Chapter 416

In Long Harbor, Sebastian was incredibly busy. Perhaps it was because he needed to return to Fiorenza in a few days, but he was constantly coming and going. He had originally planned to bring Stephanie with him. Ever since Richard kept snatching her away, he couldn’t rest easy leaving her alone. Even his most reliable subordinates didn’t reassure him.

However, Stephanie was too exhausted from all the running around and didn’t feel like going with him. After lunch, she went straight to sleep.

“Stefi,” Sebastian coaxed, trying to lift her up and get her moving.

Stephanie, groggy and buried in her blanket, murmured sleepily, “Don’t touch me. I’m really tired.” Right now, she just wanted to stay cozy and sleep.

“You cheeky girl.” With no choice, Sebastian had to leave. Before departing, he instructed the lead bodyguard, “Make sure security is tight. No one should be allowed in.”

“Yes,” Yacob Wyatt nodded. Ever since the last incident with Jonny, Sebastian had replaced all personnel. Yacob was someone he had transferred from Fiorenza. Sebastian gave detailed instructions before leaving.

Macro followed behind him. “You don’t need to be so nervous. Right now, Richard is still on Keris Isle.”

Sebastian sneered, “You guys also thought he was on Paginara before.” Yet he had appeared quietly in Long Harbor, and nobody had noticed.

Macro fell silent. Given Richard’s interest in Stephanie, Macro suspected there would be trouble when they returned to Fiorenza.

After Sebastian left, Stephanie was alone in the Shallow Bay Area. She slept deeply and didn’t wake up until 4 PM; Sebastian still hadn’t returned. When she sat up on the couch, a servant hurried over with a blanket. Just then, the landline phone rang. Henry answered it, frowned, and glanced at Stephanie. “Thank you,” she said, feeling a bit refreshed.

Listening to the person on the other end, Henry said into the phone sternly, “It looks like Mrs. Hart still hasn’t learned her lesson, daring to bother Ms. Giovanni.”

Stephanie’s calls never got through, no matter how hard Catlin tried. Somehow, she had managed to call the Shallow Bay Area landline directly. She said, “Just let Stephanie take the call. I just need to say a few words to her.”

“She is not related to you at all; you shouldn’t be calling here,” Henry responded before ending the call abruptly.

Stephanie scrolled through her phone. “Mrs. Hart’s calling?”

Henry nodded. “Yeah.”

“Get the service provider to come over and change the number,” Stephanie said, her tone cold and indifferent. She would never give the Hart family an opportunity—not even for a simple contact.

Henry understood and said, “I’ll take care of it right away.”

Stephanie kept scrolling through her phone. Ever since she changed her number, things had been much quieter. The Hart family now knew she had been raised by the Lucano family. Based on her understanding of these people over the past two years, she figured the entire Hart family likely saw her as a golden opportunity.

So now they see me as a way to gain something, huh? What a pity. My benefits aren’t available for just anyone to take, Stephanie thought coldly.

At the Hart residence, Catlin held the disconnected phone, her face contorted with fury. Amber sat nearby, spitting out peanut shells. The noise was giving Catlin a headache. To make matters worse, she couldn’t find Stephanie anywhere. She hadn’t had a chance to talk to her, and anger bubbled inside her—this was her own daughter, and why was it so hard just to see her?

Amber said, “Things have reached this point, and you still don’t believe it? Wasn’t the evidence clear to you before?” She was referring to the car accident. The way Olivia had acted just now made it obvious that she was the one responsible. But now, just because Olivia had fainted, Catlin wanted to let it go?

‘What the hell is Catlin planning next?’ Amber thought. Even if Catlin didn’t mention why she was looking for Stephanie, Amber could tell that she was still protecting Olivia.

Catlin closed her eyes in frustration, then opened them as she walked toward Amber. “Transfer Tyler’s money to me.”

Amber spat out the last of the peanut shells and rolled her eyes at Catlin. “What did you say?”

“Send back all the money Tyler transferred to you, as it is. Understand? That is our family’s money, and you have no right to keep it.” Catlin’s tone was unfriendly as she thought about how Amber took all her son’s money.

Amber threw the rest of the peanut shells on the ground. “I have no right? Then you have the right? Olivia has the right?”

“You don’t get to decide who’s qualified. Just hand over the money,” Catlin snapped, glaring at Amber with disgust.

“How ridiculous,” Amber chuckled dryly. ‘What’s the point of staying here? These people just never understand reality.’

“Once the money’s in my pocket, there’s no way I’m giving it back. As for this family,” Amber took a deep breath. “You can say whatever you want. Even if you think you’re in charge, it doesn’t change anything for me.”

‘Who even listens to her? Anyone who does is asking for trouble,’ she thought. Then she headed straight to the kitchen, poured the medicine into a bowl, and went upstairs.

Seeing Amber was about to give Tyler the medicine again, Catlin screamed in a fit of hysterical rage, “I’ve told you not to give him that stuff! Don’t you get it?”

But Amber ignored her completely and went straight upstairs to Tyler’s room. Tyler was asleep. Lately, that seemed to be all he could do. There were no doctors available, and going to the hospital was simply not an option.

Amber placed the bowl on the bedside table with a bit too much force, waking Tyler up. He looked at Amber, annoyed. “What are you doing?”

Amber said, “This is the last bowl of medicine I’m giving you. Drink it if you want, or don’t; it’s your choice. Whether your hand gets better from this medicine is up to fate.” With that, she turned and walked away.

Tyler sensed something was off and asked, “Where are you going?”

Amber replied, “I’m taking our son and leaving, of course.”

She figured it was better to focus on the Hart family’s money—there was no point in trying to win any of the Harts over. Tyler had never seriously thought about marrying her, and even if he had, she would have refused. After all, living with a mother-in-law like Catlin would be miserable. Amber wanted to enjoy life for a few more years and didn’t want to stress herself to death here.

Tyler’s face darkened, his eyes fully alert. “What did you say? You’re leaving?”

Amber glanced back at him with a sarcastic smile. “What else? Stay here and waste away with you? Sorry, I’m not that kind of person.”

She thought, ‘Why stick around when the situation is clearly bad? Looking for trouble? No way. I have a weak heart and can’t handle this kind of stress.’

“What about the money I sent you?” Tyler’s face turned red. ‘Wasting away? Is our family that bad in her eyes? She had been living here comfortably, and now she called it wasting away—ridiculous.’

Amber retorted, “The money? Of course, it’s for raising the child. You didn’t expect me to return it, did you?”