That night, Stella Grant had a very restless sleep.
It wasn’t that she didn’t enter deep sleep; she didn’t fall asleep at all.
She felt that sothing was off about Silas Sutton tonight, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what exactly was wrong.
She tossed and turned for most of the night, and it wasn’t until the sky lightened that she managed to get a little sleep.
At seven in the morning, while Stella was still dreaming, her phone on the bedside suddenly rang.
She instinctively reached for the phone to answer it, and as soon as she said ’Hello’, she heard Lily Harrison’s crying voice on the other end.
"Stella, how could you be so cruel? How could you harm your own uncle?"
"Didn’t you already get that fifty thousand? What more do you want?"
"I’m telling you, this isn’t over. Just you wait."
Lily hurled abuse at her and, not waiting for Stella to respond, angrily hung up the phone.
Listening to the dial tone, Stella raised an eyebrow.
What lunacy is this?
With Lily’s disturbance, Stella couldn’t sleep anymore, so she got up for a glass of water, freshened up, and took a cab to the hospital.
When Stella arrived at the hospital, Lynn Adler and Ms. Dunn were having breakfast.
Having not rested well the whole night, Stella didn’t have much appetite either, so she pretended she had already eaten and sat on a chair flipping through social dia absentmindedly.
As she was scrolling, a WeChat ssage popped up on her phone screen.
Silas Sutton: At the hospital?
Stella assud he was reminding her about the Adler Family’s old house and replied: Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about what I promised you.
Silas Sutton: No, I ant to tell you that your uncle was beaten up by soone I hired. If they give you any trouble, let know.
Seeing Silas’s ssage, Stella imdiately understood Lily’s call from the morning.
No wonder.
As Stella was lost in thought, Silas sent another ssage: Let know when you read this.
Stella: Got it.
After texting Silas, Stella looked up at Lynn Adler.
Lynn had just finished breakfast and was chatting with Ms. Dunn about the room next door.
A man in his early thirties had developed renal failure, and because they couldn’t find a kidney donor, he was prepared to give up on treatnt.
Lynn sighed, "Thirty years old, still in his pri."
Ms. Dunn sighed and replied, "Right, I heard his child is only two years old."
Lynn asked, "What about his wife?"
Ms. Dunn lowered her voice, "I heard they’re getting a divorce; they had a fight about it yesterday."
Lynn frowned, "Why get a divorce at a ti like this? After all, they are husband and wife."
Ms. Dunn said, "They’ve accrued too much debt from the treatnt, and she’s worried that if he dies, the debt will fall on her."
Listening to Lynn and Ms. Dunn’s conversation, Stella reflected that truly, when disaster strikes, couples that once seed inseparable often go their separate ways.
The depth of affection during good tis is matched only by the intensity of the animosity when things fall apart.
The vulnerabilities shared during love beco sharp weapons used against each other when they part ways.
And they hit unerringly, bloodily.
After Ms. Dunn and Lynn finished their chat, Ms. Dunn went to wash the dishes, and Stella stood up, walked to Lynn’s bedside, pulled up a chair, and sat down. She started discussing sothing else before casually asking, "Mom, did you live with Grandpa in the house we have now when you were little?"
Lynn smiled, "Yes."
After saying that, she reached out to touch Stella’s hair, "Are you missing your grandpa?"
Stella nodded, "A bit."
Lynn said, "When you were young, your grandpa doted on you, even more than on Elliot Adler..."
Lynn rambled on about Stella’s childhood, and when she brought up Zeke Adler, there was a tone of disappointnt and frustration.
"Your uncle was spoiled by your grandmother."
"From a young age, he was given everything he wanted, stars and moons alike; it completely ruined him."
Hearing Zeke being ntioned, Stella followed up, "Speaking of my uncle, it suddenly reminds that I heard from him years ago that Grandpa had an old estate?"
At the ntion of the old estate, Lynn’s expression subtly changed.
Just then, Ms. Dunn returned from outside with more gossip from the next room, and Lynn naturally changed the subject to talk to her, leaving the topic of the old estate behind.
Sitting on the chair, Stella observed Lynn’s subtle expressions and ca to a conclusion.
At noon, Stella seized the ti while going downstairs to buy lunch to call Silas Sutton.
Once the call connected, Stella didn’t share her side of the story but asked Silas, "Why are you interested in the Adler family’s old estate? If you’re just trying to investigate the kidnapping incident from years ago, the location shouldn’t matter much."
After asking, Stella expected Silas wouldn’t answer truthfully.
Unexpectedly, Silas was silent for a mont and then, with a voice carrying a hint of fatigue, said, "Many years ago, I saw a photo of my father’s mistress, and the background of that photo was that estate."
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