Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Simon had thought the same thing, but the manager kept insisting that the cameras were broken. No matter how Simon pressured him, the manager wouldn’t-or maybe couldn’t-reveal who was behind it all.
The fact that the manager stood his ground, even knowing Simon’s identity, meant that the person pulling the strings had far more power than Simon.
Simon furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of it, but he kept quiet. He didn’t want to drag Stella into this mess. “You don’t need to worry about this,” he said. “I’ll handle it.”
“Got it,” Stella said. Whatever Simon guessed, she’d already thought of it too.
For a designer, having a sharp memory was a must. Stella mentally replayed every moment of their dinner at the restaurant, letting all the details come flooding back.
It didn’t take long for her suspicion to settle on Ernest. But then, thinking deeper, she realized-it was actually Irene, the little girl who’d been with him.
To be honest, as a mother, Stella hated the idea of thinking the worst about her own child. But the incident with Trisha was still fresh in her mind.
Plus, when Stella took Daisy to the playground, Sylvia happened to bring Irene at the same time. That made it impossible for her not to suspect Irene might be the one behind it.
“Could it really be her?” Stella muttered, her eyes conflicted.
“What?” Simon asked, not catching what she said.
Stella didn’t explain. “Nothing. It’s getting late. I should head out,” she said, standing up and saying goodbye to Daisy. The little girl watched her go, clearly reluctant to see Stella leave.
It was almost ten o’clock now. The bright neon lights flashed through the night, and the streets were still buzzing with activity.
People didn’t seem to quiet down after dark. Instead, the night seemed to free them from their daytime inhibitions, allowing them to indulge in whatever desires they had been suppressing.
The noise-people shouting, engines roaring-mixed into a chaotic, troubling atmosphere.
None of them seemed to notice they were in the middle of a residential area. The shirtless men didn’t even seem aware of the wary glances from the girls around them.
Stella stood right in the middle of it, and she couldn’t help but feel like all that chaos was rubbing off on her, staining her somehow.
‘Should I go ask Irene?’ Stella hesitated, battling with herself.
As a mother, every instinct screamed against it. But when she thought about Daisy-that soft, innocent little face, and everything Daisy had been through-Stella’s heart twisted, pulling her in two different directions.
“Should I go?” Stella murmured. Her quiet voice faded into the uproar around her, nobody noticed, and nobody would
answer.
Luckily, before Stella could make up her mind, her phone buzzed. It was Irene calling. “Mom, where are you?” Irene’s voice was unusually sweet and soft.
Stella didn’t answer the question. “What’s up?” she asked instead.
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“Dad told me to call and check on Daisy. How’s she doing?” Irene said.
Stella didn’t buy it. If Ernest really cared, he would have checked on Daisy back at the hospital, not waited until everything
had settled to make this call.
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“Is it really your dad who told you to call?” Stella asked.
Irene’s voice got shaky, obviously feeling guilty. “Yeah, Dad said he’s busy and doesn’t have time, so he asked me to call and ask about her.”
‘So, it really was her,’ Stella thought.
Stella closed her eyes in disappointment. When she opened them again, the struggle had disappeared from her face. She spoke calmly, “Irene, I’m going to ask you one last time. Did your dad actually tell you to do this?”
Maybe Irene was afraid of being found out, or maybe just scared of her mom’s tone. She didn’t answer-she just hung up.
Stella lingered for a moment before finally turning and walking away-heading somewhere that was definitely not home.
At the Lloyd family home, Ernest was dealing with company business online when Irene suddenly ran into the room and plopped down on his lap, looking sulky. “What’s wrong?” Ernest asked.
“Dad, how’s Daisy doing?” Irene asked, her voice muffled.
“Call Uncle Simon and ask him yourself,” Ernest said, his tone flat.
“Did you really tell me to call?” Irene asked, tilting her head up at him, her big eyes trying to fish for a reaction.
Ernest saw right through her. “You wanted to call her yourself. It has nothing to do with me,” he replied coldly. He didn’t care about Daisy’s situation-even though she was Simon’s niece.
Irene’ was about to protest, but Ernest didn’t give her a chance. “I’ve got work to handle. If you care that much about Daisy, reach out to her yourself.”
“Okay,” Irene mumbled. Not getting the response she wanted, Irene left the room looking upset. Thinking back to her mom’s earlier questions, she felt a wave of unease.
‘Did Mom already figure it out?’ she fretted.
Just as Irene was getting anxious upstairs, she heard Betty’s voice float up from the living room, making her heart leap. “Ms. Spencer, you’re back,” Betty said.
“Yeah. Betty, where’s Irene?” Stella asked.
“Miss Irene is…” Betty began, but Irene didn’t wait to hear more. She dashed to her room, slammed the door, and locked it, panic rushing through her.
She realized instantly that her mom had come back specifically for her.
When people messed up, their first instinct was to run and hide-kids were no different. They’d pretend nothing was wrong or find a spot they thought was safe, hoping no one would come after them.
But little did Irene know, Stella wasn’t going to back down this time.
A person’s character shaped their entire life, and as a mother, it was her responsibility. She couldn’t turn a blind eye, knowing her daughter had been so malicious. Maybe she couldn’t change things, at least she had tried.
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“Ms. Spencer, Miss Irene is up on the second floor. She’s probably in her room right now,” Betty said.
Stella didn’t need Betty to point it out–she’d already caught that guilty little sound of a door quietly closing upstairs.
“Thanks, Betty. I’m heading up,” Stella said with a nod, and Betty called out after her.
Stella had just reached the second floor when a door suddenly swung open and Ernest appeared. But unlike before, his arrival didn’t faze her at all.
She didn’t even spare him a glance, walking straight past him and heading for Irene’s room.
Stella had expected Ernest to just ignore her, but instead, he spoke. “What’s going on?” He was asking why she’d come back for Irene. Content originally comes from (.)net
Stella paused for a moment, then decided there was no point in hiding anything. She told Ernest everything she suspected.
It was well-known that Irene was closer to him than to her. Having given up custody, Stella knew Irene’s upbringing was now entirely in Ernest’s hands. Some things just couldn’t be kept from him anymore.
After listening, Ernest didn’t show much of a reaction. He just said, “Got it. I’ll handle it.”
He was basically showing her the door.