Divorced on Monday, Bought the City on Tuesday: The Infinite

The Viper’s Den

Chapter 12

Sterling Manor was a monument to Old Money. Located on a sprawling ten-acre lot on the lower slopes of Sovereign Hill, it featured manicured hedge mazes, classical marble fountains, and an army of private security guards patrolling the perimeter.

Inside the mahogany-paneled study, Richard Sterling sat in a high-backed leather chair, swirling a snifter of Louis XIII cognac. He was a distinguished man in his sixties, with silver hair and eyes like chips of flint.

Across from him, pacing frantically, was his son, Julian. Julian was wearing a borrowed, ill-fitting suit, his face still flushed with humiliation from the events of the day.

"I'm telling you, Dad, something is wrong!" Julian complained, throwing his hands up. "First, he buys The Obsidian Club out from under us. Then, Eleanor calls me crying, saying he bought the entire Armani franchise just to ban her from the store! Where is he getting this money?! We did his background check! He’s a nobody!"

"Calm down, Julian," Richard rumbled, taking a slow sip of his cognac. "You are letting a peasant rattle you. It’s obvious what is happening here. Arthur Vance didn't buy anything. He is acting as a proxy for a rival family likely the Castellanos. They are using him as a frontman to humiliate us and test our defenses."

Julian paused. "A proxy?"

"Exactly," Richard smiled coldly. "But they made a tactical error. They tried to protect Serena’s company. I paid Jax and his Red Vipers a million dollars to raid the Horizon servers tonight. By midnight, Serena will sign the company over to us under the threat of being thrown off the roof. Once we have the AI algorithms, we crush Vance and whatever shadow backer is funding him."

Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the study blew open with the force of a bomb.

Julian shrieked, diving behind the leather sofa. Richard leapt to his feet, dropping his cognac glass, which shattered on the Persian rug.

Four of Richard's elite private security guards were thrown into the room. They landed in a heap, groaning, their weapons bent and broken.

Stepping gracefully through the doorway was a woman with stark white hair and crimson eyes. She held the bald leader of the Red Vipers, Jax, by the back of his collar with one hand, dragging his two-hundred-pound unconscious body as if he were a stuffed animal.

Vera tossed Jax casually onto the shattered glass and spilled cognac at Richard Sterling's feet.

"A delivery from Mr. Arthur Vance," Vera said smoothly, her crimson eyes locking onto Richard, freezing the blood in his veins. "He found your trash in his building. He requests that you keep your vermin on a tighter leash."

Richard stared at the bloodied, broken body of the ruthless gang leader he had hired just hours ago. His mind raced. His elite security detail had been dismantled in seconds by a single woman.

Before Richard could speak, his private cell phone on the desk began to ring.

Vera smiled, bowed mockingly, and vanished into the shadows of the hallway before the backup guards even arrived.

Richard’s hands were shaking slightly as he reached for his phone. He answered it, putting it to his ear.

"Did you like your present, Richard?" Arthur Vance’s voice purred through the speaker.

"Vance," Richard snarled, his composure cracking. "You think breaking a few street thugs scares me? You think a parlor trick with some freak assassin makes you a god? You are dead. The Sterling family will crush you."

"Are you sure about that, Richard?" Arthur asked lightly. "Because from where I'm sitting, you look incredibly small."

"Where you're sitting?" Richard barked. "You're probably hiding in a sewer!"

"Go to your window, Richard. Look up."

Frowning, Richard walked slowly to the massive bay windows of his study, which looked up the slope of Sovereign Hill toward the peak.

At the very top of the hill, overlooking the Sterling Manor, was the Apex Estate—the hundred-and-fifty-million-dollar fortress Richard had been trying to buy for a month.

Standing on the illuminated glass balcony, dressed in a bespoke midnight-blue suit, holding a phone to his ear, was Arthur Vance. He was literally looking down on the Sterling estate.

"I bought the Apex Estate in cash twenty minutes ago, Richard," Arthur’s voice echoed through the phone. "I'm your new neighbor. Get used to looking up at me. Because tomorrow morning, I’m buying the bank that holds your family’s commercial mortgages. I'm going to evict you from your own life."

Arthur hung up.

Richard Sterling stared up at the glowing estate on the peak of the hill, the phone slipping from his trembling fingers.

The Viper of Valmont had just realized he was completely outmatched.