Chapter 101
“You…!” Deanna’s face turned as white as a sheet with anger.
Her lips quivered, just about to unleash a tirade, when suddenly her eyes rolled back, and she fainted dead away.
Callie rushed over in a panic, shouting, “Mom! Mom, are you alright?”
“Someone call 911, Mrs. O’Brien’s passed out!”
The room erupted into chaos, everyone scrambling like it was a fire drill.
Stella observed the scene unfolding and quickly slipped out the door without looking back.
…
That afternoon, Stella’s phone rang. It was Haynes.
“Mom’s awake now. She’s out of danger.”
Stella’s voice was calm, almost detached, “So, Mr. O’Brien, does that mean you’ll release my friend now?”
“You made my mom so upset she ended up in the hospital, and you expect me to just let your friend go?”
Stella’s tone didn’t waver, “You know exactly what happened. I didn’t say anything out of line.”
Haynes fell silent. He wanted to take his mother’s side, but Deanna’s harsh words and attitude towards Stella had been uncalled for. It wasn’t Stella’s fault.
The whole thing blew up because Stella handed her a bottle of pills, trying to help. Instead of gratitude, Deanna exploded in anger.
Callie seemed unsurprised, almost as if she expected it. Was this how his mom normally treated Stella?
Lost in thought, Haynes didn’t realize Stella had hung up until he heard the dial tone.
He stared at the phone, thinking deeply.
The next day, in Haynes’ office.
Foreman Richards asked in his usual gruff voice, “Did you let Stella’s friend go?”
Before Haynes could answer, Foreman’s phone buzzed. He listened for a moment, then his expression turned dark.
“What did you say? Stella found Abby Murphy?” Foreman’s voice was icy, “Where are they now… alright, got it.”
After hanging up, Foreman looked at Haynes, his face stern.
“Haynie, Stella’s with Abby. They’re at the hospital.”
In the hospital, Abby was getting treated for a face full of bruises.
Watching Stella, who hadn’t said much since they arrived, Abby couldn’t help but whisper, “Star, Haynes did take me, but… after I apologized to Rachel Pearce, he let me go.”
“The ones who kidnapped me later weren’t Haynes’ people.”
The day after Abby went to see Rachel, Haynes’ people found and detained her. They didn’t hurt her, just kept her locked up.
Benson came around, urging her to apologize to Rachel. He said it was Haynes going easy on her because of Stella. If she refused, things would get messy between Stella and Haynes.
Abby reflected that apologizing really cost her nothing. Not wanting to involve Stella in any trouble, she decided to apologize after a few days.
Rachel, of course, pretended to forgive her in front of Haynes.
However, shortly after her release, Abby was kidnapped once more. This time, the situation was dire. She was beaten severely, leaving her battered as if she had sparred with a heavyweight boxer. Fortunately, she sustained no major injuries, only bruises.
As the doctor tended to Abby’s wounds, she winced in pain.
Stella looked at Abby’s battered face, “But Haynes was involved at some point, wasn’t he?”