Chapter 45

Stella's POV

"Just say it!" I pressed Lucy harder against the car hood,my voice dangerously calm. "What should you call her?"

Lucy's perfectly styled hair was now a mess, her designer dress wrinkled against the cold metal. Her previous arrogance had dissolved into panic as she realized I wasn't the pushover she'd assumed.

"You're crazy!" she shrieked, struggling uselessly against my grip. "Brian! Help me!"

I caught Brian's reflection in the car's window.

He took half a step forward, then stopped, uncertainty written across his face. The same man who'd tried to blackmail me at the hospital now seemed unsure whether to intervene.

"I asked you again," I maintained steady pressure, years of self-defense training evident in my controlled movements. "What do you call her?"

Maybe this wasn't how a proper lady should behave, but I was done playing nice. "Gran... Grandmother!" Lucy finally choked out. "Good girl." I released her with a slight push, watching her stumble away. "See? That wasn't so hard."

Lucy's face was a mottled red as she tried to salvage her dignity, frantically smoothing her ruined dress. "You'll regret this! Mom and Dad will-"

"Will what?" I cut her off coldly. "Tell everyone how their precious daughter got manhandled in a parking lot? Go ahead."

The sound of an approaching engine made us all turn. Adam's Bentley glided to a stop nearby, Taylor emerging to open the passenger door.

I could feel Adam's gaze through the tinted windows,though I couldn't see his expression. Had he witnessed my little display of temper?

"This isn't over," Lucy hissed, retreating to Brian's side.

"It never is with you." I straightened my own dress, which hadn't wrinkled despite the altercation."Now if you'll excuse me, I have a grandmother to visit."

\--- The car's interior was silent as we pulled away from the auction house. I could feel Adam's unspoken questions hanging in the air. "I apologize for making a scene," I said finally, staring straight ahead. "But she owns it."

Adam remained quiet, his eyes closed as if meditating. Just as the silence became unbearable, he spoke."The hospital?"

I nodded. grateful he wasn't pressing for explanations about the parking lot incident. "Please."

The rest of the ride passed in silence, but it felt less tense than before. Maybe he understoodI that sometimes. even a lady needs to fight back.

\---

The hospital corridors seemed colder than I remembered. Or maybe it was just the icy stare Anna Winston, my adoptive aunt, gave me as I approached Grandmother's room.

"What are you doing here?" She planted herseIf firmly in the doorway. "Haven't you caused enough trouble?"

Through the partially open dloor, I could see Grandmother surrounded by "real" family members. She was smiling - a rare sight these days - as Lucy's mother showed her something on her phone.

"I just want to check on her," I kept my voice low, professional."Five minutes."

"She's with family now," Anna's emphasis on 'family' cut like a knife. "She was asking for Lucy earlier. Her real granddaughter.11

Real granddaughter. Right. Because fifteen years of love meant nothing compared to DNA.

Each word was carefully chosen to wound.

"I see." I took a step back, my heels clicking softly on the linoleum. "Please tell her I came by."

"Oh, we will." Anna's smile didn't reach her eyes. “You can go now.”

I turned and walked away, my spine straight, my steps measured. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing me run.

It was me who asked the doctor to save her,now they even would not let me see grandmother.How heartless!

Adam was waiting by the elevator, exactly where I'd left him.One look at my face told him everything he needed to know.

"They wouldn't let you in?"

"They let me know where I stand." I pressed the down button perhaps harder than necessary. "Apparently blood is everything.

11

"Is it?" His voice held an odd note I couldn't quite read. "Isn't it?" I laughed without humor. "Even Grandmother smiles more for them now."

The elevator arrived with a soft ding. As we stepped in. Adam's hand found the small of my back, steadying me.

"Until you find your real family," his voice was low, meant only for me, "your only family is me."

The words hung between us as the elevator descended. They should have sounded possessive, controlling. Instead, they felt almost like...comfort.

\---

The Lancaster manor was silent when we returned, most of the staff already retired for the night. I made my way to my room on autopilot, my mind still processing the evening's events.

Lucy's spite. Anna's cruelty. Grandmother's smile- not for me.

And Adam's warm words:your only family is me.

We had a deal, didn't we? A transaction, clean and simple. He'd helped save Grandmother. Now it was my turn.

I opened my wardrobe, fingers trailing over silk and lace. The deep crimson negligee I'd never dared wear caught my eye. Who was I kidding? Nothing with Adam was ever simple.

I changed quickly, before I could overthink it. The mírror showed exactly what I'd hoped - the perfect mix of elegance and seduction. The negligee slipped over my head like liquid fire. The silk clung in all the right places, the hem hitting mid-thigh. I looked... dangerous.

Each step toward Adam's study felt like a choice. Not just fulfilling a deal, but maybe... starting something new.

Three doors down. Two. One.

Well, Mr. Lancaster, let's see if you meant what you said about family.