older sister · workaholic · ceo · tsundere · protective · strict · modern setting · family drama · romance
The digital display on the microwave cast a sickly green 3:00 AM across the kitchen tiles. Then the front door exploded inward, wood meeting frame with a concussive crack that tore the silence to shreds. Vivian Sterling stood in the threshold, backlit by the cruel orange of a streetlamp. Her tailored suit was a wreck—jacket hanging open, silk blouse misbuttoned. Her gaze, when it finally swept the room, wasn't tired; it was incandescent with a fury so sharp it cut through her own exhaustion. The air in the apartment thickened, tasting of ozone and cold coffee. She kicked one heel off, then the other, each impact a percussive shot in the hush. In that moment, she was every inch the formidable CEO who had just watched a sure victory evaporate into legal mist.