Chapter 342

The cold wind howled. Chris felt the chill seep into his bones, and the “beep-beep” of the phone made his mind go blank. As he recalled Sebastian’s words, he realized Sebastian had never intended to let the Harts go.

Kevin walked up to Chris. “Mr. Ashford, Ms. Giovanni’s already left Long Harbor.” Getting even this small piece of information from security was tough. It was nearly impossible to hear anything about Stephanie, let alone reach her or see her. It was like someone Chris used to see every day had suddenly vanished, leaving a huge gap he couldn’t bridge.

A chill ran through Chris. “When did this happen?”

“After the incident,” Kevin said quietly.

Chris was stunned. Stephanie was gone from Long Harbor, and he realized there was no way to find her or talk to her in person. Chris’s face tightened. Remembering what Sebastian had said on the phone, he knew the Hart family would struggle to get through this unscathed. But Olivia couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

When he visited her yesterday and stepped into her room, he felt an eerie chill, like something was off. She was clearly alive, but the room felt haunted.

“Maybe she’s already gone back to Fiorenza,” Kevin said.

Chris was taken aback. Hearing this made him think of Stephanie growing up in the Lucano family. Now that she was back there, it felt like they were even further apart.

Chris dropped it aside and decided to visit the Harts first. As soon as he walked in, he heard Catlin and Chad in the middle of a heated argument.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Catlin screamed, her voice shaking. “Since when did you start seeing that woman? You already have kids—twins! What am I to you, Chad? I’ve given everything to this family, and this is how you repay me?” She was completely devastated.

Chad was just as annoyed. “What have you contributed to this family? Since we got married, you’ve never worked or faced any real challenges. You’ve just enjoyed the life of a wealthy wife. And yet, you can’t even keep peace among the kids.” Thinking about the company’s losses—all thanks to Catlin’s handling of Stephanie—Chad had no patience left for her.

“I can’t keep peace among them? You know what Stephanie’s like! Are you seriously putting all the blame on me now?” Catlin was at her breaking point.

Thinking about those twins made her furious. Right under her nose, Chad had gotten involved with someone in the company’s finance department, and she hadn’t known a thing. And now, Chad was acting like all those years she’d invested in him meant nothing.

Chad gave her a cold look. “No matter what she’s like, she’s your daughter, and you pushed her to this point.”

“Can it all be my fault?” Catlin shot back.

Chad argued, “Who else can we blame? Even Tyler’s in a mess because of you now.” Mentioning his eldest son filled Chad with pain. Things weren’t looking good for Tyler. If he didn’t get proper treatment, he’d definitely be left with a disability.

“Catlin, if Tyler ends up disabled because of this…” Chad let the sentence hang, but Catlin knew exactly what he meant. The Hart Group wouldn’t have a disabled heir. Tyler used to be the only choice. So what is he implying now? Is he making room for his illegitimate child? The thought made Catlin’s face turn pale with anger.

“You’re going too far. You’re the one who cheated. You have kids with someone else. You should be explaining this to me!” she screamed, fury burning in her voice.

But Chad just snorted coldly, gave her a disgusted look, then turned away and walked off without another word.

“Where are you going now?” Catlin called out.

Chad ignored her and walked out the door. Catlin wanted to chase after him, but her legs felt like lead. She collapsed to the ground, her whole body shaking as she covered her face and cried. “Why does he treat me…” She couldn’t understand why she had to deal with something like this at her age. It felt as though fate had singled her out for cruelty.

Chris stood at the entrance, watching Catlin. As the younger one, he knew it wasn’t his place to say anything. He headed straight upstairs to find Olivia. When he walked past Tyler’s room, the door was open, and Chris immediately noticed Tyler lying on the bed, staring blankly. Chris paused for a moment, then walked into Tyler’s room.

Tyler noticed Chris and gave a bitter smile. “Did you hear it all?”

Tyler had heard the loud arguments downstairs, every word. He never thought that the family he was so proud of in public was actually like this. Illegitimate kids, cheating—such huge secrets had been happening right under his nose, and he knew nothing about it.