Threatening People Anyone Can Do It
Until Bryce Sterling's verdict came down, Avery Hayes had zero intention of picking a fight with his family.
They were in a completely different league, and she knew it.
The Sterlings could ruin her without breaking a sweat, hell, if they threw a little cash around to arrange an "accident," she could end up dead or permanently disabled.
She'd already died once, and she wasn't keen on a repeat performance.
But now that she'd run into them, her professional instincts kicked in, and backing down just wasn't an option. So, the second Lorraine Sterling opened her mouth to start something, Avery's defenses shot right up.
"Ms. Sterling, if you got hauled away by the police right here on the street, what do you think tomorrow's top trending topic would be?" Avery said, pulling out her phone. She tapped the screen slowly, her eyes fixed calmly on Lorraine.
At the sight of the phone, Lorraine took a sharp breath, swallowing her anger.
"What, you think you run the police department?"
she sneered. "I haven't touched you. I'm just here to talk about a settlement for what my brother did. Just tell me what it'll take for you to forgive his screw-up. Our family is being sincere here. As long as you're willing to sign a letter of forgiveness, we can make a deal."
After their last run-in, Lorraine had learned her lesson.
She knew Avery was a tough nut to crack, so she dropped the superior attitude and tried to sound reasonable, desperate not to give Avery any ammunition for another media firestorm.
The Sterling family was already on thin ice; they couldn't handle any more bad press.
"A settlement?" Avery turned off her phone, a flicker of irony in her expression.
"This is in the hands of the hospital's legal department now. Their lawyer will be in touch."
So they *were* scared, they just needed a nerve to be hit.
It looked like that last media frenzy had taught them something after all.
"Miss Hayes, is there really no room for discussion when it comes to Bryce?"
A new voice cut in. Beside them, Warren Sterling, leaning on his cane, spoke up. His voice was deep and raspy, with that slow, deliberate weight some older men have, where each word lands with a sharp, dangerous crackle.
Avery offered him a polite smile, a small nod of deference to his age. She didn't say a word, but her silence was a clear refusal.
"Young lady, I apologize on behalf of my grandson."
The wrinkles around Warren's eyes deepened, but his gaze, though seemingly gentle, held a cold glint that pinned her in place.
"It's good for young people to have some fire, but being too stubborn will only get you broken. Playing tough isn't the best way to solve this."
He leaned forward slightly, his words heavy with threat. "In this world, you can't get by on backbone alone. Do an old man a favor and sign the letter. As for your future, I'll make sure you're well compensated."
Avery let out a short, humorless laugh. "Playing tough? My future? Mr. Sterling, are you aware I've already resigned? What you call 'playing tough,' I call seeking justice."
She hadn't planned on aiming her fire at the old man, but since he'd decided to step into the ring and throw his weight around, she wasn't about to hold back.
"Instead of wasting your time here asking me for a letter of forgiveness, you'd be better off finding Bryce a lawyer who can keep him from getting the maximum sentence," she said, her tone hardening.
"And no matter how hard you fight, I will make my position crystal clear to the court: I will not accept mediation. The only thing I want is for him to be punished to the fullest extent of the law."
At her unyielding stance, Warren's eyes turned sinister. "Young lady, you've got a lot of nerve. Aren't you afraid, "
"I'd be careful what you say, Mr. Sterling. We live in a society with laws, remember?" Avery watched his expression twist and found him far more interesting to look at now. The masks were off, so why pretend? Being direct, like Lorraine, made things a lot simpler.
She paused, letting her next words hang in the air, her amber eyes flashing.
"Let me give you a little reminder. A lot of foreign money has been flowing into the Sterling family business, yet your company can't seem to produce any contracts for it. Instead of worrying about how to get Bryce out of jail,
you might want to spend your time figuring out how to legitimize that massive influx of cash."
Anyone could make threats. She wasn't exactly sure how the money was being funneled, but Bryce's arrest had sent the family into a full-blown panic.
It didn't take a genius to figure out the money was dirty, and that kind of cash flow would never hold up under a real investigation.
All she had to do was point someone in the right direction, and the whole Sterling empire could come crashing down.
She had Zachary Bell to thank for that little tidbit; if he hadn't mentioned it on the way over, she'd have had nothing.
It was a shot in the dark, but it hit its mark perfectly.
The color drained from Warren's wrinkled face, his expression freezing over as a chilling stillness radiated from him. The veins on the hand gripping his rosewood cane bulged, as if he were trying to crush it. Avery's lips curled into a smile that was just as cold as the look on his face.
Just then, a short honk cut through the tension. Her rideshare was here.
Avery gave Warren a final, dismissive nod, pulled open the car door, and slid inside. The car merged smoothly back into traffic. Leaning against the seat, she caught a glimpse of Warren's frozen figure in the rearview mirror and allowed herself a small, mocking smile.
From the exit of The Empyrean Club's underground garage, a discreet black Maybach pulled out, falling into traffic just behind Avery's car. In the back, Julian Shaw watched the direction she'd gone, his eyes filled with open admiration.
"I sensed Dr. Hayes had a sharp edge to her during dinner," he murmured, tapping his fingers on his knee. He chuckled softly. "Now it seems she was actually being polite to me." As he said the word 'polite,' his gaze flickered to the two Sterlings still standing on the curb.
"Was that woman the Dr. Hayes Mr. Reed was talking about?" In the passenger seat, his assistant, Trevor, leaned forward, watching the rideshare disappear.
Julian nodded. After a moment, he said, "When you get back to the office, pull everything you can find on her. First thing tomorrow, have the management team run a value assessment. If she's an A-level asset or higher, I want a contract drafted immediately."
He paused, then added, "Actually, just draft an A-level contract from the start."
Trevor looked surprised for a second before nodding. "Understood."
Meanwhile, the two Sterlings stood stunned on the sidewalk, their faces so dark it looked like a storm cloud was hanging over their heads.
"How does she know about our company's business?"
Lorraine's voice trembled, her perfect makeup doing nothing to hide the sheer panic in her eyes.
That one sentence from Avery held enough damning information to bring down their entire family.
This was the real reason they were so desperate to get Bryce out of jail.
Warren's brow furrowed. "Get ahold of Chang," he said, his voice cold. "Tell him to get to the city."
He stared into the distance, his eyes hard and flat. "Young women are easily frightened. Since she won't cooperate, we'll just have to scare her. Tell Chang to make it clean. I don't want to see the Sterling name trending on the news ever again."