Angel Last mission is love

24.Wealth and Power

A few days had passed since Stella’s unwelcome visit to Adrian’s home, and while Clara and Adrian had tried to focus on their studies and their time together, Stella’s resentment had only grown deeper. She came from a family of great influence and wealth; her father was a well-known partner in the city government, a man whose name carried weight and whose connections reached far and wide. Her mother, too, was a respected principal at one of the largest and most prestigious schools in the region. Stella had always been used to getting whatever she wanted, and the thought of losing Adrian to someone like Clara—quiet, unassuming, and from a far more modest background—was something she simply could not accept.

One evening, she sat in the grand drawing room of her family’s large home, her mind turning over bitter thoughts. She decided that if she could not win Adrian over fairly, she would use the power she had always known. She took a deep breath, let her shoulders slump, and began to act as if she were in deep distress. Tears welled up in her eyes—at first forced, but soon fueled by her own anger and jealousy—and she began to sob loudly, her hands covering her face.

Her father, who had been reading the newspaper nearby, immediately looked up, concerned. He stood up and hurried over to her. “Stella? What is the matter? Why are you crying like this?”

Between dramatic sobs, Stella lifted her head, her eyes glistening with tears as she looked at him. “Daddy… someone is bothering me. Someone is making my life miserable.”

Her father’s expression hardened instantly. He was a proud and powerful man, and the idea that anyone would dare upset his daughter filled him with anger. “Who is it? Tell me the name of the person who made my daughter cry. No one will get away with hurting you.”

Stella lowered her head, as if too heartbroken to speak clearly, then whispered the name she had been waiting to say. “It’s Clara. Daddy, this Clara has taken away the person I love. She stole Adrian from me, and now I cry every single day. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep… Daddy, please do something. If this continues, I don’t know what will happen to me. I feel like I might die from this pain.”

She spoke with such exaggerated despair that her father believed every word. He shook his head slowly, his jaw set in a firm, unyielding line. He had always spoiled his daughter and believed whatever she told him. “Do not worry yourself, my child. I will handle this. Just wait and see what I do to this girl who dares to upset you.”

The next morning at the university, the atmosphere was unusually heavy. When Adrian, Leo, and Stella arrived, they found Clara sitting alone on a bench near the garden, her shoulders shaking as she cried softly. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her face looked pale and exhausted, as if she had not slept all night.

Adrian’s heart sank immediately. He hurried over and knelt beside her, his voice filled with worry. “Clara? What happened? Why are you crying like this? Did someone hurt you?”

Leo and Stella followed closely, Stella putting on a look of feigned concern as she sat down beside Clara, though her eyes held a cold, hidden satisfaction.

Clara wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, her voice trembling as she tried to speak. “Yesterday evening… some men came to our house. They didn’t say much, but they were very rough. They broke our furniture, shattered the windows, and scattered our things everywhere before leaving. And this morning, when my father went to work, he was told that he was no longer needed—they fired him without any explanation. We are not rich, Adrian. We have never had much, but now… now we have lost what little we had. How can we face this? How will we pay for everything now?”

Her voice broke again, and fresh tears began to fall. Adrian felt a cold knot form in his stomach. This was no ordinary trouble; it felt deliberate, targeted. He looked up, and his gaze happened to meet Stella’s. For just a split second, before she could hide it, he saw a flicker of triumph in her eyes—and in that moment, his suspicion turned into a heavy, sinking certainty.

Leo, too, looked shocked and angry. “That is terrible! Who would do such a thing? There must be some mistake, or someone with a grudge.”

But Adrian said nothing right away. He wrapped his arm gently around Clara to comfort her, his mind racing. He knew exactly who had the power to do something like this, and exactly who had the reason. Stella’s father was a powerful man in the city—if he had believed his daughter’s lies, he would not hesitate to use his influence to make life difficult for Clara’s family.

Stella leaned forward, patting Clara’s shoulder in a show of false sympathy. “Oh, Clara, that is so awful. I hope things get better soon. Maybe it was just some random troublemakers, or bad luck.”

Adrian looked at her, his expression calm but sharp. He did not believe a word of it. He knew now that Stella was not just jealous—she was willing to use her family’s wealth and power to destroy the lives of others just to get what she wanted. As he held Clara close, he made a silent vow: he would not let this stand. He would find a way to protect her and her family, no matter how powerful the people against them might be.