A mocking smile touched my lips:
“Are you kneeling for your family legacy, or for your conscience?”
His throat was raw, almost whispering in supplication:
“Please, tell me the truth. The Sterling family can’t fall
It’s not just so
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“Please, tell me the truth. The Sterling family can’t fall… It’s not just me, it’s decades of the Foundation’s hard work, Father, he…
I cut him off coldly:
“Grandpa Sterling? Are you sure he truly cared for me? Or was he just a scapegoat to take the fall?”
Julian Sterling’s breath hitched.
1 abruptly jabbed the tip of my umbrella into a crack in the steps, asking coldly:
“That day at the auction celebration, you forgot what you said, didn’t you?”
I echoed his words back to him in the exact same tone from that year, my voice low:
“Stella Sterling, you didn’t just switch Serena’s report, you stole her entire life!”
His eyes widened in shock, as if he’d seen a ghost.
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“That’s right. I’m reborn too. Did you think Serena Hayes was really injured? In this game, you were just a pawn.”
I slowly straightened up, my voice flat:
“In the last life, you two conspired to accuse me of swapping the restoration report. Julian Sterling, you believed Serena Hayes’s lies, made me a scapegoat, and never once stood up for me.”
He reached out painfully, trying to grab me, mud mixed with rainwater streaking his sleeve.
“Stella, I was wrong, I beg you! Save the Sterling family, Serena Hayes wasn’t even injured.” He lunged forward, clutching my ankle.
His knuckles were white, clutching with a maddening obsession.
Footsteps echoed on the steps.
Adrian Vance walked out of the restricted area, his voice low and sharp:
“Julian Sterling, you won’t believe it until it’s right in front of you.”
He gestured to the security guard behind him.
“No!”
Before Julian Sterling could react, the guard’s stun baton landed mercilessly on his knee.
He screamed, collapsing into the puddles, mud splashing onto his face.
Adrian Vance looked down at him, his expression cold:
“If you ever dare to show your face near Stella again, I’ll make sure you never walk again!”
