Chapter 17: Manage Your Mouth

The Maybach glided smoothly along the highway. Inside the warm interior, the heating kept out the biting cold wind outside.

Stella held Jared tightly in her arms. He was curled up in a large, soft blanket, his breathing gradually becoming steady, though he still let out an occasional sob every now and then from the fright.

Allen steered with one hand, his eyes focused intently on the road ahead.

"Thank you."

Stella finally broke the silence . Her voice was still hoarse, heavy with exhaustion.

Allen's slender fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel as he glanced at her pale face from the corner of his eye.

"Does someone like Miles even deserve to be called a father? Leaving his wife and child in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night—if I hadn't shown up, were you planning to walk with the kid until dawn?"

Stella let out a self-mocking laugh, her eyes hollow as she stared at the tree shadows flashing past the window.

"That's just who he is—heartless. I was just too blind to see it before."

Three years of living hell had already killed off the last bit of hope she'd had for him.

Tonight's ordeal was just another handful of salt rubbed into her open wounds.

Allen fell silent for a moment, then spoke up suddenly, his tone carrying an undeniable seriousness. "Leave the Hudson Group."

Stella turned her head, looking at him with some surprise.

"Come work at the Palmer Group. Pick any position you want. I can give you the safest, most stable environment. Jared needs a quiet place to recover, and you can focus on your design work without having to put up with all that crap at the Hudson Group."

An olive branch from the Palmer Group meant a chance to return to the top, and it meant absolute protection.

Stella's fingers trembled slightly. For a moment, she was genuinely tempted.

For Jared's sake, leaving that toxic place would definitely be the best choice.

But soon, that moment of wavering was replaced by the hatred in her eyes.

"Thank you for the kind offer, Mr. Palmer, but I'm not leaving the Hudson Group just yet."

"Why? You should know that staying there, Miles won't help you, and Ella will just find new ways to torture you. Tonight was just the beginning. The road ahead will only become harder."

"Because there are some debts that haven't been settled yet."

Stella lowered her head, gently stroking Jared's little face.

"My father's death back then wasn't that simple. My family's bankruptcy, my being sent to a mental hospital, Jared being locked up in that attic... behind all of this was that huge conspiracy from three years ago. If I leave now, the truth will be buried forever."

"I need to stay at the Hudson Group, right under their noses, and dig out those dirty secrets inch by inch. I want them to watch me take back everything that belongs to me with my own hands."

Allen looked at her, a flash of surprise in his eyes that quickly turned into deep admiration.

He'd thought she would seek shelter, but instead, she'd chosen the most dangerous path—and the most satisfying one.

She was using herself as bait for a desperate counterattack.

The next morning, at Allen's insistence, he personally drove Stella to work.

Inside the car, he pulled a small tracking device out of the glove compartment and handed it to Stella. "Wear this. No matter what happens, even if you just feel uneasy, you can contact me anytime. Remember, you're not alone."

Stella took the small silver pendant, and warmth flooded her heart.

"Thank you."

Allen's Maybach stopped one block away from the Hudson Group building.

"Let's stop here. Being too flashy won't do me any good either." Stella unbuckled her seatbelt, holding Jared, who had just woken up and was still a bit dazed.

Allen didn't insist, just looked at her deeply. "Should I pick you up tonight?"

"No need. Miles may be crazy, but he doesn't have the guts to pull a disappearing act right under Grandpa's nose." After refusing, Stella opened the door and got out.

This scene caught the eye of someone at the entrance of a roadside coffee shop.

Vivian was holding two Iced Americanos, yawning and about to head to the office to clock in, when she turned her head and saw Stella—the same woman everyone had been mocking yesterday as a "crazy woman, abandoned wife"—getting out of the passenger seat of a luxury car.

Although she didn't get a clear look at the driver's face, just that profile and the car's price tag were enough to shock Vivian.

"Stella?"

As if she'd just stumbled on a big secret, Vivian was incredibly curious. She caught up, her expression instantly changing from contempt to flattery.

"What a coincidence, running into you here." Vivian sidled up to Stella, but her eyes kept darting toward the luxury car that had already driven away.

Stella frowned, instinctively pulling Jared closer, her tone flat. "Morning."

"It's not that early anymore. Stella, you really work hard, still being this punctual even with a kid." Vivian deliberately lowered her voice to probe. "The person who just dropped you off... who was that? That car isn't cheap—must be worth millions, right?"

Stella ignored her and kept walking forward.

But Vivian stuck to her like glue. "Stella, don't be so distant. We're all colleagues, just looking out for you. That handsome guy... is he your husband? Yesterday you said he..."

Vivian covered her mouth, smiling knowingly.

Stella stopped and gave her a cold look. "Just a friend."

"A friend? Would an ordinary friend drive that kind of car to drop you off at work? And thoughtfully drop you off at the corner? Stella, this 'friend' relationship of yours seems pretty unusual, doesn't it?"

"Vivian, watch your mouth. It'll be good for you."

Vivian shrank back at her icy stare, but then puffed out her chest again and laughed in a sarcastic tone. "I didn't say anything. Just worried people might misunderstand. If he's just a friend, then I must be overthinking it."

The elevator doors opened, and she headed straight for the design department.

Before she even entered, she heard Ella's affectedly concerned voice inside. "Miles, don't be angry. Stella must have just been confused last night when she said those things. I just noticed she's not here yet—should I call her?"

"Don't worry about her. She can come back or not, I don't care."

Hearing this, Stella raised her hand and pushed open the design department door.

"Mr. Hudson, Ms. Thomas, good morning."

Holding her child, she stood backlit in the doorway, her presence instantly silencing the noisy office.

Miles looked up sharply, his pupils contracting suddenly when his gaze landed on the high-quality, expertly tailored cashmere shawl she was wearing.

He recognized the brand.

It was a limited edition, available only to top-tier wealthy families, definitely not something Stella could afford now.

"Where were you last night?" Miles stood up and walked over to her in a few steps, his voice frighteningly dark.

Stella smiled serenely. "As you can see, I went somewhere much warmer than the middle of nowhere."

Miles's fists clenched tight. Before he could explode, Vivian had already sashayed in, deliberately saying loudly, "Mr. Hudson, you might not know this, but Stella just came to work in a luxury car. The guy who dropped her off was so thoughtful and caring."

As soon as those words left her mouth, the air in the entire design department seemed to freeze.

Miles's face turned deathly pale in that instant.