Chapter 351

Stephanie set down her oversized mug and hurried over. “What are you doing at the airport? Didn’t you say you were at the Hart residence doing an interview, listening to gossip?”

When Ella realized it was really Stephanie, tears streamed down her face. She rushed into Stephanie’s arms. “Oh my God, I was so scared! A bullet almost hit me. I almost died!”

Ella, usually fearless, had been terrified running through the crossfire.

Stephanie patted her back, trying to comfort her. “What kind of luck do you have? Did the airport have some juicy gossip for you?”

Ella sniffled. “No. I was here to pick up some documents for my mom.”

She’d just gotten the documents when her life almost ended.

“Why is this year so unlucky for me? Every time I go out, something crazy happens. Oh, right. Some fortune-teller told me I would have bad luck this year,” said Ella.

Stephanie knew Ella was three years older than her.

“Is the universe out to get me or what?” Ella whined, growing more upset.

Stephanie sighed. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

Ella’s sudden appearance was unexpected.

After calming Ella down, Stephanie turned to Sebastian. “Can we take her with us?”

“Keris Isle is complicated and dangerous,” Sebastian replied.

Stephanie’s eye twitched. Dangerous meant they’d likely run into all sorts of unpredictable trouble. Ella had lived her whole life in the peaceful bubble of Long Harbor. Taking her to Keris Isle was out of the question.

“But she’s too scared to go back on her own,” Stephanie argued.

She’d seen Ella’s legs trembling, her pants torn with a perfectly round hole. How did that happen? Obviously, a bullet had grazed her leg. Ella was thoroughly shaken.

Sebastian glanced at his watch, about to order Elliot to have someone send Ella home.

Lorenzo set down his wine glass and stood up. “You go ahead; I’ll take her back and then fly straight to Keris Isle,” he said.

All eyes turned to Lorenzo.

Macro called out, “Wait, you’re going?”

Before he could finish, Lorenzo shot him a warning look, signaling him to shut up.

Macro felt a bit miffed but zipped his lips. He wanted to say that Ella would probably be more scared of Lorenzo. After all, back in the Shallow Bay Area, Ella had seen Lorenzo in action, and it scared the living daylights out of her. No, it had knocked her out cold—she barely made it two steps before she fainted right there in the snow.

Ella was still waiting for Stephanie, and when she saw Lorenzo approaching, her mind flashed back to the moment he had pulled a gun in the Shallow Bay Area. She instinctively took a step back.

Lorenzo walked past her, saying, “Let’s go.”

“Go where?” Ella asked.

“I’m taking you back,” Lorenzo replied.

“I don’t want to leave the plane,” Ella blurted out without thinking.

She had just escaped from the airport terminal, and those people were scary. Even though no one cared for her and her mom barely contacted her, she was sure she hadn’t lived enough yet.

Lorenzo looked at her. “If you don’t get off the plane now, the bad guys are going to be here any minute.”

Ella gulped. “Oh. I don’t want to put Stefi in danger.”

Stephanie, who had been watching from a distance, felt a wave of emotion at that.

Lorenzo raised an eyebrow. “Are we not leaving yet?”

Seeing how terrified Ella had gotten, Stephanie thought maybe taking her with them to Keris Isle wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

But then Ella turned to her, saying, “Stefi, I’m going.”

Before Stephanie could react, Ella stepped out and followed Lorenzo. She trusted this ruthless man, figuring he could get her safely out of the airport.

Watching Ella look so scared tugged at Stephanie’s heart. “Maybe…”

Before she could finish, she felt a strong tug on her wrist and stumbled right into Sebastian’s arms.

“What are you doing?” Stephanie glared at him, annoyed.

Sebastian held her chin, asking, “Do you really care about Ella that much?”

Stephanie was at a loss for words.

Macro thought, ‘What does that mean? Can’t Stephanie get close to girls either?’

Suddenly, it hit him why he got smacked before; Sebastian had a seriously intense possessiveness over Stephanie.