Chapter 449

Just after finishing her meal, Stephanie’s phone rang. This time, it was Sebastian. “The driver’s here to pick you up. He’s waiting outside the restaurant,” he said.

“I can get back on my own,” Stephanie replied.

“The driver’s already there,” Sebastian said.

“Oh, okay then.” Hearing his tone, Stephanie didn’t argue further. After saying goodbye to Allison, she got into the car that had come for her and headed back to Shallow Bay Area.

On the way, still fuming, she called Richard again and let loose a barrage of curses—vulgar enough to make anyone blush.

On the other end of the line, Richard pinched the bridge of his nose. “Stefi, don’t you think you’re being a little unfair?”

He knew she had always sided with Sebastian, but hearing her tear into him like this still stung. There was a hint of grievance in his voice.

Stephanie only grew angrier. “Don’t you dare play the victim! You’re nothing but a backstabbing bastard.”

Richard fell silent, thinking she really did have a sharp tongue. Before he could get a word in, Stephanie had already hung up.

Listening to the dead tone on the phone, Richard clicked his tongue and sighed. “Ungrateful woman.”

Theodore, standing nearby, said, “After what you did to Mr. Moretti, she probably hates your guts. Don’t expect any kindness from her.”

“You call that backstabbing?” Richard shot him a look, clearly disagreeing.

Theodore had been about to say yes, but thinking back, it wasn’t exactly the case. Richard’s situation at the time had been a mess. In fact, by some twist of fate, he had actually helped Sebastian avoid the most dangerous threat.

“Even so, Mr. Moretti’s not going to let you off the hook,” Theodore said after a moment of thought.

Truthfully, Theodore hadn’t entirely supported Richard’s sudden decision to return to Fiorenza. They still had a lot to deal with in Paginara. But after overhearing Richard’s call with Stephanie earlier, he could understand why Richard was so eager to go back.

Over the past few years, Sebastian had never stopped wanting to return to Stephanie’s side. And, in his own way, neither had Richard.

Thinking about what was bound to happen in Fiorenza soon, Theodore felt a headache coming on. “Stephanie’s coming back too?”

Richard nodded. “Sebastian’s almost finished handling things in Long Harbor.”

Theodore said nothing, but it made sense now why Richard was in such a rush to return to Fiorenza as well. He could only hope that when the time came, Sebastian would show Richard some mercy.

Stephanie took the car Sebastian had sent and returned to Shallow Bay Area. As she passed through the front gates, she noticed Chad standing right in the middle of the road.

The security guards tried to move him aside, but he stood his ground, staring fixedly at Stephanie’s car. Seeing that she had returned, the guards had no choice but to try and drag Chad away by force.

Stephanie’s car rolled to a stop. The window lowered halfway, and she glanced at Chad with an icy expression. “Mr. Hart, what exactly do you think you’re doing?”

Seeing her stop, Chad shoved off the security guards with all his strength and stepped forward. “Stefi,” he rasped, his voice hoarse and worn.

At a glance, Stephanie could tell he’d lost a lot of weight. The stubble shadowing his jaw made him look even more haggard and weathered. She stared at him in silence, displeasure flickering in her eyes.

Chad took a deep breath and asked, somewhat awkwardly, “Could you talk to Mr. Giovanni… ask him to let us go?”

He realized now just how wrong he’d been about her. He never imagined Stephanie would have this much power—enough to speak on equal terms with the infamous Sebastian of Fiorenza. She’d even been raised by Sebastian himself.

At this point, Chad was drowning in regret. For the past few days, he’d been tormenting himself with the same thought: if only he had treated Stephanie better back then, the Hart family wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state.

Stephanie had always been his real daughter. He couldn’t understand why, back then, he’d taken Olivia’s side and scolded Stephanie over and over again. He shouldn’t have let their constant arguments push him into that. If anyone deserved scolding, it should have been Olivia.

And when Tyler had done those things to Stephanie, Chad had handled it in the most perfunctory way possible. Thinking about it now made him sick with regret.

When Stephanie didn’t answer, Chad grew anxious. “The Hart family has already paid a heavy enough price.”

Heavy was an understatement. The weight of it was crushing them. The moment Sebastian had made his move, they’d been flattened. Even the Ashford family had been beaten down so hard they could barely stand.

Stephanie raised an eyebrow. “Hasn’t he already stopped?”

The Hart Group had been completely blocked. It was basically finished. She couldn’t imagine what else Sebastian could possibly do to them at this point.

“He hasn’t stopped,” Chad said, his voice tight. “He’s not just cutting off the Hart Group—he’s cutting off every path for the entire Hart family.”

Stephanie said nothing.

Chad pressed on, “I’ve tried to start up another company these past few weeks, but I can’t get a single partnership. It has to be…”

He trailed off, but the implication was clear. Sebastian was determined to crush them until they had nothing left—until they were begging on the streets.