Chapter 138

Damn it. Why was he questioning the Giovanni family? He knew why Stephanie left them: the Casalini family had used Sebastian and Mrs. Giovanni to threaten her. She'd left to give Sebastian breathing room—a stark contrast to Olivia Hart, who only cared about seizing the Hart family's assets. Besides, the Giovanni family had another daughter, Sofia, Stephanie's childhood confidante. In short, Stephanie was Sebastian's beloved and Sofia's cherished sister, and the Giovanni family was the one she was determined to protect.

"I was wrong, please don't be mad," Jackson said, rubbing his temples. Stephanie snorted. "Mr. Hodge, you'd be better off winning Sebastian's trust than wasting your time here."

"What's with this 'backdoor scheme'?" she challenged. "Does the Giovanni family even have a backdoor? And even if they did, Sebastian sealed it tight. No one could exploit it."

Scratching his head, Jackson replied, "But my investigations show he dotes on you..."

"You dared to snoop around our family?" Stephanie interrupted sharply.

Jackson fell silent. Damn. When he got anxious, he spilled his secrets! "No, no. I'm just trying to understand. Cooperation with Sebastian is extremely important to me."

"I told you, our family doesn't allow for backdoors," Stephanie insisted. Each time she said "our family," the stark difference between the Giovannis and the Harts became painfully clear to Jackson.

Long Harbor buzzed with rumors. Jackson knew the Hart family and Chris Ashford were scheming to shut down Stephanie's studio. He eagerly awaited their comeuppance; he'd been stewing over Chris for some time.

"Chris also wants to work with Sebastian," Jackson remarked. "Don't get me wrong. I just want you to know both the Hodge and Ashford families have their eyes on that mine your family owns."

"You can't have it," Stephanie replied bluntly. It was the truth. Whatever Sebastian possessed was solely his. No one else could control it.

Jackson was silent. That was harsh, but undeniable. "Wouldn't it bother you if Sebastian partnered with Chris?" he probed, trying a different approach.

"Even if they did, it wouldn't bother me," she said coolly. And Chris would never get the chance to collaborate with Sebastian. She was sure of it.

"Then can you at least point me in the right direction?" Jackson pleaded. With Sebastian refusing to see him, he'd been pulling his hair out.

Stephanie replied, "It's not personal. You must've bungled something in the contract with him."

"Contract?" Jackson echoed.

Stephanie nodded. "Unlike Chris, there's absolutely no personal element in your deal."

"Really?" he asked. "Why would I lie to you?"

Jackson paused. The contract...could it really be a problem with the contract? Her words sparked a memory. "The contracts the Hodge Group signed were standardized, with no alterations..." Could it be that one clause, the one meant to restrict the other party, had caused Sebastian's displeasure?

Realizing this, Jackson slammed his hand on the desk. "Damn it, I was careless!"

Stephanie remained silent.

"Thank you. I'll get someone to fix this right away. And about that…" Jackson hesitated, glancing at Stephanie. "By the way, the connection between Olivia and Chris isn't accidental. Olivia once saved Chris."