“What is it?” Stella Grace waited for Jasper Milton to speak.
“Hale was arrested. She will probably be court-martialed soon and she will most likely be executed.” Jasper said seriously.
Stella’s heart skipped a beat as she thought of Hale Summer.
She thought that she had led a miserable life, but it seemed that she was a tad luckier compared to Hale.
“Where did she get caught?” Stella asked with sympathy in her eyes.
“She was caught as soon as she landed at the airport in A country. My former subordinate caught her. He didn’t report it immediately. He told me about the arrest first.” Jasper said in a low voice.
“Do you think that she is the spy?” Stella pulled her seat belt and asked.
“In the beginning, I thought only both of us had survived. There was no one else apart from her. However, Bettany appeared later. The spy was definitely one of them.
However, Bettany was disfigured, imprisoned, and suffered inhuman treatment. She even gave birth to a child. Her testimony would be more persuasive than Hale’s before the public.
After all, Hale did disappear without any reason, and she eventually came back unharmed.” Jasper said.
“So, even if she had been wrongly accused, we still wouldn’t know the truth,” Stella said with dim eyes. Although she had only interacted with Hale a few times, she felt that Hale was a good person, tenacious and strong.
“In fact, after Bettany appeared, I had people keeping an eye on her most of the time. There weren’t any strange movements from her over the past two years. This would not make sense if she truly was the spy.”
“So, you also think that Hale is the spy,” Stella could tell the meaning behind his words.
“Truthfully, I don’t know. What you said makes sense. If she was the spy, she wouldn’t have led such a miserable life. If she was the spy, there was no need for her to come back.”
“Also, wasn’t she caught as soon as she appeared at the airport? That doesn’t make sense, unless someone knows her every move,” Stella said doubtfully.
Jasper stopped the car and looked at Stella with sharpness in his eyes.
Stella looked at him in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
“If someone knows her every move, who do you think it might be?” Jasper asked.
“Frederick? No, when Frederick went to the island, Hale had already left. Sean? I don’t think so. Eli wouldn’t tell Sean about this. Who could it be? Maybe Hale met someone after she left?” Stella guessed.
Jasper kept quiet and looked ahead as if he was thinking about something.
“What’s wrong?” Stella held Jasper’s hand and asked worriedly.
Jasper made a phone call. “Anthony, how did you catch Hale?”
“I received an anonymous phone call, saying that Hale was at the airport. So, I sent my people over,” Anthony Levis said.
“Could you find out the person who had called you?”
“I couldn’t. The number was registered on a virtual account and it was mobile. I’m guessing it was sent from a car.” Anthony replied.
“Cancel the previous decision. Detain Hale and report his arrest,” Jasper gave another order.
Stella finally understood what he meant. When he was on the phone earlier, he ordered not to let anyone know about it. He was telling Anthony not to tell anyone about Hale being arrested and to not report it.
He wanted to protect Hale.
Unfortunately, this was the enemy’s trap. If he did not allow Anthony to report it, both Anthony and Jasper would be in trouble.
It was likely that the enemy was targeting Jasper.
“Sorry.” Jasper said to Stella after hanging up the phone.
“I hope that Hale is the spy. Otherwise, it would be really unfortunate.” Stella pulled a sad smile.
“I still remember that day. I was the one who brought them to the assignment and I watched them die in front of me, one by one. If Hale was not the spy, I would be watching my only living comrade die in front of me. I will not be able to sleep and eat well for the rest of my life. Even if I had reported it, I will still save her,” Jasper said.
“Maybe, you saving her was also part of their plan. They could say that both Hale and you are spies. Adding on to the incident where you were framed, I’m afraid that you won’t be able to protect yourself. I think we should calm down and come up with a long-term plan.” Stella was worried that something bad would happen to Jasper.
Jasper was silent and he started the car once again. He did not say anything, but his eyebrows were tightly knitted.
Stella was worried. “Could you arrange for me to meet with Hale?”
Jasper nodded. “I’ll ask Anthony to arrange it. You should be able to meet her before dinner.”
Jasper didn’t go to the company. After contacting Anthony, he brought Stella to the secret base of the Dark Shadow after confirming that he wasn’t being followed.
When Hale saw Stella, she was very excited as she held the iron bars. “Why are you here?”
“Why did you come back?” Stella asked.
“Stella,” Hale looked around and held Stella’s palm. She wrote in her palm, “I can’t trust anyone except you.”
Stella looked at Hale with a heavy look. Sometimes, being trusted could also be a burden.
“I have a lot of questions for you. I told you before that if you wanted to come back, you must have a perfect solution in mind.” Stella held Hale’s hand and wrote in her palm.
“I know a secret about that operation.” Hale looked at Stella.
Stella looked at her and felt a buzz in her head. She had goosebumps all over her body.
She was nervous. She pulled her hand away and clenched her fist.
The truth was that the more secrets one knew, the faster one would die.
She was worried that she would fall into the quagmire once again. Then, her life with Jasper would be in a mess again.
“Stella.” Hale called her.
Stella calmed down and stared at Hale.
Perhaps, Jasper’s life had changed ever since that operation.
Bettany Hadley, who was his girlfriend then, disappeared from his life and many of his comrades died in that battle. When he went back for his mission, he was drugged. Then, his sperm was collected and Bettany was impregnated.
It meant that it was the same group of people behind these two missions.
After Stella got pregnant, someone took Dante away. While Jasper was in a decadent state, someone sent Dante back.
After that, Dante was poisoned. Not only that, Hale’s matter was obviously a trap for Jasper.
What was all this about? It was like a huge mystery that enveloped her.
She slowly stretched her hand out toward Hale.
Perhaps, all the answers were on the secret of this mission.
After knowing the secret, she could find the people who were hiding behind the scenes. From then on, she could keep Jasper and Dante away from danger and conspiracy.
Hale held Stella’s hand.
“Please,” Hale said.