Chapter 323

She thought for a second and went on, “Favoring your adopted kid is one thing, but pushing her to snatch your daughter’s fiancé? What’s next—hooking her up with your son to keep it all cozy?”

Caitlin’s face went tomato-red as she swung at Amber, shaking with anger. Amber didn’t budge. She grabbed Caitlin’s wrist and shoved her back. “What, mad now? Caitlin—oops, Mrs. Hart—how do you sleep being this gross?”

Caitlin’s voice wobbled as she barked, “What’d you just say? I’m gross?”

Amber smirked. “Yeah, you are. What’s the plan—let your precious adoptee hook up with your husband next? Really tie the family knot, huh?”

Stephanie watched the video, her lip twitching again, but she kept quiet. Amber’s tongue was a freaking knife now—way sharper than before. Back in the day, Caitlin’s cash couldn’t shut her up, and now? She was a wrecking ball, flattening everyone.

Ella’s next video popped up, the notification pinging as her screen flashed. Stephanie tapped it—yep, total madness. Amber and Lilian were scrapping like alley cats, the whole thing a disaster, like a farmer’s market fistfight. Caitlin tried jumping in to back Lilian but got tossed to the floor by Amber. She hit the ground hard, flopping there like a knocked-over garbage can.

Ella’s call buzzed in again, her voice hyped. “You see it?”

Stephanie, still propped on the wall, mumbled, “Yeah, I saw.”

The Hart family was a train wreck now—a beehive smashed wide open. Ella’s voice buzzed with excitement. “After today, the Hodge family’s going to want Tyler’s head on a stick. This is full-on marriage fraud!”

Stephanie nodded without thinking. “Kid’s that old already—yeah, it’s a total con.”

“Oh, and just wait until Caitlin calms down. She’ll lose it when she sees those pics of Chad with his sweetheart at Rose Luxe,” Ella threw in, pausing for a second with a sneaky little grin in her tone.

Stephanie’s lip twitched, one eyebrow popping up. “That quick, huh?”

“You’re not giving them any space to breathe, are you?” she teased, leaning on the wall with a playful vibe.

Ella snorted. “Ha! Half the time, I don’t even know who I’m doing this for. But I’ve got my priorities—I’m helping your mom out here.”

Stephanie stared at the floor, not clapping back. Helping? More like stirring the pot until it exploded. Still, she couldn’t deny it—this mess was her kind of fun. A grin snuck up on her.

“Yeah, yeah, own our screw-ups, keep it all in the family,” Stephanie said, dragging it out with a little spark of mischief.

Chapter 323

As she talked, she started wandering toward the main building, her shoes tapping softly in the hall. Then—a flicker. A shadow zipped across the snowy lights outside, flashing on the window. Her heart jumped, and she stopped dead.

Instinct took over, every nerve buzzing. Before she could even think, a blast of freezing wind smacked her from behind, sharp and cold. She spun around fast—pure gut reaction—and threw her phone at the shadow. The guy dodged, then came at her, quick and silent like a ghost.

Stephanie slid to the side, kicking up a breeze, but this guy was fast—way too fast—closing in hard. Adrenaline pumping, she threw punches and kicks, trading hits with him in the snowy dark, loud and messy. “Help! Somebody!” she shouted, her voice cutting through the quiet.

The guy hesitated—he’d been messing with her—but now he went for the kill. In a flash, he grabbed her, twisting her wrists behind her back with a grip like steel, locking her down. “Hel-” she tried again, but his hot hand slapped over her mouth, his breath brushing her ear.

Back in the gym, Sebastian was chilling with his cigar, smirking as Macro flopped around like a half-dead dog. Then—her voice. Faint, but clear as day. His smirk dropped, cigar freezing in his hand. In a split second, he was up, hauling ass out the door with big, fast steps, no hesitation. Elliot blinked, thrown off, then bolted after him, his fancy shoes smacking the floor loud.

*

Stephanie squirmed, her wrists stinging under the guy’s hold, but she couldn’t shake him. He pinned her like it was nothing, leaning in close. “Stefi,” he whispered in her ear.

That voice—gone for years but burned into her memory—hit her like a brick. Her breath hitched, chest squeezing tight. Her eyes narrowed, anger and panic slamming together, a wild storm brewing in her stare. She kicked and thrashed like crazy, but it didn’t matter. In his grip, she was stuck, like a cub caught in a trap, her muffled grunts the only noise she could make.

“Mmph, mmph…” Stephanie’s muffled grunts came out all jumbled, her voice trapped under the hand smashed over her mouth. Footsteps crunched fast through the snow—someone was hauling ass her way.

She peeked through squinted eyes and saw Sebastian barrel around the corner, his big, solid frame lit up by the streetlights. Their eyes locked, and she squirmed harder, yanking at the steel-tight grip on her wrists.

12:17 Wed, 19 Mar