Chapter 5 Was All This Effort Just for Money?
817 Words
“Hop in.”
His cold stare left no room for argument, making it clear that disobedience would come with consequences.
The black Bentley was parked by the curb, the driver already holding the door open. Stina grit her teeth and climbed in.
The interior was deafeningly quiet, yet Stina’s heart raced uncontrollably.
“Ms. Phoenix, office or home?” The deep voice broke the stillness.
Stina flinched, caught off guard. “No, to the hospital.”
Since she’d been given another shot at life, her mother should still be alive at this point. The thought made her heart pound even faster.
The driver adjusted the route, pulling up at the entrance of the city’s central hospital.
As Stina stepped out, Lucas suddenly spoke up, “Have Tony send someone to sign the contract.”
Stunned, she hesitated. Was he offering a project because of what happened last night? What is this—some sort of payoff? Her expression darkened. “What are you implying?”
“Tony pulled out all the stops to get you into my bed. Wasn’t it all for this deal?”
His smirk was maddening, like he’d already figured her out.
So it was her father—no, wait, it must have been Tanae.
“You’ve got the wrong idea.”
“Wrong? Then why did you have someone take the hotel’s security footage bright and early this morning? Was the two-billion-dollar contract not enough? Or was the hush money not enough?”
Security footage? That hadn’t been a thing in her past life.
Suddenly, Stina remembered Ladarrius. It was him! It all fell into place. Tanae had orchestrated this, determined to make sure Lucas never found out it was Stina who had been in his bed that night. That’s why she’d gotten rid of the evidence first thing that morning.
In her previous life, Stina and Lucas had never had this kind of run-in. He’d probably left right after, not even caring who’d been next to him.
She let out a bitter chuckle, mocking the ridiculousness of her past life. “Mr. Miller, whether you believe me or not, I wasn’t… mmm—”
Lucas grabbed her chin, yanking her to face him.
“Stina, don’t even think about pulling any tricks on me.” His voice was low, his eyes cold as ice. The thought that someone dared to scheme against him set his blood boiling.
She froze, her body tensing under his grip. “No, you can investigate it. It wasn’t me. I was framed too.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes, his gaze trailing from her face to her neck, where the marks from last night’s passion were still visible.
He released her, leaving faint red imprints on her cheeks.
He looked away, his tone icy. “You’d better make sure your family stays out of this.”
Stina thought of the suffering she’d endured in her past life and met his gaze squarely. “Mr. Miller, all I can say is, I’m the victim here.”
Her words made it clear she had no part in whatever her father and sister had done.
His eyes turned cold, but Stina had already opened the car door. “Thanks for the lift, Mr. Miller. See you.”
Without a glance back, she strode into the hospital. Yet, even as she did, she could feel his piercing, icy stare trailing her, only fading when she stepped into the elevator.
Stina stepped into the VIP ward section of the hospital, her entire body trembled as she approached the room she remembered so well. If there was one blessing from her rebirth, it was that her mother was still alive.
This time, she was fiercely determined to protect her mother, no matter what it took!
As she reached out to push the door open, she noticed it wasn’t fully closed. Faint voices drifted out from inside.
“Auntie, this is some soup the kitchen staff had simmered this morning. My mom couldn’t finish it, so I thought I’d bring some over for you. They say it’s really good for your health,” came a voice.
Hearing this, Stina forcefully pushed the door open, making it slam against the wall. “What are you doing?” she demanded.
Inside, Tanae was standing beside Camille, who was visibly pregnant. Lydia was propped up on the bed, while a nurse poured soup from a thermos into a bowl, ready to feed her.
Stina’s face turned pale. In a flash, she rushed over, knocking the bowl from the nurse’s hands and sending the thermos tumbling to the floor.
With a loud clang, the thermos hit the floor, and soup splashed in every direction, splattering onto Tanae, who stood right in the line of fire.
“Ah—!” Tanae let out a piercing scream as her once-white dress was now marred by a sickly yellow stain.
- Writer
