her father, Arthur, had a biological son from an affair.

Old Arthur was traditional; he would never have willingly left his empire to a daughter when he had a son.

But Chloe was ruthless.

After her father's sudden "car accident," she fabricated a scandal, stripped her teenage brother of his rights, and banished him overseas.

With the boy gone and her father incapacitated, she became the sole ruler of the Millers.

"I was so blind back then," I muttered, looking at Jax. "I actually believed her when she said her brother was a dangerous delinquent who had to be sent away for his own good."

I let out a cold laugh.

"Imagine her reaction when she's about to fully integrate the Sterling assets, and her long-lost brother suddenly appears to contest her father's estate."