Chapter 534

Stephanie had been thinking that if there was any news about Andrea, she could always ask Sebastian. She looked away from the stairs and walked toward him. “So, what did Lorenzo say?” she asked.

Sebastian had even come to pick her up in person, so Stephanie couldn’t believe Lorenzo would still be holding Ella back. Just when Stephanie thought she could finally take Ella with her, Sebastian looked at her seriously and said, “He really likes Ella.”

Stephanie was shocked. “What?” What did that mean? Did he like her the way she thought he did? Wait. He likes Ella? Lorenzo likes her? That guy? Would he really like someone like Ella? she thought.

Sebastian took her hand. “Exactly what you just heard.”

Stephanie shook her head in disbelief. “No way.” What about all those tall, gorgeous women with perfect bodies he’d been with over the years? What kind of women hadn’t he seen? And now, he says he likes Ella? she thought, still not buying it.

She glared at Sebastian. “Are you messing with me?” Before, Lorenzo was so suspicious of Ella, thinking she was connected to the Dark Portal. Now he’s telling Sebastian he likes her? This has to be a joke. There’s no way it’s true, she thought.

Stephanie felt like either Sebastian was lying to her, or Lorenzo was lying to Sebastian. Or maybe they were both lying to her. No matter how she looked at it, there was no way this was true.

Before Sebastian could say anything, Stephanie said, “I’m not that dumb, okay? I’m telling you. I’m taking Ella with me today.”

She wasn’t backing down. Do I look that easy to fool? Or did Sebastian get played by Lorenzo? No, that’s not possible. Lorenzo wouldn’t dare mess with Sebastian. So are they both just trying to trick me? she thought.

Sebastian sighed. “Stefi.”

“I don’t care. I’m taking Ella with me. You heard her. She’s terrified of Lorenzo,” Stephanie’s voice was firm. Just thinking about how Ella had been crying so helplessly on the phone earlier made Stephanie even more determined. She couldn’t leave her behind. She was going to do whatever it took to take her away.

Sebastian felt a headache coming on.

In the room, after hearing Lorenzo’s words, Ella was completely stunned. She froze for a moment and then blurted out, “I–I already told you. I have nothing to do with the Dark Portal. You can’t use that as an excuse to keep me here.”

The truth was that she was already trapped, and Ella was in full-on panic mode. Earlier, Stephanie tried to take her away, but Lorenzo had the nerve to turn her down. If Stefi couldn’t get her out, then who else could possibly help her escape this guy’s hold? she thought.

Chapter 534

Lorenzo narrowed his eyes. “Until we get this sorted out, you’re not leaving my side. Not even for a second.”

“I’ve told you. I’m not an undercover agent,” Ella protested.

Lorenzo gave her a long, intense look. “We’re not exactly in a position where we can trust each other.” What is this guy talking about? Does he think he can just say whatever and it’s the truth? Ella thought.

“And your mother…” Lorenzo started to say.

As soon as Ella heard Lorenzo mention her mom, her focus snapped to him. She looked at him hopefully, waiting for him to continue. But Lorenzo paused, staring at her and not giving her a single clue about what he was about to say next.

Ella felt a rush of anxiety. “What about my mom?” she asked.

Lorenzo took his time, still looking at her. “First, send Stephanie away.”

Ella thought, “Wait. Why do I have to send Stefi away? What does that have to do with my mom’s news?” But Ella didn’t waste time questioning him further. “Do you really have news about my mom?”

At the mention of her mother, Ella’s eyes practically lit up. She was sure Lorenzo had news. After all, he’d just asked Bernard to bring her upstairs. He had to be about to tell her something about her mom.

Seeing that Lorenzo wasn’t responding, Ella became even more frantic. “Where is she? What happened to her?”

No one knew how tough the past few days had been for Ella. She was terrified of what was going on with Lorenzo, but on top of that, she was constantly worried about Andrea’s safety. This whole situation had come out of nowhere, and she still had no idea what was really happening.

But Andrea had made Emily rush her to Fiorenza, and now Emily’s people were unreachable. Ella didn’t even have to think twice – something bad had happened. And now, after finally getting some kind of lead, she couldn’t just sit around. She needed to know.

Ella sniffed, trying to hold back the panic rising in her chest. “Lorenzo…”

Lorenzo finally turned his gaze away, his expression unreadable. “Send Stephanie away first,” he said, his voice low and serious. It was clear that Ella couldn’t leave this place today.

Ella’s frustration boiled over. She started pacing, anxious. But when she saw how firm Lorenzo was, she took a deep breath, turned, and headed for the door. “I’ll be right back.”

Right now, getting news about Andrea was the most important thing to her. She decided she’d deal with getting info about Andrea first. As for the dangers around Lorenzo, she figured she could tough it out for now. Getting news about Andrea was her priority – she’d handle everything else later.