The Years Between Signing and Seeing novel Chapter 323

"Are you always this cold?" Chester asked, hastily kicking the kickstand down and stepping up to her. "Why did you stop working at the Baylor Manor? I went back to visit once, but no one would tell me where you went."

Suzie frowned. Just as she opened her mouth to reply, the iron gates swung open. Oliver stood there, dressed in a sharp black suit, his face pale and etched with devastating sorrow. Stella trailed quietly behind him.

"Oliver..." Suzie called out, her voice breaking. She glanced back at Chester. "I just don't work there anymore. Thank you. I have family matters to attend to. Please leave."

As she spoke, the estate's butler pulled the gates open wider.

Suzie walked through with heavy steps. "Oliver, Stella..."

Oliver shot a brief, hollow glance at the man standing by the motorcycle outside before pulling his exhausted gaze back to her.

"Suzie... let's go inside."

With that, Oliver lowered his head and turned toward the main house.

Stella stepped forward, wrapping a comforting arm around Suzie's shoulders. "Come on."

Suzie noticed the black mourning pin fastened to Stella's lapel. She looked ahead at Oliver's retreating figure and choked back a sob. "Stella... I want to attend the funeral as family. I want to send Helen off properly."

Stella saw the raw determination in Suzie's eyes and understood immediately. She frowned, a flicker of worry crossing her face. "Are you sure? The Cross family isn't exactly low-profile, and Arthur is a prominent figure in the industry. The wake will be packed with important people, and the media might even cover it. If someone takes your picture..."

Suzie fell silent for a moment before answering softly.

"It's fine, Stella. I don't care about any of that. Helen treated me like her own daughter. I owe it to her to be there at the very front."

Stella gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze. "Alright. I'll stand right beside you."

As the two women headed toward the main house, Stella glanced back at the gates and whispered, "Who was that guy? He's still just standing there."

Suzie gave her a brief rundown of the fender-bender and the chaotic ride over.

Stella's eyes widened in alarm.

And now? She seemed to be thriving.

The car she drove was a class above his own.

And now she was closely tied to a wealthy family living in a sprawling private estate.

The Cross family... Chester muttered the name under his breath. He pulled out his phone and ran a quick search.

It turned out the Cross family controlled a massive corporate empire and had even done business with the Baylor Group back in the previous generation's prime.

Thinking back to how Suzie burst into tears on the phone and the desperate rush to get here, Chester guessed her relationship with this family was incredibly deep.

How did a struggling maid completely turn her life around in four years and forge such a tight bond with a family of this caliber?

He couldn't quite wrap his head around it.