Left Them Loved Myself (Stella Spencer) novel Chapter 125

“I think it’ll work,” Stella said, though she wasn’t totally sure. “Otherwise, we’d have no excuse to stick around tomorrow.”

“True.” Erica nodded. “Let’s hang in there. I’m not tired yet, so if you are, take a nap. I’ll wake you when I figure everyone’s out.”

“Alright,” Stella replied, closing her eyes to rest.

When she opened her eyes again, the night outside was dark, and the Jansen family’s villa was bathed in a hush. The only thing she heard was Erica’s hushed call by her ear. “Come on, get up, Stella.”

“What time is it?” Stella asked.

“It’s already past three in the morning. I think everyone’s asleep,” Erica replied.

Stella let out a barely audible “Alright,” squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then shook off her grogginess and forced herself up. “Erica, you get some rest. I’ll handle it by myself.”

“No way,” Erica protested, even though her own eyes were heavy. She wasn’t about to let Stella go solo. “Take me with you. I can be your lookout.”

Honestly, if Stella wanted to downplay it, she would just be sneaking around her own house in the dead of night—and maybe grabbing a few things while she was at it. But if Theodore made a big deal out of it, it’d be straight–up theft.

If he accused her of stealing some secret business files or whatever, Stella could get thrown in jail for years.

Erica had zero doubt Theodore wouldn’t hesitate to go after Stella like that.

“Alright,” Stella said.

She nodded and went to splash some cold water on her face, trying to shake off the sleepiness. Then, with the towel dampened, she gave Erica a quick wipe to help her wake up, too.

Once both of them felt more alert, they headed out.

As they stepped out, the soft wall sconces cast eerie shadows along the hallway. The cold wind whipped in from the window, giving them the chills–it felt straight out of a horror flick.

Good thing neither Stella nor Erica were scaredy–cats; if anything, Erica was practically buzzing with

excitement.

“Stella, let me go first. You just stay close behind,” Erica whispered, ready to charge ahead.

Stella caught her just in time, giving her a helpless look. “You sure you even know the way?”

“Fair enough.” Erica chuckled, scratching her head. “You take the lead, I’ll follow your steps.”

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Chapter 125

“Yeah,” Stella replied.

:

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Stella eased the door open just a crack, slipped out in one smooth motion, and hurried on tiptoe toward the study, silent and quick as a shadow.

Erica kept right behind her.

But just as they were passing a bedroom door, voices drifted out, making both girls freeze.

“Are you sure everything’s taken care of?” Sylvia asked.

“Since when have you ever needed to worry about how I handle things?” Theodore replied.

“What do you think?” Sylvia shot back.

Theodore sneered, “Heh, last time was just a freak accident. This time, there’s no way it’ll go wrong. That bitch probably still thinks I stash all my important stuff in the study. She’ll for sure go snooping there. Once she steps inside…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, just let out a chilling laugh–but Stella and Erica didn’t need him to. They could tell the study was definitely hiding trouble for them.

Erica glanced up at Stella, her eyes flickering with the silent question. “What do we do now?”

Stella silently mouthed, “Let’s go back.”

They’d only been out for a few minutes, and now they had to sneak right back into Stella’s room, just as quietly as they’d left.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Erica couldn’t hold back. “Stella, they totally saw this coming! No wonder they were so chill about us staying overnight. They’ve definitely set something up. What do we do

now?”

Stella let out a weary sigh, rubbing at her temples. “If we don’t figure out what traps they’ve laid in the study first, we’ll just be stumbling right into whatever they’ve planned for us.”

“Want me to climb through the window and scope things out?” Erica asked, sounding a bit tentative.

“You really think you can pull it off?” Stella replied, not sounding entirely convinced.

“Don’t underestimate me,” Erica said with a smirk. “Back in school, I was basically a pro at sneaking over fences. The principal pretty much had my dad on speed dial.”

Stella shook her head, half amused. “You actually sound proud of that.”

“You better believe it.” Erica grinned.

Erica couldn’t help but boast, a cocky grin on her face. “Come on, it’s not my fault. My dad only ever cared about his crappy company and left me to fend for myself. So I figured, why not stir up a little trouble for

him?”

18:09 Mon, Oct 20

He gave a slight, arnused smile. “Shouldn’t you be the one answering first?”

“No,” he replied.

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Chapter 125

The silence settled in all over again, heavy and awkward.

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Stella noticed Ernest wasn’t making any move to leave–and if Erica came back now, they’d definitely cross paths. Anxiety prickling, she tried to sound casual. “If you’re not sleepy, maybe you could hang out in the living room for a bit?”

Ernest glanced at her, his voice low. “You coming too?”

“Yeah,” Stella said, forcing a little enthusiasm into her answer.

“Alright, let’s go,” Ernest replied, heading out without another word.

He turned and walked out, and Stella followed a few steps behind, keeping a careful distance.

When they got to the living room, they sat at opposite ends of the couch, like they were on different sides of a line. The air between them was thick with awkward silence.

After a long pause, Ernest finally spoke up. “You don’t really talk much these days, do you?”

Stella suspected he was actually hinting at how much she’d changed lately.

Back then, if she’d ever had the chance to be alone with him, she’d have talked his ear off-she would’ve laid her heart bare, told him every secret she had. Funny how silent she was now.

“No,” Stella replied.

Her quiet reply didn’t disturb the heavy hush that blanketed the living room.

Ernest remained as detached as ever, but in the darkness, something flickered in his shadowy eyes–a feeling Stella was far too lost in her own thoughts to even notice.

After a long silence, Ernest spoke up again. “So, you really have nothing to say?”

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