The Amazing Doctor Sterling

Chapter 7

By eight o'clock that evening, the rain was pouring against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse.

George sat at his mahogany desk in the private study, his reading glasses resting on the bridge of his nose as he reviewed the legal charter for PulseTech.

His software,an AI-driven diagnostic algorithm capable of predicting arterial blockages before they appeared on standard EKGs,was only three weeks away from its final FDA approval. Once approved, the company’s valuation would skyrocket into the hundreds of millions.

In his first life, Tiffany and Vincent had murdered him right before that approval came through, seizing the patents overnight.

The study door opened softly. Tiffany walked in.

She had changed into a simple, comfortable cashmere sweater and silk lounge pants. She carried a silver tray holding a steaming mug of chamomile tea. Her face was washed clean of makeup, making her look younger, fragile, and deeply sorrowful.

"You missed dinner," she said softly, setting the tray on the corner of his desk. "I made your favorite. Roast salmon."

"I ate at the hospital," George said without looking up from his papers.

Tiffany stood by the desk, lingering in the silence. Then, she let out a shaky, trembling sigh. She walked around the desk and knelt on the carpet beside his chair, placing her hands gently on his knee.

"George... please look at me," she whispered, her voice breaking.

George paused his pen. He slowly removed his reading glasses and looked down at her.

Tears were streaming silently down her cheeks. It was an award-winning performance,the exact same tears she had cried when his license had been revoked in his previous life.

"I know things have been tense since last night," Tiffany cried softly, gripping his knee. "Uncle Richard called me today. He was screaming. He said you froze the Vance Biotech contracts. He said you're trying to destroy my family."

"I am protecting the hospital from fraud, Tiffany," George replied coldly. "Your uncle was bribing Vincent Dean."

"I don't care about Vincent! I don't care about Richard!" she sobbed, pressing her forehead against his leg. "I only care about us, George! My family has been pressuring me for months,they wanted me to convince you to give Vance Biotech exclusive rights to your PulseTech software. When I refused, Richard threatened to cut off my trust fund!"

George felt a cold chill of realization. She was adapting. Seeing that Vincent was in jail and Richard was cornered, she was throwing her own family under the bus to preserve her cover with him.

"Is that why you look so terrified?" George asked, his voice deliberately softening just a fraction,playing the bait.

Tiffany looked up, her eyes wide with desperate hope, thinking her manipulation was working. "Yes! They’re greedy, George. I am terrified that Richard will try to drag my name into his scandal just to hurt you. He knows I own forty percent of PulseTech. He’ll claim my shares are marital community assets tied to Vance Biotech!"

She reached into the pocket of her cashmere sweater and pulled out a folded legal document. She placed it on the desk in front of him.

"What is this?" George asked.

"It’s a share transfer agreement," Tiffany said, wiping a tear from her eye with the back of her hand. "I had my lawyer draft it this afternoon. I am transferring my forty percent equity in PulseTech back to your name. Entirely. No strings attached."

George stared at the document.

His heart beat heavily against his ribs. It was too easy. Why would a woman who had murdered him for his startup shares willingly hand them back?

He picked up the document and read through the clauses carefully.

Clause 4.2: The Transferor (Tiffany Sterling) hereby relinquishes all voting rights, equity, and future dividends of PulseTech to the Transferee (George Sterling)...

It was legally binding. But as his eyes reached the bottom of the second page, he saw it,the hidden hook embedded in the legal language.

Clause 8.1: In consideration of this transfer, the Transferee agrees to assume full personal liability for all existing corporate debt, secured credit lines, and pending litigation associated with the PulseTech enterprise prior to the date of signing.

George’s eyes narrowed infinitesimally.

Existing corporate debt.

PulseTech didn't have debt. He had funded the startup entirely out of his own surgical salary. Unless...

While he had been busy performing surgeries over the last six months, Tiffany,acting as forty percent equity holder and corporate secretary,had secretly taken out massive institutional loans against the company’s name.

If George signed this paper, he would gain back her shares, but he would instantly become personally liable for whatever millions she and Richard Vance had secretly embezzled out of the company. When the loan defaulted, the banks would seize his software, his apartment, and his medical license to pay the debt.

She wasn't retreating. She was trying to bury him alive with paperwork.

George looked down at his wife. She was still kneeling on the carpet, looking at him with wide, innocent, tear-filled eyes. The sheer, breathtaking malice of the woman sitting at his feet made his blood run ice-cold.

"You want to give up your entire stake in my company?" George asked softly, running his finger along the edge of the paper. "Just to protect me?"

"I don't care about money, darling," Tiffany whispered, taking his hand and pressing it against her warm cheek. "I only want my husband back. Sign it, George. Let’s put my family’s greed behind us."

George picked up his fountain pen. He held the gold tip hovering an inch above the signature line.

Tiffany’s breath caught. Her pupils dilated slightly. She was waiting for the stroke of ink that would destroy him.