POV: Dominic
Victoria called me at 3 AM.
You've embarrassed this family for the last time.
Good morning to you too, Victoria.
Don't be flippant. That video is everywhere. You seduced Tyler's eighteen-year-old ex-girlfriend at a nightclub. The board is furious. Your clients are asking questions. And Marcus wants your head on a platter.
I poured myself scotch, utterly calm. I didn't seduce anyone. Sienna chose me for a dare. I kissed her. That's all.
That's all? Her voice could have cut glass. You're thirty-five years old! She's barely legal! This makes you look like a predator and our family look like a circus!
Then perhaps you should have raised Tyler to not publicly humiliate his girlfriend at her own birthday party. This started with your grandson's cruelty, not my kiss.
I'm offering you a way out. Publicly apologize. Say you were drunk, made a mistake, that she threw herself at you. I'll handle the rest.
No.
Silence. Then: What did you say?
I said no, Victoria. I won't throw Sienna under the bus to save my reputation. She did nothing wrong.
She's a scholarship student from Brooklyn! A nobody! And you're risking everything for her?
I'm not risking anything. You are. I set down my glass with deliberate calm. Here's what's going to happen. You're going to leave Sienna alone. No threats. No lawyers. No destroying her future. Because if you don't
You'll what? You have no power here, Dominic. You're the bastard son, remember? We tolerate you, but we don't need you.
No. But your precious Sterling Global Holdings needs investor confidence. And I have files documenting Marcus's insider trading from 2019. Victoria, I have evidence of your tax evasion schemes. Tyler's drug suppliers who'd love to talk to the police for the right price.
Her breath caught. You're bluffing.
Am I? Test me. Touch Sienna, and I'll make sure every news outlet in New York has those files by morning. The Sterling family name will be destroyed. Your company will tank. And Tyler will end up in prison instead of Princeton.
You wouldn't dare.
You made me the black sheep, Victoria. You spent thirty-five years teaching me I wasn't really family. So why would I protect you now?
I hung up.
Then I called James. I need you to prepare the files.
Dom, are you sure about this? Going to war with your family
They declared war the moment they threatened Sienna. I'm just returning fire.
You really care about this girl.
It wasn't a question. I didn't answer anyway.
Just prepare the files. And find me the best PR firm in the city. By tomorrow morning, we control the narrative.
After I hung up, I opened my laptop and started working.
By 6 AM, I had a strategy.
By 8 AM, I had a press release drafted.
By 9 AM, I was ready to burn my family's world down.
But first, I needed to see Sienna.
I showed up at her Brooklyn apartment at 10 AM. Her mother answered, surprise and suspicion warring on her face.
Mr. Sterling.
Mrs. Cross. I need to speak with Sienna.
I'm not sure that's a good idea. The things people are saying
Are lies. I met her eyes steadily. I'm not here to hurt your daughter. I'm here to help her fight back.
She studied me for a long moment. Then she called upstairs: Sienna! You have a visitor!
Sienna appeared at the top of the stairs in pajamas, hair a mess, eyes red from crying. When she saw me, she froze.
What are you doing here?
We need to talk. Get dressed. We have a press conference in two hours.
A what?
I climbed the stairs, stopping in front of her. You asked me to teach you how to be powerful. Lesson one: when they attack you, you don't hide. You attack back harder. Get dressed. We're going to war.
Her mother looked between us. Mr. Sterling, I don't think
Mrs. Cross, with respect, your daughter is brilliant, fierce, and being crucified by people who are terrified of her potential. I can teach her how to fight them. But she has to trust me. I looked at Sienna. Do you trust me?
She should have said no. Should have slammed the door in my face.
Instead, she said: Give me ten minutes.
In the car to my office, I showed her the press release.
You're going public? She looked shocked. Claiming me? But your reputation—
Is built on being ruthless and unapologetic. This won't change that. I scrolled to the statement. Read it.
She read aloud: Seven years ago, I learned that the Sterling family's approval wasn't worth chasing. Last week, I met a young woman who learned the same lesson. Sienna Cross chose to walk away from my nephew's disrespect with her head high. She chose herself over social approval. I respect that immensely. The kiss that followed was mutual, consensual, and frankly, nobody's business but ours. To those attacking an eighteen-year-old woman for making her own choices: your misogyny is showing. Sienna doesn't need my defense—she's perfectly capable of defending herself. But she has it anyway. To my family: come after her, and you come after me.
Her hands shook. This will destroy your relationship with them.
It was already destroyed. I'm just making it official. I took the paper back. But Sienna, understand what this means. If I release this, we're locked in. Together. Against my family, against society, against everyone who thinks you're a gold digger and I'm a predator. There's no backing out.
Why are you doing this?
Because someone should have protected me when I was young and the family tried to crush me. No one did. I won't let that happen to you.
Tears slipped down her cheeks. I'm scared.
Good. Fear means you're alive. I wiped her tears with my thumb. But fear doesn't mean you run. It means you fight. So what's it going to be, Sienna Cross? Run back to Brooklyn and let them win? Or stand with me and show them exactly what you're made of?
She looked at me with those fierce eyes. Teach me how to fight.
That's my girl.
The press conference was brutal. Cameras flashing, reporters shouting, the whole media circus.
I stood at the podium, Sienna beside me, and delivered the statement that would change everything.
Sienna Cross is brilliant, accomplished, and perfectly capable of making her own choices. If you have a problem with our relationship, that says more about your prejudices than our character.
Questions erupted:
Isn't the age gap inappropriate?
She's a legal adult. I'm a legal adult. What's inappropriate is grown adults bullying a teenager.
Did you pursue Tyler's ex-girlfriend for revenge?
I pursued nothing. She chose me. That's called agency. Look it up.
What does your family think?
They're welcome to share their opinions themselves. I don't speak for them. They certainly never spoke for me.
Beside me, Sienna stood tall, refusing to look ashamed. Refusing to apologize.
I was proud of her.
When a reporter asked Sienna directly, Did Dominic Sterling take advantage of you? she leaned into the microphone.
Mr. Sterling has shown me more respect in one week than my ex-boyfriend showed me in three years. If you're looking for a predator, look at the boy who publicly humiliated me at my own birthday party. Not the man who's teaching me to value myself.
The room erupted.
That soundbite would be everywhere by tonight.
Perfect.
Afterward, in my office, Sienna collapsed on my couch.
We just declared war on your entire family.
We did. I poured us both whiskey. How do you feel?
Terrified. Exhilarated. Sick. She took the glass. Alive.
Good. Now the real work begins.
What real work?
Building you into someone so successful they can't touch you. You're going to Columbia in the fall?
If they don't rescind my scholarship after this.
They won't. I'll make a donation that makes sure of it. I sat across from her. You're going to study finance. Graduate top of your class. Get internships at the best firms. Build a reputation that has nothing to do with me.
Why?
Because when this is over, I want you to be powerful in your own right. Not as my protégée. Not as the girl who kissed Dominic Sterling. As Sienna Cross, force of nature.
She looked at me with something I couldn't name. You really believe I can do that?
I know you can. I raised my glass. To war?
She clinked hers against mine. To war.
As she drank, I realized the truth I'd been avoiding:
This wasn't just about mentoring her anymore.
This wasn't just about protecting her from my family.
Somewhere between that closet kiss and this moment, Sienna Cross had become someone I couldn't imagine my life without.
And that was the most dangerous thing of all.