The Poor Daughter They Ignored Was Actually A Billionaire Chapter 05
Richard Sterling stopped in front of me.
Then he did something no one in the room expected.
He bowed his head.
“Dr. Bennett.”
“I apologize for being late.”
Silence.
Not one glass moved.
My mother’s mouth opened.
Then closed.
“Mr. Sterling.”
Her voice shook.
“You must have the wrong person.”
Richard looked at her.
My mother pointed at me.
“That’s Elena.”
“She never even finished college.”
Julian came down from the stage.
“Grandfather, she’s Sabrina’s sister.”
“The one who works at the clinic.”
Richard turned slowly.
“Works at the clinic.”
Julian swallowed.
“Yes.”
Richard laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
Then he looked around the room.
“Do any of you have any idea who she is?”
Nobody answered.
His voice rose.
“Dr. Elena Bennett.”
“One of the leading cancer researchers in the country.”
My mother’s face emptied.
Richard continued.
“Founder and controlling shareholder of Arclight Therapeutics.”
“A company valued at one point eight billion dollars.”
The room shifted.
A low sound moved through the guests.
“Holder of fourteen international medical patents.”
“Creator of the drug-delivery platform every major oncology company in America has been trying to license.”
Sabrina’s fingers tightened around the microphone.
Richard pointed at me.
“Her newest patent was licensed this week.”
“For twenty million dollars.”
The used-car salesman who had stood up earlier slowly sat back down.
The casino security guard looked at the floor.
Richard was not finished.
“And Sterling Pharmaceuticals has spent three months begging Dr. Bennett for one meeting.”
Julian went white.
Richard’s voice dropped.
“Because without her patent, our billion-dollar cancer program is dead.”
The ballroom exploded.
People started whispering.
Phones came out.
Someone near the head table said, “Wait. Arclight?”
Another person answered, “That’s her?”
A woman in a cream suit suddenly stood.
She came straight toward me.
“Dr. Bennett.”
She held out a business card.
“I’m with Meridian Oncology.”
“We’ve been trying to get your team on a call for weeks.”
Another man followed.
Then another.
A hospital board member.
A biotech investor.
A pharmaceutical executive.
Business cards appeared in front of me one after another.
“Dr. Bennett, could we schedule ten minutes?”
“Dr. Bennett, our fund led the last round in—”
“Dr. Bennett, I saw your keynote in Boston.”
“Dr. Bennett, your work is extraordinary.”
I took the cards politely.
Across the room, my mother was still frozen.
Elliot looked like he had forgotten how to breathe.
Ethan’s face had gone pale.
Melanie smiled.
Too fast.
Too wide.
“Elena.”
She stepped closer.
“I had no idea.”
“I’m so happy for you.”
I looked down.
Her nails were digging into her palm.
Hard.
I looked back at her face.
“Are you?”
Her smile faltered.
Sabrina finally lowered the microphone.
Her knuckles were white.
My mother seemed to come back to life all at once.
She hurried toward Richard.
“Mr. Sterling.”
She smiled so hard her cheeks shook.
“Elena is my daughter.”
“My own daughter.”
“Of course this partnership can happen.”
“We’re practically family now.”
I turned my head.
“Family?”
The ballroom quieted again.
I looked directly at my mother.
“Funny.”
“A minute ago, you told me to get out.”