Chapter 379
Chapter 379:
“That’s not how you shift blame, Mr. Briggs,” she let out a small snort, clearly done with his nonsense.
William sounded irritated now. “Let me handle the evidence. You really need to stop charging into danger like this. If someone with bad intentions corners you, I can’t always drop everything to play hero.”
Stella crossed her arms and pouted. As if she needed his protection!
That evening, her phone buzzed with an incoming call from Shaun. The moment she picked up, his anxious voice came through. “Syli, are you okay? My driver told me the alarm at the warehouse went off and you never got back in the car. What happened?”
Sitting on the edge of her bed with her phone pressed to her ear, Stella gave a short, tired reply. “I took a different way down the mountain. Nothing happened, really.”
Hearing that, Shaun let out a small breath, the tension in his voice easing just a bit. “Alright. That’s a relief.” Then, after a pause, he asked, “Were you able to find anything? Any leads?”
Stella exhaled slowly. “Not much. I managed to snap some photos—just the documents in the warehouse and a logo stamped on the wooden crates. I didn’t have enough time to dig any deeper.”
She knew that what she had wasn’t nearly enough to take down Nixon, and for some reason, she didn’t mention that William had shown up. That detail stayed tucked away, like something she wasn’t ready to explain.
Shaun’s voice remained calm and reassuring. “You’ve already done a lot. What matters most is that you’re okay. And just so you know, Smith Group has officially cut ties with Nixon. You don’t have to carry this burden by yourself.” He offered a few more comforting words before politely ending the call, not wanting to disrupt her rest any further.
Later, lying on her bed, Stella stared at the ceiling. Her mind wandered back to the “SM” letters printed on the side of the crates. Could it be related to Haley? Or even… Shaun?
She hated the thought. Shaun had always been decent to her, and she knew she probably shouldn’t doubt him. But those two letters were just too clear—too pointed—to ignore.
A week passed in the blink of an eye, but there was still no news, no follow-up, no signs that the authorities had gone up to investigate Nixon’s secret warehouse.
𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨:
Frustration simmered in Stella’s chest, but with no options left, she was forced to set it aside for now.
Back at the research institute, she recalled how confidently William had promised to find evidence. She couldn’t help but scoff at the memory. Typical. Men were all the same—full of empty words when it suited them.
Sandra happened to glance over and noticed the expression on her face. “Sylvia, what’s wrong? You’ve seemed off these past few days.”
Snapping out of her thoughts, Stella quickly put on a neutral face. “It’s nothing. Just thinking about some old nonsense I’d rather forget.”
Just as she finished speaking, her phone on the table began to vibrate.
Stella pulled off her gloves and reached for her phone, only to find a file sitting in her inbox—sent by William.
.
.
.