Signed Mrs. Sterling Chapter 13
I stared at her coldly. My voice wasn’t loud, but it silenced the entire room.
“No matter how much Harrison dislikes me, Henry is the sole heir to the Sterling family.”
“If his arm is permanently scarred, or if it gets infected, how do you think the board of directors will view the ‘stepmother’ who hasn’t even moved in yet? What do you think Child Protective Services will write in their report? ‘Prospective stepmother neglects child’s injury’?”
“And you,” I said, turning to the trembling nanny. “You’re a paid professional. Why didn’t you take him to the emergency room? Do you want to lose your license?”
Vanessa’s face went white. She was cornered.
She deflected her anger onto the nanny. “Oh my god! Didn’t I tell you to put some ointment on it? Are you an idiot?”
“Enough.”
I had no time for this blame game. I walked over to Henry and knelt down.
Leo peeked out from behind me, scared.
Henry tried to lunge forward to hug me, but I held up a hand to stop him.
“Henry,” I said, looking him straight in the eye. “You said Aunt Vanessa threw the tea on you on purpose?”
“Yes! She said the tea wasn’t hot and told me to drink it, then she threw it on me!” Henry cried out. “The food she makes is disgusting, and when I tried to spit it out, she yelled at me! She’s a wicked witch!”
I didn’t say anything. I just turned my head and looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa nervously fixed her hair. “He’s just a child, Julianne. Kids lie. It was an accident…”
“Shut up.”
I stood up, making no move to take Henry with me.
“Henry, you need to tell your father all of this yourself.”
“But I can’t take you with me. This is what you chose. You said Aunt Vanessa was cooler than me, and you wanted to be with her. Remember, every choice has a consequence.”
Henry was stunned. He thought that all he had to do was cry, and I would fold, just like I always used to.
Then, his eyes landed on Leo hiding behind me. A wave of panic and abandonment turned into rage. He pointed at Leo and screamed.
“It’s because of him, isn’t it! You don’t want me anymore because of this bastard!”
Hearing those venomous words, the last shred of pity I had for Henry vanished. That was the Harrison gene—selfish, cruel, convinced the world revolved around him.
Just then, the sound of an engine growled outside.
It was Harrison’s car.
Vanessa’s expression changed in an instant. She put on a mask of worried affection and rushed over to Henry.
“Henry, sweetie, let’s put some medicine on that. Daddy’s home, we don’t want him to worry. You know Auntie loves you so much.”
Henry shrieked and kicked at her, and the scene descended into chaos.
The front door swung open.
Harrison strode in, followed by a sweating Sebastian who had clearly just gotten off the helicopter.
“What the hell is going on in here?!”
Harrison roared.
But he was roaring at me.