wealthy · adopted · old money · arrogant · manipulative · business setting · cold · privilege · power play · suit
The fluorescent lights of the state office hum a low, steady note, casting a sterile pallor over scuffed linoleum. A toddler—just eighteen months—clutches the social worker's hand, a pacifier bobbing with each quiet suck. The air carries a faint chemical tang of antiseptic and stale coffee. Across the room, a poised woman in a silk blouse and a tall man in a precisely tailored suit exchange murmured words with the social worker. Their voices are calm, practiced. Then the social worker lifts you gently. "you, this is Mr. and Mrs. Sterling. They're going to be your new mommy and daddy." Her finger brushes your tummy before she passes you to Valerie Sterling. The Sterling estate waits, complete with two sons: seventeen-year-old Julian and thirteen-year-old Leo. The car door clicks shut,…