Breathing was a luxury Ste couldn''t afford for a few seconds. Trembling, she answered the call, "Hello?"


    "Ms. Quinn"


    The voice on the other end was all too familiar. As Ste''s face stiffened, a torrent of uncontrolled emotions surged in her eyes.


    With difficulty, she managed to say, "It''s me."


    "Mr. Quinn''s flightnds in Portis City at 8 PM tonight. He expects you to be there to meet him personally."


    Ste''s breath hitched violently.


    "He''sing to Portis City?"


    He had finally found her!


    The thought of the shopping spree she had identally charged to the wrong card yesterday - she hadn''t expected him to find out ande so quickly.


    The person on the other end was his assistant, Idris! Despite his respectful tone over the phone, he was a feared figure in Ferrond, known for his ruthlessness.


    Even the assistant was intimidating! Let alone the man behind him, Ronald Quinn, the man who had taken her in and raised her.


    Idris continued, "Yes, and Mr. Quinn also mentioned that you better have a good exnation ready, or else..."


    Or else what? Idris didn''t finish his sentence.


    But Ste felt a shiver run down her spine.


    She didn''t even remember how she hung up the call. The rest of the afternoon, Ste was restless, her mind wandering even during meetings.


    Ronald Quinn - the man everyone from the Larkin family wanted to know about, the man who had raised her, who held sway over both thewful and thewless in Ferrond, where he was considered a king of the night. And to her, he was a cmity....


    Memories of the events that led her to leave Ferrond three years ago shed through her mind, bringing tears to her eyes.


    As she finished work at 6 PM and left the office building, her phone buzzed incessantly. Absentmindedly, Ste answered, "Hello?"


    "Did you really block my number?"


    It was Cloudia''s irritated voice on the line. Her tone was almost cannibalistic towards Ste.


    Ste retorted, "When have I ever joked with you?"


    Even if there were jokes, they were between the Larkin family and Urs.


    As for her...


    She hadn''t grown up by their side, and they always had numerous demands of her, criticizing her every move. Cloudia was always stern and reproachful.


    As Cloudia heard Ste''s icy tone, her headache intensified in frustration.


    "You, you, I''m asking you, Tegan is your best friend right? Was it your doing with her trip abroad?"


    Ste admitted, "Yes, it was me. So what?"


    "You..."


    Cloudia was berserk! She had expected Ste to at least deny it, but there was no attempt to hide the truth. So, what did the Larkin family mean to her after all? "You admit it?"


    "Why wouldn''t I? Given the situation between Urs and me, isn''t it normal for me to y some tricks?"


    Urs was hypocritical, always scheming behind her back.


    What kind of skill was that? If she was going to do something, better do it openly!


    Cloudia was taken aback by her straightforwardness, almost fainting.


    "You...you..."


    "What about me? Mrs. Larkin, do you want me to call Tegan back to cure her illness?"


    The use of "Mrs. Larkin" sent Cloudia in a momentary daze. Until then she remembered since Ste returned to the Larkin family, she hadn''t called her "mom" even once. But she hadn''t used "Mrs. Larkin" either. This sudden formal address made Cloudia ufortable. She couldn''t help but say, "I''m your mother."


    Ste replied, "Mrs. Larkin, are you looking to argue over something as meaningless as this on the phone?"


    Hearing this, Cloudia felt as if her heart was being squeezed, a mix of suffocation and pain. She took a few deep breaths, "Let Tegane back, I''ve unblocked your card."


    It sounded like apromise, almost a concession. She was willing to unblock the card just to get Tegan back to treat Urs, so everything was still about Urs.


    Ste chuckled lightly, "Two thousand a month for pocket money to buy Urs''s life?"


    The irony wasn''t lost on her.


    The Larkin family could easily spend over ten thousand on a single piece of jewelry for Urs, and her monthly allowance was in the tens of thousands.


    In contrast, when Ste first returned to the Larkin family, she was given ten thousand a month.


    Later, because of a merement from Urs about the difficulty of adjusting from luxury to frugality, Cloudia decided to cut her allowance to five thousand until she learned to manage money. Because of a foster daughter''s word, it was halved!


    Even five thousand wasn''t enough for Urs, whoined that Ste "had no social life and couldn''t possibly spend that much".


    Cloudia insisted that they had everything at home. She and Urs were different; she didn''t need to socialize or entertain like those rich heiresses, so she couldn''t spend that much. Thus, five thousand became two thousand.


    Now, because of Urs, it waspletely blocked.


    But did they really think Ste cared?


    Her words now made Cloudia so angry she felt close to a heart attack, "Y-You''re too much."


    Once again, Cloudia was certain that she was not a daughter but a jinx, returning to collecting the debt. She regretted bringing Ste back.


    "What do you want then? Name your price!"


    Cloudia felt this was her biggest concession.


    However, what came back through the phone was the sound of a disconnection. When she tried calling again, her number had been block-listed. She felt like she was going to explode with rage, especially now, struggling even to breathe.