Chapter 18

[ 590 words ]

In everyone’s eyes, she was picking a fight she had no chance of winning.

Stella thought for a moment, then said calmly, “Tomorrow, my marriage certificate with Evan and the divorce agreement will be all over Harbor City.”

Jennifer froze.

“…What?”

“Wait,” she said, staring at her. “You’re saying you’re going public about your marriage to Evan? You’re really doing this?”

“I’m divorcing him,” Stella replied evenly. “But if Summer wants to step into that position , then she gets the label that comes with it.”

A mistress.

Her mother had built her empire through methods no one needed spelled out. Mother and daughter had always been experts at having it both ways. They took what they wanted through questionable means, yet feared nothing more than public judgment. Especially words like mistress and homewrecker.

That was exactly why Stella chose this route.

Jennifer finally understood. Her eyes widened.

“ If you release the marriage certificate, Summer will be nailed to the mistress post in public. Completely.”

For months, the entire city had been buzzing with rumors that Evan would take responsibility for his late brother’s wife and children. No one knew Evan was already married.

The moment the certificate went public, everything would explode.

All that speculation would flip instantly. Every accusation would land squarely on Summer.

The backlash would be brutal.

Jennifer swallowed. The move was ruthless. And effective.

But she was still worried.

“Then her mother definitely won’t let this go,” she said carefully. “Stella, maybe we should think about a backup plan.”

Stella looked at her.

“Don’t worry. She has a powerful mother.”

>>

She paused, then added softly, “And I have family who will protect me.”

Family.

The word felt unfamiliar on her tongue. Yet as she said it, warmth spread through her chest.

Jennifer blinked.

*…Family? Your family?”

“Yes,” Stella said. “Mine”

Jennifer’s confusion deepened. Her voice dropped instinctively.

“But… you don’t have any family.”

She had always believed that. Stella grew up in an orphanage. That was why Jennifer had protected her so fiercely all these years.

Stella nodded once.

“ I didn’t. Not before.”

Jennifer leaned forward.

“Then what does that mean? Is there something I don’t know?”

The moment Stella mentioned protection, Jennifer’s anxiety sharpened into alert curiosity.

Summer’s mother was no ordinary opponent. Jennifer had genuinely thought Stella was charging straight into a wall.

Now Stella was saying she had backing.

Real backing.

Stella didn’t hide it. She told Jennifer everything that had happened over the past month.

When she finished, Jennifer just sat there, stunned.

“Eirden… the Hogarth family?” she whispered.

The Hogarth Group.

The conglomerate that controlled half the global market.

And its heiress was sitting right in front of her.

Jennifer’s throat went dry.

“You’re telling me… Aaron Hogarth is your brother?”

The man who topped international economic rankings year after year.

A figure people spoke about like a myth.

Stella nodded.

“I only found out a month ago. Don’t tell anyone.”

Jennifer stared at her, completely speechless.

All those years she’d heard people sneer that Stella was an orphan, that marrying Evan was climbing above

her station.

2/3

And now

The so–called orphan was the lost princess of the Hogarth empire.

And that untouchable man everyone feared?

Her brother.

“Stella,” Jennifer said faintly, “am I dreaming? Come on. Pinch me.”

Stella reached over and twisted her cheek.

“Ow–okay, okay, that hurts!”

So it was real.

Jennifer broke into a grin, adrenaline surging.

“Then I’m officially done worrying.”

“With a brother like that?” She laughed. “Forget Summer’s mother. This is going to be a nightmare for everyone else . ”

Summer’s so –called powerful background didn’t even register by comparison.

Jennifer suddenly started pacing the room, energized.

“Do it. Go all the way.”

“I’m backing you one hundred percent. Make a mess. Flip the table. Burn it all down.”

She stopped and looked at Stella, eyes bright.

“They thought you were alone.

“Well. Now it’s their turn to panic.”

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