Pierce Sterling

Pierce Sterling, a character in the Veil of Secrets book, is the husband of Margaret and the father of Tanner and Bryce. He is also the secondary antagonist of the book. He makes his first appearance in Chapter 1.

Appearance
Pierce has short, white hair, blue eyes, and light skin. He wears a black suit over a white button-up shirt and black vest, a gold handkerchief, and a gold necktie.

Personality
Like the rest of the Sterlings, Pierce cares more about the family's reputation than the well-being of others, including his son's fiancée Kate, whom he looks down on for being beneath him in social standing.

He is very influential given that he has an unnamed judge, the Police chief, and the District Attorney as allies.

He is shown to be narcissistic in that he believes his family owns Birchport and that everyone in the town should be grateful to him. By Chapter 9, his hostility increases to the point where he attempts to force you out of Birchport.

He is also shown to be manipulative given that he tricked Duffy into believing that Pierce wanted to accept him as his son before shouting at Naomi to shoot Jeff.

Veil of Secrets

 * Chapter 1: Missing Persons
 * Chapter 2: Unveiled
 * Chapter 3: The Powers That Be
 * Chapter 9: The Rocket's Red Glare
 * Chapter 10: Collateral Damage
 * Chapter 11: Lawful Good (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 15: The End of the Line
 * Chapter 16: All's Well That Ends... (Determinant)

Margaret Sterling
Margaret is his wife. The two may have been close at one point, but Pierce's infidelity (among other factors) has driven them apart. In spite of this, the two stay together, as their marriage benefits them both.

Tanner Sterling
Tanner is his eldest son.

Bryce Sterling
Bryce is his second son.

Your Character
Pierce initially comes off as cold to your character when you ask him about Kate's disappearance. He later sends Bryce to pick you up outside the police station. He informs you that he only views you as Birchport's guest and believes that you shouldn't be investigating his family. In Chapter 9, Pierce declares you an enemy, believing that you assisted Kate in murdering Tanner. In Chapter 11, it is revealed that he ordered Chief Walsh to force you out of Birchport. If you choose to try to save Duffy in Chapter 15, Pierce will become furious and attempt to kill both of you. With a well placed kick, you send him tumbling into the bowels of the ship, where he soon burns to death.

Alanis Acosta
Alanis was Pierce's former secretary who was mysteriously killed in a house fire. It is revealed that Pierce and Alanis had an affair and that, at one point, Alanis was pregnant with their son (who was initially thought to be a daughter). In Chapter 14, it is revealed that Jeff Duffy is his son.

Trivia

 * His family shares the same surname as Nathan Sterling from The Junior series.
 * On March 6th, 2019, it was revealed by writer Andrew Shvarts on the Choices Reddit AMA that having two books featuring someone with the last name "Sterling" was pure coincidence, but it was later decided among the writers that Nathan is a distant cousin of the Sterlings from Veil of Secrets.
 * The name Pierce is of English and French origin, which means "rock". It's a variant of Piers, a version of the name Peter.
 * The surname Sterling is of English origin and means "of the highest quality" or "pure".
 * His study has a large amount of nautical themed paraphernalia.
 * In Chapter 6, it is mentioned he had a secretary named Alanis who died in a house fire.
 * In Chapter 13, it is revealed that his and Margaret's company nearly went bankrupt in 1985, which led to them using their company to smuggle drugs into Birchport.
 * In Chapter 14, it is mentioned that he disappeared after Margaret and Walsh were arrested for their crimes.
 * His fate is determinant in Chapter 15. You can choose to save him, save Jeff Duffy, or let them both burn.
 * If you don't save him, Naomi tells you in Chapter 16 that the Sterling line in Birchport is over since there are only some distant cousins left.
 * If you choose to save him, he will be imprisoned. If you got all the clues, it is revealed in the epilogue that he will still die after 6 months (while serving a 50 year sentence).
 * Before he died in prison, he changed his will and left everything, including the Sterling Manor, to Kate.
 * His crimes include drug trafficking, affiliation with organized crime, and attempted murder.