The Wrong Girl and the Wronged Girl (Stella and Ethan) novel Chapter 189

Chapter 189 The Cost of Control

The phone volume wasn’t low–Lillian heard everything.

Just hearing Patrick yelling at Susan because of Stella already put her in a bad mood.

Patrick rarely came to visit her in the hospital, In that house, he was clearly always on Stella’s side.

Now hearing him scream that the one targeting the Reed Group was the same company that made e Stella’s studio rich?

That meant the company was in serious trouble.

And it involved Stella?

So what now? Were they going to beg her? Try to bring her back into the Reed family?

No. That could never happen,

Especially with that man still in Rivermount, calling her repeatedly for money.

If Stella returned to the Reed family, there was no way she could keep everything hidden. She could not allow that. She absolutely could not let Stella come back.

As her mind spiraled-

Patrick’s voice exploded through the phone. “I don’t care how you do it, you have to see Stella. Talk to her. Be nice. Fix this.” Susan’s breath caught in her throat.

She already knew things were bad at the company. Jonathan hadn’t even come to the hospital in days.

She’d tried calling him, too.

Now hearing that everything tied back to Stella filled her with both panic and rage.

“Did you hear me?” Patrick growled when she didn’t respond.

His voice was sharp, full of fury.

Susan took a deep breath. “Are y

you sure this is all because of Stella?”

She bit out the words, her teeth clenched.

“What, you want to blame her now?” Patrick snapped. “Susan, if you can’t even see the basics of what’s happening, this whole family is going down–and it’ll be on you,”

Susan’s heart jolted.

“If you don’t want this company to fall apart, if you still care about your reputation, then start by acting like a real mother.”

“I’m not joking about bankruptcy. We’re at the edge

He’d been running around non–stop trying to find the source of the company’s problems.

And while the company burned, the family was imploding–mother and daughter tearing each other apart

The more he thought about it, the more furious he became

441 PM

Chapter 189 The Cost of Control

Finished

Two things stuck in her mind:

First–Stella was connected to the company’s crisis.

Second–Patrick wanted her to go make peace with Stella.

Make peace!

Easier said than done. Every time they met, sparks flew. They could barely be in the same room.

After everything that had happened, approaching Stella now was just asking to be humiliated.

She didn’t want to do it.

She called Jonathan. “Is it really as bad as your father says?”

Jonathan responded with a weary “Yeah”

He sounded exhausted–Susan had never heard him like this before.

Her heart clenched. “How did it come to this?”

“It’s bad. We’re in deep. If that company doesn’t back off, it’s going to get worse.”

“That company–Stella’s client?”

“Yeah”

Susan was speechless.

Right under my nose? She was this powerful, and I didn’t even know?

“Could this just be a guess? Maybe Stella’s not actually involved.”

She didn’t want to believe it–because if it was true, then she’d have no choice but to do exactly what Patrick demanded.

And with how Stella treated her every time they met, Susan couldn’t bring herself to lower her head like that.

“It’s her,” Jonathan said, his voice low and rough.

Susan froze. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. That snake bit the hand that fed her.”

Jonathan was getting angrier by the second.

Susan’s already pale face turned ashen.

After the call, she returned to the hospital room and saw Lillian lying on the bed, ghostly pale.

Her hair had thinned out drastically–so much so, she couldn’t bring herself to look in the mirror these days.

They’d gone through several experts, and each gave the same answer: they needed Rianne and Eddie.

The chemo was relentless. Every session was agony.

“Lillian,” Susan said softly. “I need to step out for a while.”

More than anything, she wanted to stay at her