Written Off as Trash, I Activated My Hidden Queen Mode novel Chapter 104

Chapter 104 Past Trauma Resurfaces Online

She looked up at the night sky, her mind drifting back to the past.

That stretch of her life had been the darkest, but also the one that changed everything.

She’d been set up with a small painting stall near Haven’s Rest when she caught the attention of a man with twisted desires–a predator who targeted children.

He’d taken her, locked her away, forced her to paint day after day until whatever he was looking for finally satisfied him. Hit her when she couldn’t get it right. Kept pushing.

It wasn’t until she found out the paints she’d been using were mixed with blood–blood from other children he’d taken–that something in her shattered completely.

When they finally got her out, she’d hoped Derek would show up at the hospital. He never did. But the nun who ran the place never stopped fighting for her, never let her go.

And it was in that hospital that she’d met someone who would change everything.

T

One math problem. That was all it took for Julian to see something in her.

After that disappointment, after realizing Derek wasn’t coming, she’d chosen a new name for herself. Stella.

From there, things shifted. She’d met the best in their fields, learned from them, became one of them. Eventually, she surpassed them all.

If it weren’t for everything surfacing now, she might’ve almost forgotten how much those years had hurt.

But what was the point? What was whoever behind this trying to gain by dragging it all back up?

To hurt her?

Or was there something else?

Why now, of all times?

Whoever was pulling the strings, they’d clearly known about her past for a while.

The Harlow family?

Didn’t feel right.

If he’d had something like this on her, a man who thrived on gossip would’ve used it long ago. He wouldn’t have sat on it.

Back then, he hadn’t cared enough to even dig.

She pressed her fingers to her temples and decided to let it go for now.

Find whoever was behind it. Shut them down. That was what mattered–not sitting around turning it over

1:56 am Ppp.

Chapter 104 Past Trauma Resurfaces Online

in her head..

She went ahead and washed up, then tried to get some rest.

Finished

Meanwhile, Elias was glued to the chaos unfolding online. The more he read, the tighter his chest got.

Anyone who went after someone he loved? They’d pay. Ten times over. A hundred. That was just how he operated.

He picked up the phone and called his grandpa, Aaron, without hesitating.

Skimming through the comments, the biggest pushback seemed to be about whether Stella would ever be accepted by the Cross family. Add that to the fact they’d only gone public that night–maybe that was the angle. Maybe that was the motive.

At three in the morning, Aaron was dead asleep at his place when his phone went off and nearly gave him a heart attack.

“Is Elias okay?”

Elias never called him. A call at this hour usually meant something had gone wrong–maybe even his security team reaching out in an emergency.

“Set up a Twitter account. Post something.”

“What?”

Aaron was awake now, but completely lost.

“Just say: The Cross family only recognizes Stella as family. As for anyone else I’d rather stay single for the rest of my life than marry someone I don’t want.”

If that didn’t shut down the noise about her not being accepted, and people kept coming for her online. then finding whoever was behind it would get a whole lot easier.

Whoever it was, they’d regret it.

“Elias, did you hit your head?”

Because if he hadn’t, since when did Elias put his heart on display like this?

Jasper hadn’t slept. He’d scrolled through everything–every post, every comment, every thread.

It felt like someone had taken his heart and ground it into dust. Bleeding. Broken.

He’d always known that whatever success Stella had built, she’d worked ten times harder than anyone else to get there. Probably a hundred. But he hadn’t known–hadn’t imagined–that her childhood had been

like this.

Six years old. She’d only been six.

“Mr. Moore? You wanted to see me?”

2/4

11:56 am PPP.

Chapter 104 Past Trauma Resurfaces Online

Cody yawned, looking wrecked.

ཅ་|

Finished

“Every account that insulted my daughter. Everyone who took part in the bullying. Block them all. And put together a list.

“My companies will never hire them. Or anyone in their immediate family. For three generations.”

Something in Jasper’s voice made Cody go completely still.

“I’ll handle it.”

“Wait. And find out where the man who took my daughter is now.”

Jasper’s eyes, usually gentle, had gone cold. Dangerous. His voice dropped, low and quiet.

“Kill the trends. Put out a statement. If anyone comes for my daughter again, they answer to me.”

“Understood.”

After Cody left, Jasper sat there and looked through the paintings Stella had been forced to make.

They were horrifying. Every single one. Full of dread.

Maybe because he’d always loved painting. Maybe because he understood what art could hold. But even in the darkest of them, buried deep, he could see it–a thread of hope. A child who wanted out. Who believed someone would come.

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