Chapter 267

Chad saw Sebastian carrying Stephanie out. Stephanie was wrapped in a cream-colored down jacket, her head covered by a hat. Because of the height difference, it looked like Sebastian was holding a little girl in his arms. When Sebastian held Stephanie, Chad didn’t think much of it; he didn’t find it odd or inappropriate. Rubbing his numb, cold hands, he instinctively started to step forward.

However, at that moment, Chad realized his legs were so numb he could barely feel them. As he took a step, he stumbled and nearly fell into the snow. “Hi, Mr. Giovanni, Stefi.”

Chad steadied himself, still stumbling towards Sebastian, but was stopped by the bodyguards. Chad’s face showed alarm. “Stefi!” Seeing Sebastian’s cold expression, Chad immediately turned to Stephanie for help, but she kept her face buried in Sebastian’s chest, not responding at all.

“Mr. Giovanni, we really need to talk. Stefi, you’ve really misunderstood us. Whatever you want, we’ll give it to you, okay?” Chad said urgently.

‘Damn it, Catlin keeps throwing these problems at me,’ Chad thought, frustrated. Especially now, when Stephanie wouldn’t even give him a glance, Chad’s resentment toward Catlin reached its peak.

Sebastian gently placed Stephanie into the car, which had already started warming up. Just as Chad was about to call out to Stephanie, Sebastian slammed the door shut. With a cold gaze, Sebastian glared at Chad. The moment their eyes met, Chad instinctively swallowed hard. “Mr. Giovanni, I…”

Sebastian’s eyes held a touch of mockery. “Mr. Hart, do you think she needs anything from you?”

Chad froze for a moment, his breath tightening again. ‘Yeah, now, Stephanie can get whatever she wants. She doesn’t need us to give her anything,’ he wondered. Growing up in the Lucano family, Stephanie probably never lacked anything. Thinking back to the smaller allowances she’d received after returning to the Hart family, Chad suddenly felt embarrassed.

Sebastian scoffed. “Everything happening at the Hart Group now has nothing to do with her. Don’t look for her again. She has nothing to do with you.”

Chad was momentarily stunned. This sentence sent a chill down his spine. To be honest, besides their blood relation, Stephanie didn’t seem to have any real connection to them. Especially in the years after they brought her back, from Stephanie’s perspective, they hadn’t treated her well.

But she had been so rebellious back then. Chad remembered what Catlin had said about her before, and it made his head ache. Sebastian turned to get into the car.

At that moment, Chad broke free from the bodyguards and staggered to Sebastian’s side, almost tripping again. He grabbed onto Sebastian’s clothing. “Mr. Giovanni, could you please show some mercy and let the Hart Group off the hook?”

Sebastian lowered his gaze. When he looked at Chad again, the coldness in his eyes was unmistakable. Chad felt suffocated by his gaze. “After all, we are Stefi’s parents.”

“Parents? Parents who almost took her life? Mr. Hart, how dare you ask for this kind of favor?” With just one glance, the smile in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a threatening chill. Chad could feel his heart skip a beat.

“B-but that wasn’t Olivia’s doing. Stefi misunderstood,” Chad hurriedly explained. Before he could finish speaking, his hand was left grasping air as Sebastian, covered in coldness, entered the car. The window rolled halfway down, and Sebastian’s eyes, full of danger, locked onto Chad. “Mr. Hart, since you think it was a misunderstanding, someone has to take responsibility for that misunderstanding…”

“Since you are her parents, you are even less worthy of forgiveness. Don’t you think?” The people who should have taken care of her had pushed her to the edge of death, almost killing her.

Chad froze. Those words felt like a thunderbolt to his heart. His already pale face, from the cold, turned even whiter after hearing Sebastian’s words. Before he could say anything else, the window rolled up, and the car started moving. Chad instinctively stepped forward but slipped, almost falling to the ground. By the time he regained his balance, all he could see was the rear end of the car as it drove away.

The wind outside was biting.

Inside the car, it was warm. Sebastian held Stephanie tightly in his arms, feeling a bit suffocated. “You didn’t just kill her back then?”

Stephanie sniffled and looked up at Sebastian. “Back then, I was alone, and there were so many of them I couldn’t fight them all.”

Sebastian’s eyes darkened. In a place where Stephanie couldn’t see, a cold fury erupted in his gaze.

Chapter 268