Chapter 54
Stella forced a faint smile. "Mom, drink the soup while it's hot."
Grace took the bowl but kept her eyes fixed on her daughter. "Are you and Adrian still giving each other the silent treatment?"
"Nothing like that..."
"Don't lie to me," Grace sighed. "I could tell something was off last time. Stella, about Adrian's parents—"
"Mom!" Stella shot to her feet. "I need to go pay the hospital bill downstairs. Enjoy your soup."
She grabbed her phone and hurried out of the room as if fleeing from a monster.
The car accident six years ago had left a wound that would never heal—one that bled at the slightest touch.
Her father, a drunk driver?
It was Lily's carefully orchestrated murder, yet her father bore the blame.
Adrian had lost both parents, but hadn't she lost the father who adored her too?
With her father gone, her mother fragile, and the family business stolen, her life had shattered overnight.
"Miss Valentine?" A nurse's voice called from the hallway.
Stella paused, recognizing her mother's assigned nurse. "Hello."
The nurse smiled warmly. "Your mother is recovering well."
"Thanks to your care."
"It's our job." The nurse suddenly lowered her voice. "By the way, someone was asking about you a few days ago. I followed your instructions and said it was just an appendectomy."
Stella's heart tightened. "Man or woman?"
"A young man claiming to be a distant relative. I brushed him off, but the medical records..."
At the mention of records, Stella remembered something. "Nurse, do hospital records ever go missing?"
"Normally, no. Unless the system gets hacked or the hard drives are wiped. That happened here six or seven years ago, but security's been tightened since."
Stella pressed further. "Which year exactly?"
"Around 2014, I think. Why do you ask?"
"No reason." Stella changed the subject. "About my mother's recent treatment fees..."
The nurse looked surprised. "But a million was already prepaid. It covers everything until discharge."
Stella froze. "A million? Who paid it?"
"A gentleman. I assumed he was family... You didn't know?"
Her uncle would never be that generous.
Could it be... Mr. Alistair?
Had he come to the hospital?
"Nurse, was it a bank transfer?"
"Yes, a card payment."
"Can we check the transaction records?" Stella grabbed the nurse's hand urgently. "Or the signed receipt?"
If she could just see the signature...
"Sorry, that's confidential financial information." The nurse hesitated. "But he was tall, wearing a mask and a baseball cap."
Stella managed a weak smile. "Thank you. I just wanted to thank him in person."
The nurse reassured her, "If he wanted to stay anonymous, he probably prefers privacy."
Beep—
Her phone vibrated.
[Stella, you'll meet the real me when the time is right.]
Mr. Alistair's texts always arrived at the perfect moment.
[Sorry, I overstepped.]
[Have you thought about my proposal from yesterday?]
Stella bit her lip, his deep voice echoing in her ears: "I'm pursuing you."
Five simple words that made her ears burn.
[No need to rush your answer.]
He always sensed her discomfort and gave her an out.
She typed a long reply, then deleted it all, sending just one word: [Okay.]
......
New Frontier Group CEO's office.
Adrian stared at documents, but his mind replayed Stella's tender profile as she held their child.
Knock knock—
His assistant Vincent entered. "Mr. Roland, the police called. New developments in Martha's case."
"What developments?"
"The killer might be someone else."
Thirty minutes later, at the police station.
Adrian's gaze locked onto the surveillance monitor.
"No suspicious vehicles near the villa that day," the officer pointed at the footage. "But this shop's camera caught something crucial."
3:26 PM—a dark figure plummeted from the villa's rooftop.
"Look here—" The officer zoomed in on a corner. "That's your second-floor bedroom window."
Adrian's pupils contracted.
As Martha fell, someone was clearly lying on the bedroom bed!
Only after the crash did the person jump up in alarm and rush to the window—
It was unmistakably Stella!