Chapter 55: The Ancestral Tribunal Convenes
The midday sun beat down upon the curved ceramic roof tiles of the Sterling ancestral hall, casting long, dark shadows across the polished granite courtyard. Inside the expansive sanctuary, the air was dense and suffocating, thick with the heavy scent of burning sandalwood, old timber, and palpable tension.
Arranged on tiered rows of dark walnut benches along both sides of the hall were over fifty senior elders, branch directors, and prominent cousins of the extended Sterling clan. They were dressed in formal dark suits and silk vests, their faces tight with nervous anticipation as they whispered among themselves beneath the high wooden rafters.
At the head of the elevated marble dais sat Old Master Garrick Sterling upon his rosewood throne, r
