Chapter 309

Her voice was as cold as the ice hanging outside, her eyes flashing with a frosty edge. Caitlin’s bottled-up feelings blew up. She snapped, her voice jumping. “Stephanie, what the hell do you even want?”

Stephanie hadn’t even said much yet, and Caitlin was already losing it. Now that she’d opened her mouth, Caitlin’s chest burned with anger. Stephanie kept her stare icy, a little smirk pulling at her lips, like she was laughing inside. She turned to the butler. “Get it done—have Tyler discharged.”

“Yes, miss,” he said with a quick nod.

Caitlin’s breath caught. She jumped up, her voice shaky. “You—you’re out of your mind! He’s your brother!”

“You’ve already messed up Olivia—now you’re doing this to him?” She was shaking, gripping the chair so tight her knuckles turned white.

Stephanie flicked her eyes up at her. “Did you forget, Caitlin? We’re not family anymore.”

Caitlin stopped cold. Her face went pale, lips moving but nothing coming out. “How could you—you…” Her voice broke, words stuck.

Stephanie grabbed the coffee pot, snagging a new mug and pouring herself more, taking her sweet time. As the coffee flowed, she said lazily, “Don’t you guys just love throwing your weight around?”

Not too long ago, they’d come at her hard, no holding back. They’d tried to crush her—hell, even wipe her out, she thought with a shiver. “Years of pushing people around, right?” Her voice was steady, dripping with contempt.

The Ashfords had history in Long Harbor, but the Harts? Their true colors were no secret. No digging needed—they’d been stomping all over this place for years, piggybacking off the Ashfords. Caitlin, especially—her name was mud among the socialite crowd.

Caitlin’s breathing sped up. “You can’t do this! You’ve already left Olivia hanging—now you’re—”

“Brother?” Stephanie cut her off, her voice sharp as a knife. “Choke on that word before I shove it down your throat.” Her glare sliced through Caitlin, cold and fierce, like a blade ready to cut. Whatever Caitlin was about to say next got stuck, killed by that venom.

Nothing made Stephanie’s skin crawl more than the Harts pulling the “family” card. It turned her stomach, her fingers clenching without her even noticing.

Growing up, the Giovannis showed her what real family felt like—carved it deep into her, made her crave it. But the Harts? They’d turned “family” into something she despised.

“Know why I didn’t help Tyler yesterday?” Stephanie tossed out, out of the blue.

Caitlin blinked, caught off guard. “W—why?”

“Because he said I don’t get loyalty—called himself my ‘REAL brother,’” Stephanie said, her tone freezing. She spat out “real” like it was a joke, thick with sarcasm.

Caitlin’s breath hitched again, her face scrunching up, totally confused. Stephanie tilted her head a little. “Still not clicking?”

Caitlin frowned, still in the dark. Stephanie let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “I can’t stand your holier-than-thou garbage—or this ‘family’ you keep ramming down my throat. Brother? Give me a break.”

If they were nice, she’d be fine with it—but the Hart take on “family” was like a rusty knife. One knife they’d gladly use to cut her up, Stephanie thought, her eyes icy.

She spoke again, her voice cold as steel. “Lucky me, huh, being your darling daughter. Anyone else? They’d either be toast from Olivia’s fake car crash or pushed off a cliff by you, the so-called mom.”

Caitlin gaped at her, eyes huge. “You—am I really that terrible to you?” Her whole body buzzed with shock, legs wobbly in the sunroom. She started second-guessing herself.

Questions popped up in her mind. ‘What did I do to Stephanie? How did I turn into this monster in her eyes?’ ‘Is it just her usual parenting—tough love—that sparked all this hate?’ She frowned, stuck in her head.

“Ha.” Stephanie’s cold laugh yanked her back. Her stare was pure sarcasm. “I thought a few tough knocks might’ve made you take a hard look at yourself. Guess I gave you too much credit…”

She didn’t bother finishing, just glanced at the butler. He gave a small nod. “I’ll take care of it.”

“No—wait!” Caitlin burst out, panicking. She stumbled to her feet, throwing herself in the doorway. Her voice trembled as she looked at Stephanie. “You can’t do this to him—he’s still your—”

“Brother” got stuck in her throat. She forced it down. That flash of raw disgust on Stephanie’s face from before hit her again. It wasn’t just dislike—she flat-out hated the whole Hart crew, Caitlin realized, jaw tight. Ungrateful little punk, she fumed inside.

Chapter 309

She thought she had treated Stephanie nicely enough. The girl made one bad decision after another, and now she was dumping every bit of blame on them. Anger still burned hot in Caitlin’s chest, coiled and heavy. But picturing Tyler stuck in that hospital bed made her hold her tongue—she couldn’t afford to go head-to-head with Stephanie. All those times they’d crushed her before? Now she’d have to eat that same crap, hands clenched tight at her sides.