Left Them Loved Myself (Stella Spencer) novel Chapter 126

“What am I supposed to be saying?” Stella asked.

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She thought it was pretty funny. When she wanted to talk, Ernest never wanted to listen. Now that she didn’t feel like saying anything, suddenly he was all patient again.

Picking up on her attitude, Ernest was quiet for a moment before finally saying, “No matter what, Irene is still your daughter.”

“Oh, so she’s not yours too?” Stella shot back.

Her words were so biting that even someone like Ernest was left at a loss for how to respond.

He didn’t say a word, and Stella let it drop. The warm, golden light shattered the shadows in the living room, little flecks of starlight sprinkling over them. It looked like the perfect cozy scene, but honestly, the silence between them felt heavier than ever.

The awkward silence felt like forever until there was a faint tapping noise, like the night wind stirring at the window.

Her eyes brightened–Stella immediately guessed Erica was back.

“I’m tired. Going to bed,” Stella muttered, sounding totally done with the whole conversation.

She couldn’t be bothered to play the silent staring contest with Ernest any longer, so she threw that line over her shoulder and headed upstairs without a second glance.

Stella was completely unaware that Ernest’s eyes were fixed on her back, his gaze deep and impossible to read.

*****

Stella pushed open her door and spotted Erica sprawled out on the bed. Before Stella could get a word in, Erica jumped in first, “So, what were you and that guy chatting about in the living room?”

“Oh, nothing really,” Stella replied with a shake of her head. She supposed it was just some meaningless stuff, not worth talking about. “What about you? Did you dig up anything in the study?”

Erica immediately sat up, looking pissed. “Honestly, if Theodore wasn’t your real dad, I’d swear you were adopted.”

“What do you mean?” Stella asked.

“Guess how many cameras I found in the study?” Erica asked.

“You found quite a few, huh?” Stella replied.

Annoyed, Erica let out a groan. “Quite a few? More like a whole freaking army! When I scanned around with my phone camera, the screen was packed with red dots everywhere. Honestly, if I hadn’t been crouching outside the window, I would’ve been caught the moment I stuck my head in.”

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Chapter 126

Even though Stella had steeled herself for it, hearing Erica say that still made her heart clench.

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She knew for a fact that if Theodore ever got his hands on footage of her sneaking into the study, he wouldn’t just let it slide.

After all these years, she knew exactly what kind of man he was.

Still, blood ties made that “father” role impossible to cut away completely.

People spent their whole lives chasing after what they missed out on as kids.

Stella wasn’t obsessed with it, but she used to have her own fantasies about what a father’s love might feel like.

But now, all those fantasies were busted apart by his ruthless, scheming ways. Theodore might not be out to kill her, but keeping her under constant surveillance just to control her and wring her dry for the rest of her life–wasn’t that even nastier than wanting her dead?

“Stella,” Erica called out, worry in her voice.

Noticing Stella was trembling a little, Erica asked, “Are you okay?”

Stella took two deep breaths, telling herself, ‘Come on, pull yourself together… She forced a smile. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Then Stella refocused, cutting to the chase. “With all those cameras set up in the study, he must’ve guessed we’d try something. So whatever we’re after has probably been moved already.”

Erica added, “If it’s just been moved, that’s not too bad—at least we still have a chance to find it. But what if he never kept it there at all?”

That made Stella pause, suddenly at a loss for words.

Indeed, if Theodore never put it there in the first place, there was no way they’d find it, even if they searched every inch of the Jansen family’s villa–it’d just be a wild goose chase.

“So, are we still going to keep looking?” Erica asked.

Stella hesitated for a moment, then let out a helpless sigh, shaking her head. “Let’s just drop it. We’ve tried our best already. Let Captain Lance handle things from here.”

But even as she said it, Stella knew in her heart this was probably just going to fizzle out.

“Alright,” Erica said with a nod and tugged Stella over to lie down on the bed with her.

Just as she was about to close her eyes, something crossed her mind, and she suddenly said, “Oh, by the way, while you were talking to that jerk in the living room, I got back and saw Sylvia hiding nearby–looked like she was trying to eavesdrop.”

“Whatever, let her listen,” Stella replied without a care. She and Ernest hadn’t talked about anything secret or scandalous, so she wasn’t worried if Sylvia overheard.

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Once he saw that fierce look on Sylvia’s face, Theodore’s heart missed a beat–he actually felt a bit intimidated for once.

As a man, Theodore couldn’t help but admit Sylvia was completely right. Anyone bold enough to bring a side

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Chapter 126

chick straight into his own house was never going to be a faithful guy.

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No matter how well Louisa maintained herself, at the end of the day, she was almost fifty–she could never hope to measure up to those young, gorgeous girls.

If Sylvia hadn’t been holding down the fort all these years, he’d have swapped out Mrs. Jansen more times than he could count

He really was the classic case of a guy forced to settle for one tree and lose the whole forest.

“Dad, what’s your take?” Sylvia looked at him with that trademark half–smirk, her expression dripping with

sarcasm.

Theodore was literally sweating–he could only admit, “You’re absolutely right about everything.”

That doesn’t add up,” Adam said, frowning thoughtfully.

At the hospital, after being filled in, he furrowed his brows in thought. “If he was already onto you and had everything set up ahead of time, then maybe he wouldn’t have bothered leaving any bait at all, right?”

Even a sting operation required some bait, after all.

“No, he didn’t,” Stella answered, glancing at Erica for confirmation. Erica just nodded along.

Really, there wasn’t any bait left behind–at least nothing they could find.

But that crazy swarm of red dots all over the screen? Just thinking about it made Erica’s skin crawl–her trypophobia was going to haunt her for days.

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