Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 2000

Leonie scoffed, "Dad, what are you gonna do, invite us over for a barbecue?"

Terrence's voice was tinged with anger, "You'll find out soon enough!"

After hanging up, Leonie looked towards her husband, Stanley, with a hint of unease, "Honey, have we just burned bridges with my father? Could this backfire on us?"

Stanley replied gravely, "Things have escalated too far, there's no turning back now."

Leonie slumped into her chair, "We support Estelle because Mr. Foster approached us, and it's also because I feel so sorry for her. She's hit a streak of bad luck with a dad and stepmom like that!"

Stanley pondered, "Don't you find the whole situation odd? First, there were accusations of Estelle taking bribes to lose to foreigners, then her past scandals resurfaced, and now my brother and his wife are piling on with their public statements. It's almost like it's all been orchestrated. What do you think they're up to?"

Leonie, too, sensed that something was amiss.

Their suspicions were soon addressed when the Crawleys paid them a visit to talk about the online posts.

"Mr. and Mrs. Macclain!" greeted the man who had earlier approached Mr. Tucker. He placed a card on the table in front of Leonie, "Here's $2 million, a small token of appreciation from Mr. Cliff to both of you."

Leonie's brow twitched as she eyed the card without touching it.

$2 million was not a fortune for a family like theirs, but it was not an amount to scoff at either.

The Macclains were an old-money family in J City. They appeared grand but were on their last legs.

Originally, Terrence had held on to the main company, securing his position as the chairman, and had distributed a few subsidiaries to his three sons. However, once the businesses were in their hands, they had been on a steady decline.

Stanley remained silent.

As the standoff continued, in burst Sallie, "I knew it! The smear campaign against Estelle came out of nowhere, and it's you Crawleys and the Macclain scumbags working together!"

"Sallie!" Leonie scolded, "Stay out of this and leave. Now!"

"Why should I leave?" Sallie glared at Leonie. "Mom, are you really going to be bought off and betray our family like those heartless Macclains?"

Stanley's face went pale with anger, "Sallie, watch your mouth!"

But Sallie ran over, dropping to one knee, and looked up pleadingly at Leonie, "Mom, please don't do this to Estelle. She's never wronged us; in fact, she's always been there for us. I'm begging you, don't throw another stone at her when she's already down!"