Finley was out of breath.
Even though he leaned heavily on the bodyguard, the whole experience was anything but pleasant. Especially since Ronald''s men were pretty skilled at what they did. While they were technically holding him up, Finley still had to put in some effort to keep his feet moving. As soon as he saw Ste approaching, Finley shouted, "Star, you gotta talk some sense into him! Your brother''s got a vendetta or something!"
Ste just shrugged and said, "He says it''s for your own good."
Hearing that, Finley was on the verge of panic.
"I don''t need him deciding what''s good for me!"
Seriously, if anyone wanted this kind of help, they could have it. He sure didn''t.
Ronald, with a firm grip, took Ste by the waist. "Why aren''t you wearing something warmer?"
The weather had been freezingtely. Snow hadn''t stopped falling for days.
Ste replied, "I''ve been indoors all day. It''s fine."
She hadn''t stepped outside, and Ronald wasn''t about to let her, either.
Meanwhile, Finley was still running and still shouting.
Ste nced at Ronald with concern. "Why''s he running, really?"
"For his own good," Ronald repeated.
Ste blinked, unconvinced. She wasn''t buying that exnation.
At that moment, her phone rang. It was Susanna calling.
Ste gave Ronald a look. "It''s Susie. I''ll take this call."
"Alright," Ronald replied, releasing his hold on her waist.
Ste stepped away with her phone. As she did, Finley''s desperate voice grew louder.
"Star, you can''t just leave me hanging!"
"Don''t worry, Ronald won''t let you die."
Hopefully, after today, Finley would think twice before running his mouth again.
Ste walked off with the phone.
Ronald took the cigar Idris handed him and added casually, "Five moreps for him."
Finley, panting, shouted back, "Ronald, you''re a real piece of work! I''m doing this for you, you know!"
Idris raised an eyebrow, silently thinking to himself, that Finley''s mouth was definitely asking for trouble today.
Ste answered Susanna''s call.
"Hey, Susie."
Susanna''s voice came through, excited and a bit breathless. "Star, there''s a fight going on! You gotta hear this..."
There was a sharp smack over the line, followed by Sirena''s angry shout. "Who are you calling a homewrecker? I''m gonna tear you apart today!" "Yeah, I''m talking about you! Jaxon''s got a kid now. You''re trying to y stepmom?"
Cloudia''s voice cut in, trying to mediate. "Everyone just stop it. L, shut your mouth."
"Shut my mouth? No wonder you''ve been blocking my marriage to Jaxon, even ignoring your own grandson. Didn''t know you had someone better in mind!" Cloudia was at a loss for words.
"The Patel family princess, huh? Blind or just into taken men?"
Sirena yelled back, "That''s it, I''m done with you!"
Even just listening, Ste could tell things were inplete chaos on the other end of the line.
Susanna''s gleeful voice chimed back in, full of mischief. "Star, you catching all this? Need me to get closer for a better listen?"
Ste couldn''t help but smile. "I thought you weren''t going to the hospital today. What changed?"
Susannaughed, "I heard there''d be some drama, and I had to see for
some villing me from
myself. My
the fall, came to get it checked out, and bam, ran into Sirena! As soon as I saw her, I knew there''d be
fireworks, so I dragged myself here despite the pain."
Ste sighed. Typical Susanna, always drawn to where the gossip burned hottest.
Still, thanks to her, Ste could get a glimpse of the unfolding drama without lifting a finger. Susanna clicked her tongue dramatically. "Oh boy, it''s getting ugly. I''ll send you a video." "Great."
She realized she hadn''t even had the chance to view the earlier clip Susanna had sent.
After hanging up, she opened the first video.
It was filmed in the
corridor outside Jaxon''s hos
room. In the clip, Cloudia was blocking L from going in
Things escted quickly.
L''s voice rang out, dripping with sarcasm. The Larkin family really hit the jackpot marrying someone like you, huh? Can''t tell family from strangers, and now you''re favoring the foster daughter?"