The Forgotten Heir's Reckoning

Frederick Ashford sat in the leather chair across from the massive mahogany desk, watching the woman he had loved for three years prepare to erase him from her life. Ivy Sterling looked more beautiful than ever in her tailored black suit, her dark hair falling in perfect waves. She was the president of Sterling Corporation now, a company that had risen from near bankruptcy to a billion-dollar empire in just thirty-six months. The irony was not lost on him. "Frederick, I've asked my assistant to prepare the divorce papers," Ivy said, her voice cool and distant. She did not look at him directly. Instead, she focused on the stack of documents before her. Frederick felt the weight of her words like a physical blow. Three years. Three years of waking up next to her, of helping her through the darkest days when her family's company was drowning in debt. Three years of being the quiet support behind her rise to power, and now she could not even speak to him without her voice sounding like ice. "Is this really how you want to do this?" he asked quietly. "Through papers? Through assistants?" Ivy finally turned to face him. Her eyes, which once held warmth when she looked at him, were now empty. "Frederick, we both know this isn't working. You don't fit into my world anymore. I've outgrown this marriage." The words hit him harder than any physical strike could have. He had not just supported her during Sterling Corporation's recovery. He had been the one who guided her through every major business decision, the one who introduced her to the right people, the one who sacrificed his own ambitions so she could chase hers. But none of that seemed to matter now. "There's someone else," he said. It was not a question. Ivy's hesitation was all the confirmation he needed. Her eyes flickered to the side for just a moment before she regained her composure. "That's not the point. The point is that we want different things in life." "Is it Marcus Chen from the Chen Group?" Frederick leaned back in his chair, a bitter smile playing on his lips. The heir to one of the most powerful families in the city. Of course it was someone like that. Someone with power and connections, someone who could give her everything without asking for anything in return. "It doesn't matter who it is," Ivy said coldly. "What matters is that I've decided to move forward without you." Frederick stood up and walked to the window. From the fortieth floor, the city spread out before them like a kingdom. He had helped her build this view. He had helped her earn the right to look down on this city from such heights. Yet she was treating him like he was nothing more than a stepping stone. "I want the divorce," he said finally. "But not like this. Not through papers and assistants. I want you to tell me to my face that three years means nothing to you. I want you to look into my eyes and lie to me." Ivy's jaw tightened. For a moment, he thought she might actually do it. But instead, she stood up and turned away from him. "There's a car waiting for you downstairs. My lawyers will handle everything. You'll receive the settlement we discussed: a house, a car, and ten million dollars. That should be more than enough to start a new life." "I don't want your money, Ivy. I want to know why." His voice was barely a whisper now, all anger drained away, leaving only sadness behind. "Because you're holding me back," she said coldly. "You always have been. I realized that only after I started surrounding myself with people who actually understood power and ambition." Frederick heard the bitterness in her voice, but he also heard something else. Fear. She was afraid of him for some reason. But why? "I see," he said quietly. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small crystal pendant on a silver chain. It had belonged to his grandmother, and he had worn it every day since she passed away five years ago. He had always planned to give it to his wife someday, to pass on the family heirloom to the woman he would spend the rest of his life with. "I won't be needing this anymore." He placed the pendant on her desk without another word and turned to leave. "Frederick," Ivy called out just as he reached the door. For the first time since he entered her office, her voice wavered slightly. But when he turned around to look at her, her expression had already hardened again. "I hope you find what you're looking for." "I already found it," he said. "It just didn't want to be found." As he walked out of Sterling Corporation and into the cold afternoon air, Frederick made a decision that would change everything. He had spent the last three years building Ivy's empire while ignoring his own potential. He had ignored the medical research company his family had founded, the one that was on the verge of developing a revolutionary cure for a rare blood disease. He had ignored the dozens of business opportunities that had come his way simply because he was too focused on making Ivy happy. But all of that was about to change. Three months later, Frederick would discover something that would make him question everything he thought he knew about Ivy Sterling. Something that would explain why she had really asked for the divorce. Something that would pull him back into her world whether he wanted to be there or not. But that discovery would have to wait.