Chapter 141 The Husband's Ultimatum
Bill took the phone from my hand. "Mr. North, this is Bill Green."
I watched as he spoke briefly, his voice calm and professional.
"What the hell does that mean?" I asked when Bill ended the call.
"Alexander anticipated this," Bill explained, turning to face me. "He predicted that once Vivian made her move, she'd target both companies simultaneously. She's been coordinating with two separate hacker teams from the beginning."
"And?" I pressed.
"Mr. Sterling has assigned all his most reliable cybersecurity personnel to protect North Enterprises' systems. They've been working round the clock for the past twenty-four hours."
I stared at him, trying to process this information. "Wait a minute. Are you telling me Alexander knew both companies would be attacked, and he sent all his best people to protect my family's company?"
Bill nodded.
"What about Sterling Group?" My voice rose in disbelief. "He's just... leaving his own company vulnerable?"
Bill's expression softened slightly. "I asked him the same question, Mrs. Sterling."
"And what did he say?"
"He said only one thing." Bill met my eyes directly. "He said Sterling Group has you, and that's protection enough. You're the greatest security he could ask for."
I fell silent, his words hitting me like a physical force. Alexander had staked everything on me—his company, his reputation, his entire legacy—while ensuring my family's business remained protected. He'd gambled his own interests to secure mine.
I turned toward the balcony where Alexander stood silently smoking, his back to us, shoulders slightly hunched against the night air. In that moment, the weight of his trust felt almost overwhelming.
Thank God I hadn't let him down.
---
"Mrs. Sterling, he's here!" Bill suddenly straightened, pointing at one of the surveillance monitors.
Robert's black Mercedes pulled into the mansion's driveway. He practically leaped from the car, slamming the door and charging into the house. The surveillance cameras tracked him as he stormed through the entrance hall and bounded up the stairs, making a beeline for the study.
"Vivian, what the hell are you doing?" Robert's voice was tight with barely controlled fury.
Vivian's expression instantly transformed into wide-eyed innocence. "Darling! What are you—I'm not doing anything."
"I'll give you one last chance." Robert's face hardened as he stared her down. "Tell me the truth right now."
"I really don't know what you're talking about." Vivian stood, moving toward him with a wounded look. "I'm just here taking care of our parents, like always. Are you feeling alright? You seem stressed."
As she reached to help remove his suit jacket, Robert jerked away from her touch. "Where do you get the audacity to attack Sterling Group and North Enterprises?"
A flicker of panic crossed Vivian's face before she controlled it. "Sterling Group? North Enterprises? What are you talking about?"
"Bring him in!" Robert's command rang through the room.
Two security guards entered, dragging the masked hacker who'd just escaped through the window minutes earlier. Behind them, Daniel and Amelia Sterling walked in, their expressions grave.
"What's going on?" Daniel demanded, his authoritative presence filling the room despite his age. "Why are you dragging people in here?"
"Dad, Mom," Robert acknowledged them with a nod before turning back to Vivian. "I won't hide anything anymore. It's time for everything to come out in the open."
Robert squared his shoulders. "My wife has been using hackers to attack both Sterling Group and North Enterprises' systems. This man is the team leader for the Sterling Group attack."
He gestured toward the captured hacker. "I've already sent people to apprehend the team targeting North Enterprises."
Daniel stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he studied Vivian and the hacker. "How do you know all this? You haven't been involved with Sterling operations for years."
"Alexander has been monitoring everything Vivian planned and executed from the beginning," Robert admitted. "Out of respect for me—his brother—he didn't intervene directly. Instead, he informed me and let me handle it."
Robert methodically laid out everything Vivian had done, his voice steady despite the betrayal evident in his eyes.
Amelia turned as if to leave the room, but Robert called after her. "Mom, please stay. This isn't something to be hidden away. I want to address everything openly, right here, in front of you and Dad."
He took a deep breath. "This situation is entirely my fault—mine and Vivian's."
"I volunteer to transfer all my Sterling Group shares to Alexander and Emma, effective immediately."
"After the transfer is complete, I intend to divorce Vivian."
"I know this violates our family code against divorce, and I accept full responsibility. After the divorce, I'll voluntarily leave the Sterling family and have my name removed from all family shareholder lists."
"I've been married to Vivian for over twenty years. I hope the Sterling family will show her mercy."
"I'll provide her with enough money to leave America and start over elsewhere."
This last statement seemed to be Robert's final gesture of protection—the only dignity he could still offer the woman who had betrayed him.
"Robert!" Vivian shrieked, her facade finally cracking. "What the fuck do you mean, divorce me? After I gave birth to your children? You want to divorce me?!"
"Vivian," Robert's voice turned ice-cold. "You should understand that I'm still a Sterling! By attacking Sterling Group, you've slapped me across the face! You've disrespected our entire family!"
"Do you honestly think our marriage would have lasted this long if not for our family traditions? Do you think we'd still be together today?"
"Marriage?" Vivian laughed bitterly. "How fucking laughable! If I hadn't given birth to Megan and Michael, would you have married me at all?!"
"In twenty-one years of marriage, have you touched me even once?!"
"All this talk about protecting the Sterling family by divorcing me?! You're dreaming!!"
Vivian's composure had completely shattered, her face contorted with rage and humiliation.
"As a man, I never touched my own wife—don't you know why?!" Robert shot back, finally losing his careful restraint. "I married you for the children, but you know damn well how you got pregnant! Should I have let you take two innocent children and ruin someone else's life instead?"
"Why can't you understand?" Amelia shook her head sadly. "Robert is trying to give you a way out."
"The Sterling family and the North family—do you honestly think either would let this go if you weren't Robert's wife of twenty-one years? If you hadn't given birth to Megan and Justin?"
Amelia's words landed like a death sentence, silencing the room.
Bill quietly pulled out his phone, typed a quick message, and sent it to Robert. We watched on the monitor as Robert checked his message, hesitated for two seconds, and then looked directly at the hidden camera in the study.