Chapter 128

Stella

The sun is nice and bright today, offering a blanket of warmth as my mother and I sit outside, watching the butterflies and birds fly by while we work on our respective jobs. My laptop sits in front of me and I slowly type away, working on a new firewall for Sebastian's job while my mother handles paperwork and finances for my father's mafia. There are glasses that sit beside us filled with light cocktails.

I lean back and grab the cup, bringing it to my lips, drinking the sweet cocktail as it helps me cool down beneath the warm sun. I turn and look at my mom who looks up from her papers, and we share a small smile. She lifts up one of the papers and waves it around.

“Luca is always buying so much goddamn gas,” my mother laughs with a snort, “I swear one of these days I'm going to have to take away his car keys before he bankrupts us.”

I laugh along with her, loving, just how casual it is for us to be near each other while we work. I turned back to my laptop, noticing my phone lit up beside my computer. I squint at the screen, unable to fully read the name underneath the bright light.

I swiped the phone from the table and bring it close to my face, shielding it from the sun just to reveal and name that I did not want to see. It is my foster mother calling me. She is sure to berate me as soon as I pick up the call, demeaning me for not answering as soon as she called.

I press the red button, declining the call, just for her to contact me immediately after. A grown leaves, my lips and my mother stands from her chair, picking up the cocktail glass and papers in her hands. She gestures to the phone, her smile only slightly faltering.

“You should take that,” she says, her voice warm and nurturing, “I will give you this space for it, okay?” I nod and smile, watching as she walks away, disappearing inside of the house.

My smile immediately falls once she is out of my sight. I accept the call and bring the phone to my ear, remaining silent as I listen to the sobs of my old mother.

“Stella?” her voice is weak on the other end of the phone. I feel nothing towards it. “Are you there?”

“What is it?” I huff the words out, impatience laced in my voice.

“Do not take that tone with me, young lady,” she immediately snaps back, her voice still shaky from her cries. “Your sister is half dead in the hospital and here you are thinking about you. You have always been so selfish, Stella! And to think that you aren’t even here to support your sister in her time of need.”

“Half dead?” I raise an eyebrow at her words, unsure what she could possibly mean by that. “Is this just another trick that Clara is pulling on you two? Did you not—”

“Stella! You better get your ass down here! Your sister just tried to commit suicide and I can’t believe that you think that it is a joke!” she continues to yell at me.

Suicide? Is she serious? Did Clara truly try to end her own life?

My body runs cold at the thought of it. I always knew that she would turn to drastic and dire measures just to get what she wants, but I never anticipated that she would do something as reckless and careless as this. I choose not to believe it, knowing that at the end of the day, this is all one big fat lie that she's feeding to everybody.

I do not think I will ever believe Clara ever again, especially not when her parents are enabling her bratty behavior.

“Clara woke up, not too long ago, and she is blaming you for all of her problems. I believe her; you have always been so selfish when it comes to her so you need to come down here and apologize for what you have made her do,” her mother continues, her tone turning dangerous and dark.

I do not immediately respond. This is just another threat that they're throwing in my face, using it as a tactic against me in order to make me feel like a shitty person for something that I had no part of. Clara and I haven't seen each other in a long time, so I have no clue as to why she's blaming me for all of her faults when I wasn't even there to do anything in the first place.

Sure, I feel guilty about the whole situation, but I simply cannot bring myself to feel bad for Clara in this moment. After all of the stunts, she has pulled on me and Adrian and her parents in the past, I am so confused as to why everybody is so quick to believe her instead of investigating the situation properly.

“So, Clara tried to kill herself? Is that what you're telling me?” I asked, just wanting to make for sure that this is the story that they are officially going with before I step back into their lives.

“yes, Stella, your sister tried to kill herself and it is all your fault,” her mother's sighs.

“Can I come down and see her? Would that be okay?” I asked, already packing up my belongings at the table. I grab the glass beside me and drink the rest of its contents, needing the boost of liquid courage to get me through this.

“You better be here soon! Clara is expecting an apology from you, as we all are,” she continues. “I am so disappointed in you, Stella. You have really fucked up this time and I am not sure if you will be welcome in this family anymore.”

Before I can even respond, the call ends, leaving me behind in an uncomfortable silence. I turned off my phone and place it in my pocket, slow slowly making my way inside of my family's mansion. I close the door behind me and placed my belongings on the dining room table, making my way deeper into the home.

I quickly find Silas up the stairs and in his bedroom. He is trying on a bunch of different colored ties, his stoic face never chaining despite the dark yet saturated colors of the ties. When I open up the door, he immediately gives me his attention.

“Hey Silas,” I begin, stepping inside his room, “do you think that you could give me a ride to the hospital?”

“The hospital? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Silas immediately jumps into a protective mode, rushing towards me. He gently takes my hands in his, examining my skin to see if there are any cuts and bruises.

“I am fine,” I roll my eyes at him. “I got a call from somebody saying that they're in the hospital and I need to go down there to make for sure that they are okay. So, do you think you can take me?”

“Of course,” Silas nods with a smile, “let's go.”