Chapter 972

"Mom, I'm doing great. You don't need to worry about me. I'm finally free now that I've left the Sterling family."

She said the words, but deep down, she knew the truth. She could never truly escape the Sterling family's grasp. Never.

"You don't even have to say it. I know you couldn't stand being in that house," Mrs. Sterling said softly. "I understand. It's better that you don't come back. Your father never cared about you or your sister anyway."

At the mention of Wren, Maeve's body tensed.

"Wren... do you know where she is?"

Mrs. Sterling dabbed at the corners of her eyes. "She always knew how to please your father better than you did. She's so wild and loves to travel. She said she was going backpacking. Your father handed her a credit card, and she just left. She hasn't even contacted me. Whatever. I don't even have the energy to talk about your sister."

The heavy weight in Maeve's chest slowly lifted. It seemed her naive mother would never know the dark truth of what had actually happened within their family.

But then again, sometimes living in ignorance for a lifetime was the greatest mercy of all.

Mrs. Sterling kept staring at Maeve, as if she couldn't get enough of her daughter's face.

"Your father is an absolute monster. I wanted to look for you so badly these past two years, but he wouldn't let me go to the police. He refused to give me a single cent to hire investigators. He even claimed you probably just ran off with some boy. I had no power to fight him. All I could do was miss you every single day."

Maeve knew her mother had zero authority in the house. Alastair Sterling dictated everything.

On the surface, she and Wren were the glamorous daughters of the Sterling family. But behind closed doors, no one knew they were merely pawns in Alastair's ruthless games.

Whenever he needed them, they had to fall perfectly in line.

Because Alastair held all the cards. He used Mrs. Sterling, and their ailing grandmother Eleanor Green-who was clinging to life in a hospital bed-as leverage to control them.

Heh.

She feared she would never get to live life on her own terms.

But Alastair had made her a promise. If she completed one final task for him, he would grant her complete freedom. He had even promised to provide a massive dowry so she could marry Quinton Foster.

Speaking of Quinton, she hadn't contacted him once in the last two years. She wondered if he was doing well, or if he ever thought about her.

The day before she vanished, she had gotten into a terrible argument with him. Through her tears, she had made Quinton swear that if he truly loved her, he would wait three years.

Quinton had sworn on his life. He told her she was the only woman he would ever marry.

She had lied to him, claiming she was going abroad to study a highly classified subject, which meant she wouldn't be able to communicate with him for three entire years. Quinton had promised to wait for her return.

Only one year remained. She never

expected such a massive

complication to disrupt Alastair's assignment. She figured it wouldn't be much longer before she could wrap things up early, which meant she could finally reunite with Quinton.

"Mom, don't worry. I'll come back to the Sterling family sooner or later."

She intended to return in absolute glory, as a completely free woman.

Mrs. Sterling hesitated, her expression troubled. Maeve instantly noticed.

"Mom, is there something you want to tell me?"

She assumed her mother wanted to talk her out of returning home. But Maeve knew exactly what she was doing. Alastair had promised her freedom, and when that day came, she would be out of his control forever.

"Have you been in touch with Quinton?"

Maeve shook her head. "I have my reasons for staying away."

is

Mrs. Sterling Spoke carefully. "I don't think you should reach out to him anyway. You want to stay far away from our family, and his father close business partners with your dad. If you contacted Quinton, he would definitely tell your father."

That wasn't Maeve's primary concern. Her real fear was that if she heard his voice, she wouldn't be able to stay away. Quinton was the man she truly feyed, Not Layne With Layne, she was simply putting on the performance of a lifetime.