Chapter 417

Tyler was taken aback. That was all the money they had left. Although he hadn’t been to the company lately, he’d been in constant contact with his team. He knew the changes happening there. Some realities were hard to accept, but they had to be faced. His father had transferred the last of the company’s funds. Now, the company was bankrupt. The Hart family had nothing left, and now Amber wanted to leave with the last of his money and the child?

Amber rolled her eyes. “Damn it. I can’t get a moment’s peace. The moment I wake up, it’s all this nonsense. Anyone who wants to stay in this messed-up family, go ahead. But I’m out.” Amber didn’t want to stay in such a suffocating place any longer. She said her piece and turned to leave immediately.

“Stop right there and give me back my money,” Tyler called after her.

“Dream on, jerk!” Amber shot back, a smirk on her face.

Tyler lay there, speechless. Amber left his room and made her way to Olivia’s.

Olivia instinctively showed fear. She was still feeling weak. If Amber really wanted to do something, Olivia would definitely be at a disadvantage. Noticing the fear in Olivia’s eyes, Amber chuckled. “Come on, no need to act when it’s just us here.”

“What do you want now?” Olivia stammered, clearly intimidated by Amber after their last confrontation. Her face still bore the marks from their previous fight—Amber was tough and intimidating.

Amber replied casually, “What could I want? I just came to let you know—you won, and I’m leaving.”

Olivia’s eyes lit up briefly with a sharp glint upon hearing this. Amber caught that brief flash of triumph in Olivia’s eyes and snorted. “This broken home? You can have it. Who cares?” With that, she turned and left. It had only taken a few days for her to understand this family completely.

Just then, Olivia called after her, “Wait, where’s my brother’s money?” Reflecting on the large sum Amber had taken from Tyler, Olivia was furious. And now Amber was leaving—what was she thinking?

Amber turned around. “Your brother? Don’t kid yourself; he’s Stephanie’s brother. But since she doesn’t want him and you do, that’s just typical of you.”

“You…” Olivia felt humiliated by Amber’s words. Yet she didn’t dare show her anger, afraid that Amber might get physical again.

Amber snapped, “Who do you think you are? He has an heir, his son. You expect me to leave the money for you? Take a look at yourself first.”

Olivia’s face went pale with anger. She glared at Amber as if she could tear her apart with just her look. Catlin knew that Amber was preparing to leave with the child without leaving the money behind, and another chaotic argument erupted. Amber wasn’t the type to give up easily. Once she had the money, there was no way she’d give it back. After two hours of arguing, she left with both the child and the money, leaving the Hart family in chaos.

“Just look at the woman you’ve gotten involved with!” Catlin shouted from Tyler’s room. “Two hours! That woman cursed for two whole hours without repeating herself. She is just like a shrew.”

Tyler was seething, his chest rising and falling as he recalled how Amber had belittled the entire Hart family. His temples throbbed with a headache. “Was that car accident really Olivia’s plan to harm Stephanie?” he interrupted Catlin’s scolding.

Catlin was stunned upon hearing Tyler’s question. She lowered her head and said nothing. Seeing her like this, Tyler got the hint. “So, what are you going to do now?” he asked. Stephanie was, after all, his real sister. Even though Olivia and he had grown up together, the idea of her trying to harm Stephanie was something he found hard to accept.

Catlin remained silent, her whole body trembling. Frowning, Tyler pressed on, “What on earth are you going to do now?”

Despite feeling short of breath, Catlin finally said, “What can I do? We have to wait until Olivia gets better.”

“With her current condition, can she really recover?” Tyler exclaimed, disbelief evident in his voice. Even if it were possible, they didn’t have enough money to cover her medical expenses—over ten million dollars. Moreover, the memory of how Stephanie had spent months in the hospital because of Olivia two years ago created an emotional conflict in Tyler’s heart.

Catlin sensed something was off about Tyler’s behavior and looked at him with concern. “Tyler, I…”

“Mom, Stephanie is your daughter. For years, we’ve sided with Olivia because we thought Stefi’s return made Olivia feel wronged. We believed Stefi was bullying her,” Tyler said.

Catlin was at a loss for words. Tyler continued, “If all of Stefi’s dissatisfaction over the years is due to that car accident, then what do you think about it?”

For the past two years, Stephanie had been targeting Olivia. The Hart family kept saying Stephanie was losing it, claiming she always picked on Olivia. But wasn’t it Olivia who had started the trouble, nearly getting her killed?

Catlin’s breath caught, and she froze at that moment. “Did Chris break up with her because of this?” Tyler asked. His presence became noticeably more intense as he recalled the scene when Chris had walked away.

“I… She…” Already struggling to breathe, Catlin trembled as she heard Tyler’s words. Suddenly, she didn’t know what to say. Her eyes filled with sadness as she looked at Tyler. At that moment, Tyler was also shaking with anger.

Stephanie had been planning to have dinner with Sebastian that night, but he didn’t return. Eventually, she decided to meet Allison instead. When she arrived, she found Allison on the phone with Ella, who was freaking out over in Fiorenza and talking to people to calm her nerves.

Seeing Stephanie, Allison said to the phone, “Alright, alright, you should talk to Stefi about this.”

Ella replied, “Stefi didn’t answer the phone.”

“Oh, I get it,” Allison said. It made sense why Ella was gossiping all day—she couldn’t reach anyone.

Actually, Stephanie hadn’t been into gossip before. But over time, Ella had influenced her, and now she somewhat enjoyed it. Sometimes, a bit of gossip was actually quite nice.

“Is it Ella?” Stephanie asked, taking a sip of her water.

Allison nodded, spooning some ice cream into her mouth. “Yeah, she’s in Fiorenza now and scared out of her wits. Can you help her out?”

Stephanie said, “Sebastian mentioned that things with Ella are complicated. Since Lorenzo is willing to help investigate, staying near him is actually her best option.”

“I think so too. With those people chasing her all the way to Fiorenza, there’s no place safer than being with Lorenzo.”

Allison asked, “You mean the guy who takes her through a hail of bullets? Are you sure that’s safer for her?”

Stephanie fell silent. Thinking carefully, it really did seem like a lot to make Ella stay with Lorenzo. Stephanie wanted the waiter to bring her an ice cream like Allison’s, but Allison said, “I already ordered one for you. Since you weren’t here, I told them to hold off on bringing it out so it wouldn’t melt.”

“Okay,” Stephanie replied. She had wanted some ice cream for a long time. But being around Sebastian, she seldom got the chance to indulge.

Just as she was thinking about him, his call came through. She picked up the phone and answered, “Hello.”

“Are you out?” Sebastian asked.

Stephanie replied, “Yeah, since you said you wouldn’t be home for dinner, I went out to eat with Allison.”

“Send me your location.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll pick you up once I finish.”

“Alright,” Stephanie said softly. Hearing that Sebastian was coming to get her filled her with warmth. She hung up and quickly sent him her location.