Chapter 23
Jasper shot Stella a piercing glare. “Lay a finger on Rachel,” he hissed, “and you’re over. Just wait till Haynie gets a
hold of you!”
Stella finally looked up at him with a hint of amusement. “Jasper,” she said earnestly, “have you outgrown being just a
simp? Are you now aspiring to be a full-blown lapdog?”
Jasper’s face turned crimson with fury.
He pointed an accusatory finger at Stella. “Haynie, Foreman, did you hear that? She called me a lapdog! And earlier,
she said I was a simp!”
Foreman cleared his throat gently. “Jasper, maybe it’s best to leave this to Haynie.”
“No!” Jasper raised his voice, “I’m not leaving until Haynie gives me a fair explanation!”
Stella shrugged nonchalantly. “Then stay here all you want. I’ve got things to do.” She tried to brush past them, rubbing her sore
wrist.
Haynes’ expression darkened as he caught her wrist again, though this time with a gentler grip. Stella still couldn’t shake free.
Jasper opened his mouth to speak further, but Haynes’ icy demeanor silenced him. Seeing this, Rachel remained silent as well.
Haynes roughly pushed Stella into an empty room, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Stella, is this your new game of playing hard
to get?”
Stella frowned. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Haynes’ eyes gleamed with mockery. “Last time, you faked being in danger to lure me in, and it turned out to be nothing. Stella,
when did you start resorting to such low tactics?”
Stella’s heart sank like a stone. An invisible blade twisted in her chest, each breath a struggle against the weight of his words.
She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails broke against her palms. The sting was a welcome distraction from the ache
spreading through her chest.
‘Low tactics?’ The accusation echoed in her mind, a taunt she couldn’t silence. ‘Is that what Haynes thinks of me? That I’d stoop
so low?’
The last time when she stepped out to buy some groceries, she got kidnapped.
That morning, Keen had thrown a fit over the vegetables, barely touching them. Stella suspected Rachel had ensured to mention
Maisie was in charge of the groceries, stirring the pot. So, Stella decided to go herself that day.
Her kidnapper was a desperate man who had been swindled out of a fortune, leaving him with nothing but a shattered
life. Filled with rage against the world, he chose to kidnap someone at random.
Unfortunately, that someone was Stella while she was carefully picking out fresh produce.
He held a knife to her throat, demanding ransom from the police, his agitation leaving a shallow cut on her neck. Stella
told him her husband was wealthy and could pay off his debts to calm the situation.
The kidnapper seemed surprised by the idea of someone willing to pay off his debts, unsure whether to believe her.
Stella promised him over the phone that she’d settle his debts, offering him a chance at an ordinary life.
He hesitated but eventually let her make the call. The line connected, and Stella barely whispered, “I’ve got kidnapped,”
when she was interrupted by urgent news. Rachel needed emergency surgery, and they requested Haynes’ signature.
Haynes’ response was curt. “Rachel’s critical. I’ll call you back,” then he hung up. Perhaps sensing she was his last
hope, the kidnapper refused to let her go. So, they, Stella and the kidnapper, waited for two hours.