Chapter 631

Ella was feeling anxious after talking to Stephanie. She called out in a sad tone, “Stef…”

Stephanie, standing at the door, watched Richard and Sofia outside as she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Ella’s grievance snapped Stephanie back to the moment. Stephanie calmed her. “Don’t worry. Lorenzo is very reliable. Even though you’ve faced some danger while being around him, he hasn’t let you get hurt, which shows he’s rather nifty.”

“The way he’ll handle this will make you see Andres…”

Ella was upset and replied, “Lorenzo is asking for a reward.”

Stephanie gasped. “A reward?”

“Yes. He wants something in return,” Ella explained. It was clearly Sebastian’s order, yet Lorenzo was asking Ella for a reward.

Stephanie asked, “He wants more money?”

“But I don’t have any money, and he won’t take credit. He said I could pay him back with something else.”

“What else do you have?” Stephanie was curious.

In Stephanie’s view, Ella was rich—at least when Andrea was doing well. But now that Andrea was in trouble, Ella clearly couldn’t come up with a large amount of cash.

If Lorenzo really needed money, Stephanie thought about helping Ella cover it. But Ella said, “He said he doesn’t want money. I’m not sure what else he’s after. He’s not short on cash.” Ella felt frustrated.

Stephanie was puzzled and asked, “Could it be Andrea’s company?”

Ella replied, “He called it a small company and didn’t think much of it.”

This shocked Stephanie. “What exactly does Lorenzo want?” she wondered.

Ella didn’t know. “He told me to guess, and if I figure it out, he’ll let me see my mother.”

“He’s making you guess?”

“Can you ask Mr. Giovanni to find out what Lorenzo really wants? I just want my mom back,” Ella requested urgently.

Stephanie thought for a moment and suggested, “Didn’t you say you would marry him? If you marry him, you wouldn’t have any debts.”

Ella was skeptical and replied, “Are you suggesting that I should propose? What if I don’t meet his criteria for a partner?”

Stephanie thought for a second.

Ella sadly added, “I am poor; how can I ask him to marry me?”

Feeling frustrated, Stephanie said, “I’ll find out what he wants. It’s silly for him to be so vague. I’ll call you back with answers.”

Ella urged, “Please hurry. I’m counting on you.”

Stephanie thought, ‘What is Lorenzo playing at? Sebastian’s words don’t matter to him anymore? And now he’s asking Ella for a reward? If he wants something, he should just say it directly. Ever since Ella got to Fiorenza, she’s been worried sick about her mom. And now he’s just keeping her hanging like this? What’s wrong with him?’

Stephanie never realized he had such a questionable character before. The situation with Ella and Lorenzo was a complete mess, making Stephanie’s head spin.

Seeing Stephanie leaning against the door, Sebastian walked over and rubbed the back of her neck. “What are you looking at?”

Stephanie said, “I was watching Sofia. Where is she?”

Sofia was there a minute ago. Stephanie had just taken a call from Ella, and Sofia had vanished.

Sebastian glanced at the doorway. “She stepped out.”

Stephanie said, “Richard came to find her. She said she was going to confront him and chase him away?”

She thought, ‘Isn’t she supposed to get rid of Richard? Why are they both missing now? This is ridiculous. Could it be that Sofia wasn’t done here and went out to have a bigger fight?’

Stephanie said, “By the way, Ella just called me.” Sofia wouldn’t be at a disadvantage when confronting Richard, but Ella’s situation was concerning.

When Sebastian heard that Ella had called Stephanie again, he frowned. “She called you again?”

Stephanie replied, “Yeah. She sounded pretty anxious.”

“What’s worrying her? Lorenzo is handling her situation.” Sebastian felt somewhat annoyed by Ella, who always sought out Stephanie. Before Stephanie went to Long Harbor, she was completely focused on him.

“I’m worried about what he asked for,” Stephanie replied. “He wants a reward from Ella.”

She thought, “This is absolutely outrageous. Ella has nothing at the moment, and if Lorenzo insists, I can cover the cost. But at such a crucial time, how dare he extort Ella?”

Stephanie was quite angry, especially since the person doing the extorting was someone close to Sebastian—that was just unacceptable.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, surprised. “A reward?”

Sebastian could tell that Lorenzo liked Ella. Given this situation, it was unlikely that Lorenzo would actually demand money from her.

“It’s not money; he wants something else,” Stephanie explained.

Stephanie thought, ‘If it were just about money, that would be easy enough. No matter how much he asked for, I could just pay for Ella, and it wouldn’t be this complicated.’

Sebastian asked, “What can it be?”

“No one knows. He told Ella to guess what it was, but she had no idea.”

This situation was getting stressful. The more Stephanie talked about it, the more frustrated she became.

Sebastian just sat there quietly. As he watched Stephanie getting all worked up, an idea suddenly popped into his mind, and a smile appeared on his face.

Seeing him smile made Stephanie even more anxious. “Why are you laughing? What kind of nonsense is Lorenzo pulling? He actually has the nerve to ask for a reward!”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow and pulled Stephanie closer. “Don’t get so upset.”

“You need to ask Lorenzo what exactly he wants. He should just say it outright. Whatever it is, I’ll help Pila with it.”

Stephanie thought. After all, Ella doesn’t have anything right now. If Lorenzo really wants a reward, it can only come from me.

Looking at her expression, Sebastian gently ran his fingers over her cheek. “You probably can’t offer it…”

Stephanie felt confused and thought, Lorenzo’s demands are that high, huh? I’m willing to give everything, so how can Sebastian say I can’t offer?