“My name is not Lydia Sinclair,” she said, and the silence in the room became so heavy it was almost difficult to breathe. She looked directly at her husband and revealed that her true name was Lydia Sterling.
The reaction was instantaneous as a collective gasp filled the courtroom, and Gianna’s hand visibly trembled as it slipped off her bag. The name Sterling was synonymous with ancient, untouchable wealth and a level of political influence that made Dominic’s tech fortune look like pocket change.
Dominic’s face didn’t just fall; it seemed to disintegrate as he realized the woman he had treated as a disposable dependent was actually a member of one of the most powerful families in the country. He had known her for years, but he had never truly seen the scale of the person standing across from him.
He had known the way she liked her coffee and the way she slept, but he had never understood that she was a woman who had chosen to live in the shadows of his ego. Judge Whitfield sat up straighter, asking if she was indeed the daughter of the Sterling estate.