Frederick Addington thought Stella Grace did not believe him, hence he explained, “When Jasper went to Stephen’s island, Zoahs also sent someone over there. His men then informed him that they saw Hale there. After Hale left the island, Zoahs had full knowledge of her whereabouts.
Zoahs felt that Jasper had deliberately let Hale go. He figured that once Jasper knew that Hale was caught, he would save her. However, Zoahs didn’t know that the mission was fake from the very beginning.”
Stella was suspicious and frowned. “What’s your role in this then? Do you work for Sean, Christian, or Zoahs? You seem to know a lot. Also, who asked you to study the virus? Or did you set up your own sect? What’s your purpose?”
Frederick drank up all the wine in his glass and put down the glass. “My purpose is not important. It doesn’t matter who I am working for. I just want to know where Stella is and how much you know about her. If you have any idea which part of the South Pole she is at, do let me know too.”
Stella pursed her lips and did not speak.
“Or, could it be that you were Stella all along?” Frederick looked at her with suspicion.
Stella’s heart skipped a beat. She remembered that Frederick was extremely a dangerous person. If he were to find out that she was Stella, things could go south very quickly and she did not want that.
“I could tell you two things that will confirm to you I am not Stella,” Stella also drank up the red wine and put the glass on the bar. She looked at Frederick and said, “I was the one who arranged Eli’s departure. I asked Allen for help.”
“You two are best friends. It’s normal for you to do that,” Frederick said tentatively.
“I also arranged for Eli’s parents to leave with her, but I then secretly told Sean of their whereabouts. As a result…” Stella paused, her eyes darkening a little. She continued, “Someone in Sean’s side leaked the news and someone went to assassinate Eli. As a result, Eli’s mother was killed by accident. Don’t tell me that it was Christian who had sent people to assassinate Eli?”
“Even if Christian wanted to assassinate her, he wouldn’t have waited until now. Are you really not Stella?” Frederick looked at her with an intense gaze.
“If I were Stella, would Jasper have chased me out? Do you want me to tell you what he said?” Stella smirked, and a trace of pain flashed in her eyes, but she quickly hid it.
“What did he say?” Frederick asked.
Stella raised her eyebrows and said calmly, “He said that I can’t see Stella in you. You lied, committed crimes, killed, lacked ethics, etiquette, and shame. Stella was not like this at all. Then he drove me out. I didn’t even have time to take my clothes.”
Frederick sneered, “I’ve told you before that you’re just Stella’s substitute. It’s impossible for him to really love you. He could only see your shortcomings.”
“Sean arranged for me to be Stella’s substitute. Since I could no longer continue with my task, he should be arranging a new mission for me. Besides, I was just following his orders. Since it has come to an end, it’s time to retreat,” Stella said. She walked toward Frederick and put her hand on his waist.
Frederick looked at her.
Stella’s lips curved into a charming smile, “Do you still mean what you said last time? Do you still want me by your side?”
Frederick held her hand, “You’re a sly fox. You lie all day long. No one could figure out whether you’re telling the truth or not. If I let you stay with me, I’m afraid that I’ll be killed by you.”
He flung her hand away with great force.
Stella followed his force and sat on the chair. She raised her chin and looked at him coldly, “Frederick, you are really weird.”
Frederick straightened his clothes, “It’s okay for you to think that I’m weird. It has nothing to do with you. I’m curious about something though. Why didn’t you let me kill Bettany? You didn’t need to protect her.”
Stella leaned back on the chair with her legs crossed. “It’s good to not push things too far. At least, I still have the chance to turn around. Bettany is Jasper’s ex-girlfriend. She is one of the most important women in his life and one of his children’s mother. If Stella were to come back one day, who will help me to compete with her? Or should I…”
A murderous intent burst out of Stella’s eyes. “Expose my true nature, and scare Jasper away?”
“Natalie, just a reminder. Christian is not someone to easily mess with. Don’t be a sheep. You might end up dead before you could gain anything from him,” Frederick said coldly.
“Ha,” Stella chuckled. She picked up the bag on the bar counter, took out the recording pen, and threw it at Frederick.
Frederick grabbed it and asked, “What’s this?”
Stella smiled and looked at him confidently. “Even if I failed to kill Christian, it would not be difficult to finish you with this recording pen.”
Frederick frowned. “Natalie, what do you want?”
“I want you dead…” Natalie Wheeler said indifferently and paused for a moment.
A murderous look burst out of Frederick’s eyes.
“That means nothing to me,” Natalie continued, “I just hope that we could be on the same team, fighting the enemy together. Who knows what might happen in ten years? You could become the President. Perhaps I could become the President too.”
“You are very ambitious,” Frederick suddenly made a judgment.
Natalie stood up and said, “Likewise.”
“You are more beautiful than Stella, but you are much crueler than her as well.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Frederick put the recording pen on the bar. It was meaningless for him to take it away. He believed that Stella had a backup copy, “I’ll contact you in the future.”
Natalie watched as Frederick left the room and disappeared from her sight.
She finally relaxed and sat on the chair.
When she was a child, her parents taught her that she should not lie, else she would be eaten by the wolf.
When she grew up, she realized that there were lies and deceit everywhere in the world.
Salesmen, actors, politicians, interpersonal relationships, and couples. Lies were present everywhere.
Now, she was the one who was full of lies, and these lies would one day come back to haunt her.
The phone rang.
Stella came to her senses and saw that it was Allen calling. She smiled slightly and said, “Hello.”
“I’m at the airport now. Are you free for dinner tonight? My grandmother wants to see you,” Allen said gently.
“Come to the Intercontinental Hotel in A city. How many people are with you? I’ll book the rooms for you,” Stella got up and went to the front desk.
“There’s no need for that. It’s too troublesome.”
“When I went to France, you took care of everything for me. Now you’re in my country. Do you still regard me as your friend?” Stella went out and walked toward the elevator. As soon as she reached the elevator, Jasper Milton came out of the elevator.