Cherry Galleria, a well-known luxury mall in Portis City.


    Ste''s eye twitched. "Shouldn''t he be in the hospital right now?"


    "Exactly! Jaxon was seriously injured, ise should be at his side."


    So why was he at Cherry Galleria?


    Susanna chimed in, "I think there''s something more to ise and that woman. They seemed quite cozy."


    Ste raised an eyebrow. "A woman with a stroller? And they looked cozy?"


    That didn''t sound right. ise was no spring chicken.


    "Yeah," Susanna confirmed.


    "Are you sure you didn''t see it wrong?"


    Ste found it hard to believe. Over the years, ise had never shown interest in that kind of thing. Could Susanna have been mistaken?


    Susanna insisted, "No mistake. I made sure to take several good looks because it was ise. A quick nce might be wrong, but every nce? No way." Ste was silent. That was a fair point.


    If ise was getting close to another woman, Susanna would definitely have looked a few times.


    Ste asked, "Whose kid is it?"


    "Girl, I only looked a few times because they seemed close. I didn''t exactly have x-ray vision."


    Ste fell into thought. What did she think of ise? Stern, upright, always formal and polite with Cloudia. Not the type to get all lovey-dovey.


    And then there was Jaxon, the future heir of the Larkin Group. Over the years, he''d taken on a lot of responsibilities. To ise, he was special.


    Yet here Jaxon was in the hospital, and ise was off with some other woman... and a baby?


    Ste asked, "How cozy were they?"


    Susanna replied, "Practically shoulder to shoulder. Nearly cheek to cheek. Friends don''t do that, right?"


    Ste fell silent. This didn''t sound like an ordinary rtionship.


    In the Larkin family, even ise and Cloudia looked awkward just sitting together.


    Seeing Ste''s silence, Susanna offered, "Want your gal pal here to dig deeper? Make the Larkin family even messier?" Messy?


    In Ste''s mind, the Larkin family was already a circus. And by now, L Zeller was probably at the hospital too.


    Ste said, "Do we need more? L''s enough to handle."


    Then there was Urs, who couldn''t go abroad for treatment, and Jaxon about to be discharged. The Larkin family was a whirlwind already.


    "Oh right, there''s L," Susanna recalled, almost forgetting her. "Is L that much trouble?"


    Ste replied, "Failing to climb up thedder would make anyone anxious. It might even drag the Patel family into the mess."


    After all, Sirena Patel had truly fallen for Jaxon.


    Susanna was surprised. "Huh? That bold?"


    "Mm." She had investigated L and knew the situation. "L didn''t know about Jaxon and Sirena before, but now she does. She''ll surely see Sirena as the roadblock to her


    ambitions. What do you thinkel"


    happen?"


    Susanna replied, "She''ll go after Sirena, putting the whole Larkin family under fire. With Urs, the Larkin and Quarry families were already on thin ice. If L stirs things up with Sirena now, it mightpletely implode the Larkin family."


    This could very well lead to the Larkin family''s downfall.


    Ste said, "So, about that woman, we don''t..."


    Susanna cut her off, "Mrs. Larkin has to know about that woman. She needs to protect her rights. You really don''t think about your own birth mother at all" Ste was taken aback. "???"


    Susanna continued, "I''m serious. I''ll


    help you get to the bottom of this woman''s deal. Star, they always say you can''t tell who''s close or distant. This time, you''ve got to stand up for your mom."


    Ste stared, dumbfounded. Was this really about helping Cloudia?


    "Alright," Ste conceded. "You''re right. I need to be clear about my loyalties. We can''t let outsiders take advantage." "Exactly," Susanna agreed. "Leave it to me. I''ll make sure your mom has solid proof to throw in ise''s smug face."