“No, it isn’t,” she said firmly. She explained that while Dominic had been the face of the brand, she had designed the architecture and filed the initial paperwork through a private holding structure to keep her name out of the headlines.
Dominic scoffed and called it a work of fiction, but Judge Whitfield slammed his hand on the desk and told him to be silent. The judge confirmed that the formation records and intellectual property filings in the envelope showed a beneficial ownership chain that did not end with Dominic.
Harrison Baxter scrambled to see the documents, his face pale as he realized the ground was shifting beneath his feet. The judge then asked the woman why there was a discrepancy between the name in the file and the name listed in the divorce pleadings.
“My name is not Lydia Sinclair,” she said, and the silence in the room became so heavy it was almost difficult to breathe. She looked directly at her husband and revealed that her true name was Lydia Sterling.
The reaction was instantaneous as a collective gasp filled the courtroom, and Gianna’s hand visibly trembled as it slipped off her bag. The name Sterling was synonymous with ancient, untouchable wealth and a level of political influence that made Dominic’s tech fortune look like pocket change.
Dominic’s face didn’t just fall; it seemed to disintegrate as he realized the woman he had treated as a disposable dependent was actually a member of one of the most powerful families in the country. He had known her for years, but he had never truly seen the scale of the person standing across from him.
He had known the way she liked her coffee and the way she slept, but he had never understood that she was a woman who had chosen to live in the shadows of his ego. Judge Whitfield sat up straighter, asking if she was indeed the daughter of the Sterling estate.
“I am,” she replied, her voice filled with a steel that hadn’t been there moments before. Dominic stood up abruptly, calling it a stunt and accusing her of lying about her identity for their entire marriage.
“I used a simpler name because your world preferred women who were decorative,” she said, her eyes never leaving his. “It made your vanity easier to manage, and it made the business meetings move faster when you thought you were the one in charge.”