Chapter 404

Sebastian had promised to be back in two hours, and true to his word, he returned to the Shallow Bay Area right on time. Initially, Stephanie had felt too tired and wanted to sleep, but thoughts of Ella’s situation kept her on edge. So, when Sebastian came back, she was still awake, waiting anxiously.

Sebastian took off his coat and walked over. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“Waiting for you,” Stephanie mumbled.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?” He could tell something was bothering her. She loved her sleep too much to stay up for no reason.

“It’s about Ella. She’s really scared of Lorenzo. You might need to send someone to pick her up,” Stephanie replied.

Sebastian asked, “Did she say she’s scared?”

“Yeah.” Stephanie nodded. Now that Ella had opened up first, Stephanie felt even more committed to helping. After all, Ella was one of her few true friends who had always been there for her during the issues at the Hart residence.

“I’ll give Lorenzo a call,” Sebastian said, taking out his phone. He thought, “There’s no need to send someone. If Ella doesn’t want to be with Lorenzo, just have him drop her off at Stephanie’s villa. Besides, he’s always been a loner; he probably doesn’t even like having her around to bother him.”

The call connected quickly. Lorenzo’s voice came through. “Hello.”

“How’s Ella?” Sebastian asked.

“She’s doing fine.”

“She’s scared of you?”

There was a brief silence on Lorenzo’s end.

Stephanie frowned slightly. Couldn’t Sebastian be gentler? Ella is still with Lorenzo right now; is it really okay for Sebastian to be so direct?

Lorenzo finally replied, “Is there anything she’s not scared of?”

Stephanie was at a loss for words.

Sebastian said, “If she doesn’t want to stay with you, then send her to Stefi’s villa at Red Oak Mountain.” Stephanie owned a small manor at Mount Red, which was huge and had three manors in total.

Lorenzo responded, “She can’t go to Mount Red right now.”

“Why not?” Sebastian asked.

Lorenzo explained, “She’s being hunted right now. Unless I send her to the Giovanni residence, there’s nowhere else that is safe.”

‘Send her to the Giovanni residence?’ Stephanie paused for a moment and said, “That works too.” She looked eagerly at Sebastian, pleading for his approval.

Sebastian replied, “Then go ahead and send her there.”

“That won’t work either,” Lorenzo said.

“What’s wrong now?” Sebastian frowned—even the Giovannis couldn’t protect Ella?

Lorenzo explained, “We need to figure out who’s behind this chase first. I suspect it’s a setup, possibly targeting…”

Lorenzo didn’t finish his sentence, but both Sebastian and Stephanie understood perfectly.

Stephanie blurted out, “Ella wouldn’t be involved.”

“She wouldn’t, but the people behind her might,” Lorenzo said.

Stephanie’s heart sank. What do we do now?

Sebastian asked, “What’s your plan then?”

Lorenzo replied, “Let her stay with me for now. I’ll look into this.”

‘But Ella is scared of Lorenzo.’ Stephanie kept throwing Sebastian pleading looks. But this time Sebastian didn’t budge. He told Lorenzo, “Then I’ll leave her to you.”

Stephanie gasped. Oh no, there goes my friendship.

Sebastian hung up the phone and noticed Stephanie looking upset. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“She wouldn’t get involved,” Stephanie insisted.

Sebastian replied softly, “True, but we can’t be sure about her pursuers.”

“But she’s afraid of Lorenzo,” Stephanie said. Ella’s frightened voice on the phone made her worry even more.

Sebastian gently ruffled her soft hair. “Don’t worry. Lorenzo won’t harm her.”

Stephanie fell silent. Lorenzo might not harm Ella, but he might frighten her to death.

“Maybe Ella will call you tomorrow, okay?” Sebastian comforted.

“Alright then,” Sebastian said. She didn’t say anything else. It was getting late, so she decided to wait until the next day for Ella to call her to talk about it.