Chapter 560
Ella was a very obedient girl. When Stephanie told her to stay by Lorenzo’s side and do nothing, Ella understood completely. During the few days Ella was with Lorenzo, she had caused quite a lot of trouble. So, after thinking it over, she figured doing nothing was the safest option.
In the afternoon, she stayed quietly in her room, waiting for Lorenzo’s people to uncover the truth. The sound of someone knocking on the door startled her, just as she was thinking about calling Stephanie. She asked, “Who is it?”
“It’s me.” Lorenzo’s deep voice came from outside the door, giving Ella a jolt. She hurriedly put her phone away.
“What’s up?” Ella didn’t open the door; she instinctively grabbed a throw pillow to hug, unsure what she was trying to protect herself from. If Lorenzo wanted to do something to Ella, even wearing a steel helmet wouldn’t stop him. But there was comfort in the illusion of safety.
“Blocking the door again?” Lorenzo asked in a deep voice, his tone clearly showing displeasure.
Ella glanced at the cabinet blocking the door and mumbled, “I said I wanted to change rooms, but you refused.” The kitchen lady wouldn’t let her go upstairs, and Cecil and Bernard were not home for the night. It was just her and Lorenzo on the second floor. Ella thought she should have better safety awareness.
Lorenzo said, “Move aside.”
“No, I won’t,” Ella said without a second thought. She finally understood Stephanie’s words completely—not doing anything at all. It was like they hardly even saw each other.
Ella could tell Lorenzo’s tone was unusual. She was extremely nervous, but she still didn’t open the door. Fortunately, Lorenzo didn’t speak again; he must have left.
Ella patted her chest and sniffled, “I never used to cause trouble.” What happened in the last few days was more than all the major events in her past twenty years. Ella still hadn’t quite come to terms with it all.
She dialed Stephanie’s number. Stephanie answered quickly, “Ella.”
“Stefi, do you have some time?” Ella asked.
Stephanie said, “Sure, go ahead.” She was about to call Ella when Ella’s call came in first. Stephanie was standing at the door of Sofia’s study; Sofia had gone inside. The situation with Richard was really complicated. Sofia was upset. Stephanie waited for her outside.
Ella said, “I’m taking your advice—not doing anything and not meeting Lorenzo.”
Stephanie was confused and thought, ‘Not meeting up? Is Ella sure about this?’ “You two live together. Isn’t it difficult not to run into each other?” Stephanie asked. She thought, ‘Besides, Lorenzo’s villa isn’t that spacious. They’d see each other often.’
Ella replied, “I just go out for meals; otherwise, I stay in my room.” She thought, ‘Until they figure out if I’m undercover, I can avoid seeing him.’ Stephanie’s mouth twitched as she remembered Sebastian mentioning Lorenzo’s crush on Ella. It seemed like Lorenzo regarded Ella as an undercover agent and was just a distraction. Ella didn’t know anything.
Stephanie cleared her throat and said, “When you went upstairs, my brother mentioned that Lorenzo said he likes you.” Stephanie was acting as the messenger here.
Ella was scared around Lorenzo, knowing that Stephanie wouldn’t hide such information. Ella asked, “What?” She felt like she must have misheard.
Stephanie replied, “My brother said so.” Stephanie always trusted Sebastian. When Sebastian mentioned something, it was usually true, suggesting Lorenzo did say that.
Ella said, “No way!” She thought, ‘Lorenzo is intimidating. I’ve seen him take a life before, and he was merciless. To someone like Lorenzo, women are merely toys.’ ‘As for liking, it wasn’t something I’d expect from someone like Lorenzo. A man who treated life as trivial, how could he genuinely like a woman?’ It was the impression Lorenzo left on Ella in such a short time.
Stephanie said, “I have no idea. That’s just what Sebastian said.”
“He was probably just messing with you, suspecting I’m undercover, trying to fool your brother into taking you away,” Ella replied.
Stephanie thought, ‘Well, it’s not impossible.’ With their back-and-forth, things had gone off track again.
Ella couldn’t stay calm and said weakly, “Stefi, could you check who was in charge of Dark Portal before?” Hearing this from Lorenzo didn’t seem very reliable to Ella. Along with what Stephanie said, she felt that Lorenzo was a jerk. Ella thought, ‘I need to pay extra attention to my mother’s matter. I haven’t been eating or sleeping well for days. Even though Stephanie said the former leader was Andrea, Ella still wanted to be sure.’