جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 70

At the hospital.Ruby Bailey had arrived and from the moment she stepped in, she made her displeasure toward Dora obvious.Every word carried an edge.Implying Dora had failed to take care of Summer.Failed to rein Stella in.Dora swallowed her frustration.As soon as Ruby entered Summer’s room, Dora quickly found an excuse and left with Fiona to check on the babies.Inside the elevator, Fiona bristled.“What does Mrs. Bailey mean by that? After everything blew up, you’ve been protecting Summer nonstop. How can she blame you?”“Enough,” Dora said stiffly. “She’s not wrong. That Stella was never properly handled.”A woman had just given birth. That was the most vulnerable time of her life.And Stella kept escalating things.Now Summer, Ruby even the entire Wright family were suffering reputational damage.“That’s Stella’s fault,” Fiona muttered. “Not yours.”Dora was furious too.But she didn’t dare argue with Ruby.And truthfully, she did feel sorry for Summer.---In

That night.Marianne made Stella a light late-night meal. Stella ate a few bites, then went straight to the guest room to sleep.Evan hadn’t returned yet. She didn’t ask where he’d gone.She had just lain down when Gray called.“Miss. It’s done.”“And the estate?” Stella asked.She didn’t care about the two smaller villas. Those were incidental.What truly mattered was Bay International.Ruby lived there whenever she was in Harbor City.Important documents. Jewelry. Irreplaceable assets.Ruby had smashed Azure Heights to send a warning.This was Stella’s reply.Gray’s voice was steady. “The entire estate was engulfed. Even after the fire crews put it out, there’ll be nothing left but the structural frame.”“Good. No loose ends.”Meaning nothing traceable.“Of course.”Gray had spent years cleaning up situations far worse than this. It was what he did best.Sometimes he saw the same ruthless edge in Stella that he saw in her brother.The call ended.Not long after, Ev

Ruby knew Dora’s temperament well.Proud. Couldn’t stand being disrespected.After being humiliated like that, Dora would absolutely turn around and take it out on Stella.Good.That was exactly what Ruby wanted.She didn’t just want Stella punished.She wanted her restless. Cornered. Miserable.And it wouldn’t just be Dora.Ruby wouldn’t let this go either.That little bitch had burned Bay International.Burned it.She would make her pay for that.Summer, sensing her mother still had something up her sleeve, asked carefully,“What about Felix Henderson? Why did he assign someone to stay with Stella?”They had already confirmed that a man from Eirden had been stationed at Stella’s side recently.And Stella had been seen frequently with Felix.It wasn’t hard to assume the foreigner worked for him.Felix was not someone they could afford to offend.Summer worried her mother, in her rage, might overstep.Ruby let out a cold laugh.“Whatever his reason, it’s certainly n

“Haven’t I told you already?” Evan said coolly. “If you don’t like her, then stop meeting her alone. Just act like she’s not your daughter-in-law.”And if that still wasn’t enough?You can pretend you don’t have me as a son either.At this point, he honestly didn’t care.Dora’s vision darkened with rage.“I don’t want to pretend. I want her out. I want to not have that woman as my daughter-in-law at all.”“Do you even know what she’s done now?” she demanded. “She burned down Ruby’s mansion at Bay International. And she had people smash up the two villas in the East District.“Tell me, what is she trying to do? How did the Wright family end up with someone like her?“The Wrights and the Baileys have had a good relationship for years. What now? You marry someone like that and expect her not to drag the whole family down with her?”She’d been stewing the entire drive over.Now that she saw Evan, the fury poured out unchecked.Evan took a slow drag from his cigarette.“The Wrig

Evan set a bowl of soup in front of her.When she said she was going out, his expression darkened slightly.He placed the bowl down.His tone was even.“For the next few days, you’re staying here. You’re not going anywhere.”Stella looked up.“You’re putting me under house arrest?”“What house arrest?” His voice sharpened. “Don’t make it sound dramatic. You know exactly what you’ve done.”He’d gotten the update last night.Ruby’s mansion at Bay International had burned down to nothing but a frame. The losses were massive.Right now, Ruby probably wanted Stella’s blood.Stella met his gaze calmly.“I caused trouble all by myself?”Evan went quiet.No.Ruby had struck first.A warning.That’s what she’d called it.Ruby had meant to teach Stella a lesson for going after Summer. She just hadn’t expected Stella to strike back with something sharper.One warning from Ruby—And Stella answered with a cactus.Now Ruby’s hands were full of thorns, and she had nowhere to ven