Verbal sparring was Ste''s forte. And sure, if it came down to a fistfight, Jaxon wouldn''t stand a chance against her either.


    The moment she dropped that bomb, Jaxon on the other end of the call felt his heart throbbing in frustration.


    Hearing that Ste was even aware of his secret only made Jaxon double down on his resolve to get her out of the city. She was trouble, for him and for Urs alike.


    "You, you, I''m not gonna mince words here. Mom said you need to leave Portis City, pronto. Are you gonna go yourself, or do I have to make you?"


    Jaxon''s words, "make you", were spoken through clenched teeth, and Ste could tell he meant business.


    But if it was a showdown he wanted, she was done ying nice. The truth was bound toe out sooner orter, so why bother hiding it?


    "Oh, you''re gonna make me? Really? And just how do you n on doing that?" she scoffed.


    Jaxon was speechless.


    Ste went on, "If that guy tonight could pull me out of that mess, he''s definitely got the means to keep me safe. Tell Urs, I''m not going anywhere."


    The events of the evening had unfolded like a series of calcted moves. Between the verbal jabs and the sneaky tricks, it was clear Urs was desperate to have her out of Portis City.


    But Ste was no fool. There had to be a reason behind it all, and she was determined to find out why Urs was so eager to see her go.


    Ste''s tone was dripping with sarcasm, her attitude defiant. This only served to infuriate Jaxon even further, "You, you..."


    "What about me? If you''re so capable, why waste time arguing? I doubt you''ll show me any mercy.


    If you think you can get rid of me, by all means, try. I''ll be waiting. If not, don''t bother trying to win a war of words. You won''t win anyway." Jaxon hung up the phone in a fury. Continuing this conversation with Ste was going to be the death of him.


    After chatting with Urs for quite a while, Cloudia came out to find Jaxon fuming.


    "Why are you here again? Weren''t you supposed to pick her up from the station and get her out of Portis City?" Jaxon shot Cloudia a look and sighed, "We might not be able to send her away after all."


    "What?" Cloudia''s face darkened at the news, "What happened?"


    "She was taken by a man, someone with influence. And she''s not staying at Silk-River Residences anymore." "Then where is she?"


    "I don''t know," Jaxon admitted, feeling a headache surging on.


    Suddenly, he realized he might never have truly known Ste. He had once thought of her as some country bumpkin raised in obscurity, a nobody without influence or skills.


    en


    JMS


    But the events of the past few days, along with the people she knew, suggested otherwise. Finley, Tegan, the man who rescued her...


    "If she doesn''t leave, won''t Urs be constantly under her thumb?"


    Cloudia was furious at the thought of being unable to send Ste away.


    Jaxon replied, "Maybe we need to dig a little deeper into her background first."


    "To dig what? What could possibly be in her background? She''s just a country girl."


    "But the people she knows are


    anything but simple. Yorick mentioned the man at Silk-River Residence''s was clearly someone of status, and his rtionship with


    Ste didn''t seem new. Then there''s Finley, and her studio."


    These were all individuals of notable


    Ju For a young girl to run


    l.ne


    O capitale from


    Hearing Jaxony it out, Cloudia too began to harbor doubts. It seemed she had never truly known her own daughter.


    "Then let''s get to the bottom of this, and quickly," Cloudia said.


    After tonight''s close call with Urs, they couldn''t afford to let Ste stay in Portis City any longer than necessary.