Chapter 148
Chapter 148
Stella slowly turned to Jordan and asked softly, “Jordan, do you think someone could kill their own family?”
Jordan squeezed her hand. “Nothing is impossible. We just don’t want to accept it.”
She said, “I know, I don’t want to accept it, and I can’t. I just don’t understand. How could she do this? First to me, and then to Eleanor, and
now she’s even abandoned her own parents.
“Just to make it look like she has nothing to do with any of this, she’s willing to drag innocent people into it. How could she?”
Seeing her on the verge of breaking down, Jordan asked, “Did you already figure it out?”
Stella shook her head. “She’s too cunning. We were all taken in by her appearance. I only found out that Emily was the last person Eleanor
called. I couldn’t find anything else.”
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Jordan knew that if even Stella, with her computer skills, couldn’t find anything, then the person behind this must know her extremely well.
Stella thought, ‘Who could know me that well? Of course, it’s Anna.’ They were twins, with that uncanny twin telepathy. Whatever Stella thought of, Anna probably thought of it first.
Anna had always been lurking in the shadows, watching Stella closely. But Stella had never seen her as a threat, and that was exactly where things went wrong.
“Don’t worry,” Jordan said gently. “Justice has a long arm, and no one can escape it forever. Sooner or later, she’ll have to pay for everything she’s done.”
Stella nodded. She hadn’t been in a good place just now. Even though she tried to pull herself together every day, whenever Eleanor was brought up, her heart still ached.
Jordan couldn’t keep holding her hand; he needed to focus on driving. When he dropped her off at the Hayes Group, he asked, a little
worried, “Will you be alright?”
Stella wiped her face with a tissue and felt better. “I’m fine, Jordan. Don’t worry about me. I’ve got a ton of work waiting for me at the office. This company was Grandparents‘ life’s work. No matter what, have to hold things together.”
“Go on.” Jordan ruffled her hair.
As she was about to get out of the car, Stella asked, “Jordan, how did you get through it when you lost your whole family?”
Jordan stiffened. Stella apologized, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to poke at your scars. I just wanted to see if I could learn something from you.”
“Don’t try to learn from me. It’s not your way,” Jordan said quietly.
“I understand.” Just as she was about to step out, Jordan reached out and grabbed her arm.
“I was just a kid back then,” he said quietly. “After I drank myself into a stupor for three days and nights, I finally sobered up. I realized I
couldn’t just let myself fall apart like that.
“I had to pick myself up and live on for them. Even if there was no one left to have my back, I still had to keep going.”
Stella looked at him and Jordan stared at her. He said, “But the most important thing was that I met you.”
Stella was surprised. “You…”
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Jordan nodded. “Yes. That was when I learned how to use the internet. I’d study like crazy during the day, but at night, when I couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to study, I just drifted around online.
“Guess it was fate or something. Meeting you brought some light into my life. Stella, you helped me through those tough times back then.. Now, I can help you through yours.”
Stella understood and nodded. “Alright, I’ll head in now,” Stella said. Jordan nodded again.
Talking to Jordan made Stella feel much better. She’d had a tough time; sometimes she felt no one had it worse. But she was still alive, and the bad guys hadn’t gotten what they deserved yet, so she had to keep going.
For now, Stella couldn’t do anything to seek justice for Eleanor, but at least she could take care of the company for her.
Soon enough, she picked out the location, wrapped up all the product negotiations, and nailed down the business model and interior design. Stella gathered her team; time to get to work.
But then, out of nowhere, Nola came up to her and said, “Mr. Hayes, I spotted a store on my way home recently. The design, the concept; everything is just like ours, but it’s not one of our stores.”
“What’s it called?” Stella asked.
“Back and Forth,” Nola replied.
Stella frowned. Their supermarket was called “Forth and Back“; the whole idea was about people coming and going, just like in a
supermarket.
She never expected someone would copy them so shamelessly, even down to flipping the name around. “Take me to see it,” Stella said.
Nola nodded. They drove over, and sure enough, the place was still under construction. Just like Nola said, even the interior design looked almost identical to theirs.
Stella walked in and found the construction foreman. She asked who had hired them, and he answered directly, “Sorry, we signed a confidentiality agreement. Can’t tell you.”
Nola wanted to ask more, but Stella stopped her. As they walked out, Nola asked, still puzzled, “Mr. Hayes, why didn’t we keep asking them?”
“Even if we keep asking, they won’t spill anything,” Stella replied. “No matter how much we try to pry it out of them, it’s useless.
“Instead, let’s just hang around here and keep watch. The person who’s been contacting them is bound to show up. If not today, and then
tomorrow.”
Nola couldn’t believe Stella was actually serious about staking out the place; she was totally thrown by her boss’s determination.
But Stella was always like this, so there was no way Nola could just leave her there alone. Stella was patient; she could sit there all day as if
she never got tired.
Nola, on the other hand, started feeling sore in her back after just a short while. Nola wanted to ask, “What if the person never shows up?” But seeing how focused Stella was on watching the place, she decided to keep quiet.
Just then, Nola’s phone rang. After she answered, she said there was something important going on at the office.
Nola looked at Stella. “Stella, there’s something important at the office. They want you to come back for a bit. You…”
“Is it urgent?” Stella asked.
“Yes,” Nola replied.
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Stella thought for a moment. She asked, “Can you handle it?”
Nola was taken aback. “If you can take care of it, go ahead and head back. I’ll stay here,” Stella said,
“Or how about I stay here and you go back to handle it? Mr. Hayes,” Nola suggested.
“No, it’s fine. We’ll just go back together in a bit,” Stella said.
Suddenly, Stella stood up. Nola had no idea what she was up to, but she watched as Stella started walking toward the other side.
‘Has the mysterious person finally shown up?‘ Nola wondered. Worried about Stella, Nola quickly followed after her.
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The road was packed with cars on both sides, and Nola could tell Stella was keeping her eyes glued to the other side, afraid that person might appear and slip away before she could do anything.
What worried Nola was the thought of Stella getting hit by a car; one careless move and it would be a huge loss for such a small mistake. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and they reached their destination.
Just as they were about to head inside, they ran right into the person coming out; he was walking straight toward them, and they met face to face at the entrance.
Stella fixed her gaze on him and said, “Lionel, I never would’ve guessed that this store was yours.”
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