Chapter 335
Richard gave Theodore a look that suggested he was missing the point. “She’s in the opposite direction,” he growled, his anger barely contained. He glanced at the dog on the ground. Anger boiled inside him as he thought about how Stephanie had made a fool of him.
“Right. We’ve been running around too,” Theodore said, chuckling. What on earth has Sebastian taught her? She even knew to stall by going in the opposite direction, he thought.
“Chase her,” Richard snapped, turning around.
“She’s still taking the small paths,” Alessio said.
“Are we really gonna have to chase her on foot?” Theodore asked.
Richard ignored him and kept walking.
“Does she seriously want to run us into the ground?” Theodore muttered under his breath, irritation clear in his voice.
Richard glanced back, his eyes cold as ice.
“I’m just venting,” Theodore said, holding up his hands. She doesn’t even like Richard, and yet he’s still acting like her guardian angel, Theodore sighed inwardly. Thinking about Richard’s feelings for Stephanie gave Theodore a headache. After all, Richard’s real rival was Sebastian.
Theodore leaned in and said quietly, “Don’t you hate her? There’s Chris back in Long Harbor, too.” Besides Sebastian, Chris had been her fiancé for two years.
Richard paused, his fists clenching. The air around him turned frigid. “Chris is nothing,” he said flatly, then turned and walked away without another word.
Theodore’s lips twitched. Compared to Richard and Sebastian, Chris really is nothing.
Theodore watched Richard’s figure up ahead, shuddering. “My legs are gonna give out,” he groaned. He was sure that once Richard got her back, she’d be in deep trouble.
As Alessio passed by, he said, “She took the small path by the highway this time.”
Theodore’s eyes lit up. That meant they could take the car. He figured he’d overestimated her smarts.
Stephanie kept the flashlight on her phone off as much as possible. The phone she’d found in the study had barely any battery left, and she didn’t want it dying on her. The faint moonlight barely lit the path, but luckily, she had good eyes.
She panted, feeling exhausted but knowing she had to keep moving. She stuck to a small road near the highway, figuring it’d be easier to hide if Richard came after her.
Her phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number. Without thinking, she hung up. Seeing the number, she knew Richard had probably tracked her down. She quickly sent her location to Sebastian.
She knew contacting Sebastian might give away her location, but he was somewhere in Paginara, and she needed him to know roughly where she was.
Her phone buzzed again. It was Sebastian. “Sebastian,” she answered.
“I’m almost there,” he said.
“Okay,” she replied, scanning the dark road.
Headlights flashed up ahead, and more lights appeared around the corner behind her.
Front and back – could it be Richard and Sebastian? No way. I’ve lost Richard, haven’t I? Did he catch up with the dog? If he runs into Sebastian, things could get messy, she thought to herself.
Stephanie ducked into the bushes and called Sebastian again.
He answered on the first ring. “I’m just 3,000 feet from you.”
Her mouth twitched. That was way too close.
“Sebastian, it looks like Richard’s on our tail. If you don’t have enough backup, maybe you shouldn’t—” The sound of sudden brakes echoed nearby, cutting her off.
Stephanie’s breath caught. She whispered softly into the phone, “Sebastian, did you just brake?”
“No, I didn’t,” he replied.
“Oh no, we’re in trouble,” Stephanie whispered. If it wasn’t Sebastian, it had to be Richard.
She didn’t dare say more, quickly muttering, “I’ll hide first,” before hanging up and turning off her phone’s screen. She held her breath, crouching low in the bushes.
Through the gaps in the thick leaves, Stephanie saw the car door open not far away. Several tall bodyguards stood nearby.
Theodore stepped out first, followed by Richard, who had a cigarette in his hand. In the dark night, Richard stood in the car’s headlights – tall, sharp, and intimidating.