Chapter 93

Chris sat in his car for a long time after ending the call with Kevin, his mind a tangled mess. That recording studio had been operating since last year, right under his nose, yet it had grown beyond his control. Stephanie, his fiancée, had shattered everything with just a few words. He couldn't help but wonder who was backing her.

At noon, Ella finally had lunch with Stephanie. "What happened to your mouth? Why is it so swollen?" Ella asked immediately.

"Got bitten by a bug," Stephanie replied, already weary of the day's repeated questions.

Ella frowned. "What kind of bug bites like that?"

Stephanie froze, momentarily speechless. Then, noticing a man nearby, she chuckled awkwardly. "Your brother sure spoils you, huh?" She explained that he'd even sent someone to ensure she didn't eat anything spicy.

Stephanie scoffed. "You don't think that's controlling?"

"If that's control, sign me up for a dozen. I love it," Ella said.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Since when do you want someone telling you what to do?"

Most people rebelled against family restrictions for freedom. Ella's close friends in Fiorenza constantly fought their parents' strict rules to gain independence.

"You wouldn't understand," Ella said. "I've always had to fend for myself. What I'm missing is someone who cares."

Stephanie paused, her fingers tightening around her fork. Her gaze softened.

Unlike Stephanie, who'd been abandoned by a servant but raised by the Giovanni family, Ella had a deadbeat father who disappeared at her birth. She was from a single-parent household. Her mother, struggling to make ends meet, left her with an aunt, sending money monthly. Later, her mother became a powerful figure in Long Harbor, but Ella's childhood lacked love and affection. Even now, she didn't live with her mother.

"If you had that many people hovering over you, you'd see how suffocating it is," Stephanie said, attempting to console her.

Ella scoffed. "You just don't appreciate what you have." She longed for a caring older brother, many, in fact. "But at least I don't have to worry about you anymore," Ella added. "I was really afraid the Hart family would make you suffer."

Stephanie smiled but remained silent about the Harts; their idiocy rendered her speechless.

"How's Mrs. Turner doing?" Ella asked.

"She's fine," Stephanie replied.

Ella struggled to describe her relationship with her mother. They were distant, yet her mother provided an absurd amount of pocket money. She was generous financially but emotionally unavailable.

"She's always busy making more money. She already has so much, yet she still works like crazy. I can't help but wonder who she's competing against," Ella said.

"Competing against someone?" Stephanie raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. It's like she has to surpass someone and crush them," Ella said, explaining her mother's relentless drive. Whenever money was discussed, Ella detected bitterness in her mother's voice.

"Has Mrs. Turner ever tried to find your father?" Stephanie asked.

"I don't know. She never tells me anything about that," Ella said, shaking her head.