The fallout of the "Sterling Secret" didn't dissipate with the morning mist over Lake Joseph. Instead, it coalesced into a cold, hard clinical reality. Arthur and Miriam Sterling, stripped of their pride and facing a plummeting stock price, realized that a scandal based on a lie could be sued into oblivion—but a scandal based on a biological fact was a permanent stain.
They tracked Maya to a high-security "safe house" provided by an anonymous benefactor (whom Arm had carefully vetted to ensure no paper trail led back to the Armitage estate). The meeting was not held in a boardroom, but in a sterile, private lounge of a Sterling-owned medical wing in the city.
Arthur Sterling sat across from Maya, his tailored suit looking like armor that had been dented in battle. Beside him, Miriam clutched her designer handbag as if it were a shield. Maya sat composed, her red coat draped over the back of her chair, her hand resting protectively over her stomach.
