Chapter 2 - The Mother's Legacy
The air in the reception hall grew thin and suffocating.
Julian Sterling froze, the color draining from his face so rapidly that his silver hair seemed to dull. "What did you just say?" he breathed, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper.
"You heard me," the girl said, standing tall despite her ragged clothes. Her name was Wren, though none of the aristocrats in the room knew it yet. "Clara Sterling sent me. And she told me that if anything happened to her, I was supposed to come for Leo before you signed the final trust documents tonight."
A wave of sharp, frantic whispers swept through the crowd. Society reporters who had been invited to cover the memorial gala suddenly raised their cameras, flashes stroking the high, gilded ceilings.
"She's lying! She's an impostor! A street thief looking for a payout!" Julian barked, turning to the security guards with wild eyes. "Get her out of here now! Drag her out!"
The two massive guards lunged forward, but Wren was faster.
She didn't fight back; instead, she reached into the hidden pocket of her torn dress and pulled out a heavy silver medallion hanging from a leather cord. It was shaped like a falcon with a small ruby set into its eye. She held it directly in front of Leo's face.
Leo's eyes widened. "Mom's locket..." he whispered, his breath catching. "She never took that off. Ever."
"She gave it to me three days ago, Leo," Wren said quickly, leaning down so only he could hear her over the mounting commotion. "She’s alive. But they are keeping her hidden, and if you sign those trust papers tonight, they will make sure neither of you ever sees the light of day again."
Leo looked at the locket, then at his uncle Julian.
Julian had spent the last six months convincing Leo that his mother was gone, that her body was lost at the bottom of the ocean, and that the only way to keep the Sterling family business safe was to sign over Leo's inherited majority shares on his twelfth birthday—which was tonight.
"Leo, don't listen to this crazy beggar!" Julian stepped closer, his voice laced with forced warmth, though his eyes burned with lethal panic. "She's playing a sick joke on you. Your mother loved you, but she is gone. Come with me. Let's get you back to your room."
Julian reached down to grab the joystick of Leo's motorized wheelchair.
"Don't touch it!" Leo yelled suddenly, his voice echoing off the marble walls.
The entire hall fell silent. Leo had been mute and withdrawn since the crash, barely speaking a word to his tutors, doctors, or servants. Hearing him scream was like watching a ghost come to life.
"Leo..." Julian stammered, stunned.
Leo reached down, hit the manual override switch on his control arm, and gripped Wren's hand tighter. "Take me with you," he told Wren.
"Gladly," Wren said.
May you like
Before the guards could grab her, Wren reached behind Leo's chair and kicked the emergency manual release lever on the wheels. The electric motor disengaged with a loud thunk. With a burst of strength born from years of surviving on the city streets, Wren spun the wheelchair around and pushed Leo full-sprint toward the massive glass doors leading to the courtyard.
"Stop them!" Julian screamed, abandoning all pretenses of high-society elegance. "Lock the gates! Shoot the tires if you have to!"
