Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 57

"Stella, you dragging me out for drinks—did something happen? Do you need me to handle something?"

He was only asking out of obligation. Nine times out of ten, this little menace only called him out because she was bored. But he had to go through the motions, or else she'd accuse him of not caring about her.

"Nothing's wrong. I was just bored and wanted to grab a drink and chat. What, Carter-boy? You got a girlfriend you're worried is gonna get jealous?"

"I'm way too busy to date. And please, for the love of god, stop calling me Carter-boy. It sounds so tacky. Call me Carter."

"Did you look into what I asked you to? Any leads?"

Carter Coleman's brow furrowed slightly. "About that... Stella, aside from confirming he's the CEO of Blackwood Group,

his background is completely scrubbed. You insisted his leg injury was caused by poison, not a car crash, but there's literally zero medical record of any toxin.

Every file strictly documents injuries sustained from a standard vehicular collision. Julius Blackwood is definitely not who he appears to be. You need to tread very carefully."

Stella nodded thoughtfully. "I'll be careful. If you can't dig anything up, drop it. If he's backed by serious power, I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire."

Carter took a sip of his drink. "As long as you know what you're doing. Any progress on your mother's ashes?"

"Nothing yet. Julius said he'd help me look into it once his legs are fully healed. I guess I'll just wait it out for now."

The last time she stormed into the Hawthorne residence and flipped the place upside down, Frederick Hawthorne still refused to hand over her mother's real ashes. She heavily suspected her father was plotting something shady behind her back.

Chloe shook her head again. "I have no idea. She just crawled out of some rural backwater; she shouldn't have any friends here. Could that be Mr. Blackwood?"

"Highly unlikely. The rumors all say he's literally knocking on death's door. Look at that guy—he's throwing back drinks. Does he look dying to you?"

A malicious smirk suddenly crept onto Rhoda's face. She leaned in close to Chloe and lowered her voice. "Do you think your precious bumpkin sister got a little too lonely with a dying husband and sneaked out to find herself a side piece?"

Chloe's mind immediately flashed back to Stella's first day at the Hawthorne house. The bitch had stolen her bedroom, trashed her entire wardrobe, and even caused her to fall face-first on the floor in a humiliating video.

Just thinking about it made her blood boil. Even though Chloe eventually got her room back after Stella joined the Blackwood family, her hatred for her half-sister was absolute.