Heaven or Hell: Loving My Twisted Billionaire novel Chapter 78

Heaven or Hell: Loving My Twisted Billionaire

Chapter 78

Hannah’s POV

Before I could protest, she had pulled me away from Finn. I glanced back to see him watching us with a calculating expression. He knew Victoria was separating us deliberately but made no move to stop it.

Victoria led me to the eastern wing of the mansion, to a small sitting room I’d never entered before. After ensuring we were alone, she locked the door and moved to an antique writing desk. From the bottom drawer, she extracted a small safe.

“I’ve been waiting for the right moment,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically hesitant. “There are things you should know about the Sterling family–things that will help you fulfill your… task.”

I watched as her slender fingers worked the combination lock. The safe opened with a soft click.

“Is this related to what we discussed before?” I asked, referring to our earlier conversation about helping Finn.

Victoria looked up at me, her eyes sharp and assessing. “Yes. Helping my grandson become the man he was meant to be before tragedy struck.”

She removed a stack of photographs and documents from the safe, spreading them carefully on the desk.

“Before you judge what you’re about to see,” she said quietly, “remember that William wasn’t always the cold man you

know today. He once loved his firstborn son more than anything in this world.”

Victoria carefully laid out several photographs on the antique desk. I leaned forward, drawn to a stunning wedding portrait

that immediately caught my eye. The man was unmistakably a younger William Sterling – still handsome but with softer features, his eyes bright with something I’d never seen in them: joy. Beside him stood a woman of breathtaking beauty, with delicate features, luminous skin, and eyes that seemed to hold both mischief and melancholy.

“Lillian,” Victoria said softly, her finger tracing the edge of the photograph, “Finn’s mother.”

I studied the woman’s face, searching for resembl

to Finn. They shared the same perfectly sculpted cheekbones and

intense gaze, though hers held a warmth I’d only glimpsed in rare moments with Finn.

“She was beautiful,” I whispered.

“She was,” Victoria agreed. “And William was

nother photograph Osessed with her from the moment they met.”

William and Lillian in a garden, his arm possessively around her waist. her smile

Victoria pulled

not quite

ching her

eyes.

“William met Lillian

a charity gala,” Victoria continued. “She was there with her boyfriend, a struggling musician.

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William became… fixated. When she rejected him, he threatened to harm himself if she wouldn’t see him.”

I stared at Victoria, trying to reconcile this desperate, obsessive man with the cold, calculating William I knew.

“I begged Lillian to give him a chance,” Victoria admitted, regret evident in her voice. “Eventually, she agreed.”

Victoria showed me more photographs of their courtship and wedding. In each successive image, Lillian’s smile dimmed a little more.

“When their son was born, William named him Finn, Victoria continued.

Victoria’s hands trembled slightly as she arranged more photographs. “Lillian was never truly happy with William. She maintained contact with her former boyfriend secretly. When William discovered this, his rage was… terrifying.”

I felt a chill run down my spine.

“Lillian decided to leave with five–year–old Finn,” Victoria continued. “She packed their bags while William was at work. But they never made it out of New York.” Her voice cracked. The car crash killed her instantly. Finn disappeared from the scene before police arrived.”

My heart ached thinking of that terrified little boy, his mother dead, alone in a strange world.

“William has… complicated feelings about Finn,” Victoria said, moving to a plush settee in the corner of the room. She gestured for me to join her. “In our family albums, Lillian is the only one with individual portraits. William couldn’t bear to remove them, yet he can’t look at them either, Victoria said with a sigh. “Despite what you might think, William does love Finn. He just shows it in all the wrong ways–using Lillian’s inheritance to keep him close, trying to control him. And that only makes Finn resent him more.”

I frowned, struggling to reconcile this with what I knew. “If he truly loves his son, why make him handle the family’s

violent business? Why turn him into the person everyone fears?” The question came out more sharply than I intended, but

Victoria didn’t seem offended.

“You’re perceptive, Hannah,” Victoria said with a weary sigh. “The truth is, after everything Finn experienced, he

understood the underground world in ways William never could. Perhaps William didn’t see another option. The family

needed someone who could navigate those shadows, and Finn was already… familiar with them.” Her voice carried a

mixture of regret and pragmatism. “But this arrangement has left Finn walking a path with no light, no guidance. She took my hand in hers, her grip surprisingly strong. “Help me pull him back from that darkness, Hannah. Before it

consumes him completely.”

I sat in silence for a moment, the weight of Victoria’s words settling over me. The Sterling family secrets were darker and more complex than I’d imagined. As I thought about Finn and the painful path he’d walked, my mind drifted to the

children at Sunshine Center–their innocent faces, their trust in me.

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“I need to resign from the school, I said suddenly, the decision crystallizing in my mind.

Victoria looked surprised. “Because of what happened with Martin?”

I nodded. “Partly. What happened with Martin showed me that as long as I’m caught in these Sterling family dynamics, I’m putting those children at risk.” I swallowed hard, the reality of leaving my students creating a hollow ache in my chest. “But it’s also because if I’m going to help Finn, I need to commit to it completely. I can’t divide my attention anymore.”

“Are you certain? Teaching means so much to you.”

“Those children mean everything to me,” I corrected her. “Which is exactly why I need to keep them safe. And right now, that means keeping my distance.”

We moved to the garden, where Victoria told me more about Finn’s past – how he’d been taken in by drifters after the crash, sold to an underground fighting ring where he endured unimaginable abuse. At sixteen, he started working at underground casinos, where he met Mike and Taylor. At eighteen, Mike betrayed him. At twenty, his supposed friend Taylor set him up, resulting in a severe beating. Finn escaped to New York, where Sterling family private investigators finally found him.

“Finn has endured too many betrayals,” Victoria concluded as we walked back toward the mansion. “Now he trusts you.”

I thought about this as we approached the front gates. “Does he? Then why have Jack watching me?”

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Heaven or Hell: Loving My Twisted Billionaire