Chapter 578
Standing at the very front was Helena, dressed in an immaculate designer suit, her face stretched tight with fury.
She practically vibrated with impatience and rage.
Right beside her sat Celeste in her wheelchair, looking incredibly fragile, pale, and completely harmless.
On the surface, she appeared to be nothing more than a supportive companion. But peering through the slits of her lowered lashes, her gaze was fixed intently on the hallway ahead.
Rather than being part of the impending drama, she looked exactly like an audience member waiting for the show to start.
“Sienna Sloan p>
The second Helena spotted her, the older woman let her fury off the leash, stepping forward with a shrill, commanding bark.
Throwing away every last ounce of high-society etiquette, she went straight for the throat.
“I didn’t come here today to play games with you!
Hand over the management rights to my individual share of The Sterling Family Trust immediately! I am taking control of my own money p>
Her voice echoed with utter self-righteousness, booming loud enough to ensure every bystander heard her treating Sienna like a common thief.
“That trust is the exact percentage the late Mr. Sterling left specifically for each of us! You are merely holding onto it temporarily!
Starting today, I am moving my assets to a new firm. I’ll find a real professional to handle my portfolio.
I do not trust you. So whether my fund doubles in value or goes entirely bankrupt and leaves me with nothing p>
It has absolutely nothing to do with you anymore! Don’t you dare lay another finger on it p>
Sienna’s eyes darkened slightly, the truth instantly crystallizing in her mind.
The Sterlings had maintained their empire for over a century, strictly bound by ironclad family rules.
The management rights and asset allocations of the trust strictly adhered to the framework established by their ancestors.
There was absolutely zero precedent for an individual family member to forcibly demand their cut or switch management firms on a whim.
Helena was notoriously cowardly, vain, and entirely incapable of independent thought.
She simply didn’t have the brainpower to orchestrate such a massive, bridge-burning public stunt to violently seize control of the trust.
Sienna slowly raised her gaze, looking right past the rabid Helena.
Her eyes locked onto the woman sitting behind her—the supposedly innocent Celeste.
Every missing piece of the puzzle violently snapped together.
This sudden, chaotic demand wasn’t born out of Helena throwing a random temper tantrum.
From the very beginning, Celeste had been pulling the strings from the shadows.
The aggressive, non-stop pressure meant there was a deadly, unseen trap waiting to be sprung.
But what exactly was her endgame?
Helena had clearly been completely brainwashed, consumed entirely by the singular obsession of getting her hands on the trust.
She had intentionally brought an army to barricade the hospital today.
Her goal was to leverage public humiliation to force Sienna into an immediate surrender, demanding she hand over the rights on the spot without giving her a second to formulate a defense.
Sienna pulled her gaze back, her voice dropping slightly. “Mrs. Sterling, if you want to negotiate, we can do it inside my office p>
“We’re doing it right here!” Helena’s voice spiked another octave.
“You are going to look me in the eye in front of everyone and agree to hand over in front of eveient rights!! am getting an answer today p>
Sienna’s eyes swept over the growing crowd of onlookers raising their phones to record the spectacle.
Then, she glanced past Helena to Celeste, still seated quietly in her wheelchair.
Celeste never once raised her head.
But her fingers, resting casually on the armrest, kept subtly brushing against the phone in her pocket.
It looked exactly as if she were waiting for a signal.
Sienna spoke calmly, her voice carrying clearly. “The Sterling Family Trust has always been overseen by a singular, family-appointed manager. That was the mandate laid out by the late Mr. Sterling.
There is zero precedent for an individual extracting their personal share p>
“There wasn’t a precedent before, but there is now!” Helena interrupted, her tone thick with a barely suppressed, frantic urgency.
“It’s my money! Why can’t I manage it myself p>
You are an outsider hoarding the Sterling family’s wealth! Do you have any idea how that makes me look to the rest of the world p>
The crowd of onlookers swelled, a tidal wave of hushed whispers and gossip rippling down the corridor.