Chapter 6 Cut Off Her Money? No Problem—She’s Got a Black Card!

Tessa watched as Stella’s phone screen lit up, went dark, and then lit up again. In short, it just wouldn’t stop ringing. Tessa couldn’t help but suggest, “Why don’t you just turn it off?” Blocking the calls wasn’t working anymore—all the incoming numbers were unfamiliar. No need to guess who was behind it. Madam Susan must have been borrowing the housemaids’ phones to keep calling. Stella took the advice and shut off her phone. But Susan’s punishment came swiftly. When it was time to pay for their meal, Stella turned her phone back on to scan the payment code, only to receive a notification: “Your bank card has been deactivated. Please choose another payment method.” The card linked to her phone was one Susan had insisted on binding to her account shortly after Stella had returned to the Reed family years ago. Now, it was completely useless. Tessa glanced at her screen. “What the hell is this?” “They froze my card,” Stella replied. Tessa’s lips twitched. “Because of Lillian? What kind of family treats their own daughter like this?” Hearing that the Reed family had outright cut off Stella’s credit card, Tessa felt sick, like she’d swallowed a fly. How could people like this exist? They were treating their own daughter worse than an adopted one. Stella just smiled, unfazed. “It’s not the first time.” Tessa scoffed. “I got it.” She pulled out her phone and paid. As they left the restaurant and got into the car, Tessa said, “I’m wiring you twenty-eight grand. Don’t let them intimidate you.” They were cutting off their own daughter over a little spending money? Who were they trying to pressure with this petty move? Hearing how effortlessly Tessa was throwing money around, Stella felt a rare flicker of warmth. “It’s fine, I have money.” Tessa snapped, “You don’t even have a job—where the hell is the money supposed to come from? Those Reed family bastards!” She was so pissed she could feel a blood vessel about to burst. Stella said, “I really do have money. It’s… a long story.” Her financial situation was complicated, to say the least. She might have spent the last two years by Ethan’s side, but that didn’t mean she was dependent on him or the Reed family. Tessa waved her off. “Fine, you have money. But take the twenty-eight grand anyway.” A woman who’d spent two years revolving around a man, living off the Reed family—what money could she possibly have? Tessa simply didn’t believe Stella. “I don’t need it,” Stella insisted. Tessa rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on—” No matter how she looked at it, she just couldn’t believe Stella actually had money. Left with no choice, Stella dragged Tessa into a shopping mall and spent tens of thousands in one go. Tessa finally believed her. Seeing the black card Stella had used, her eyes practically sparkled. “Where did you get this? Who gave it to you? Ethan?” Right now, the only possibility she could think of was that Ethan had given Stella the card. Stella glanced at the card in her hand, momentarily dazed. A storm of emotions flickered through her eyes. “Ethan? Not a chance.” There was no way Ethan would ever give her his black card. Tessa frowned. “Then who did?” If it wasn’t Ethan, it couldn’t have been the Reed family either. “Since when did you know big shots?” Stella thought of the card’s true owner. Her gaze softened slightly, but she said nothing. “Let’s go.” Without further explanation, she grabbed her bags and walked out of the mall with Tessa. … After parting ways with Tessa, Stella returned to Kingston Heights—only to find Ethan waiting at her door. He looked frustrated. Glancing at his watch, he muttered, “I’ve been waiting for two hours.” “Why was your phone off?” Stella threw out a simple response. “Too noisy.” They hadn’t called her this much in a whole month, but today, because of Lillian, her phone had nearly exploded. She pulled out her keys to open the door, but Ethan suddenly grabbed her wrist. “Stella.” She cast him a cold glance. “Your unattainable love must be so lonely in the hospital.” The words unattainable love made Ethan’s eyes darken with anger. “We need to talk.” “There’s nothing to talk about.” She yanked her wrist free and pushed the door open, reaching to shut it behind her. Ethan moved fast—his arm shot out, stopping the door from closing. The moment he tried to squeeze inside, Stella’s foot aimed straight for his weakest spot. Ethan clenched his jaw. “You—” He dodged just in time, but in doing so, he had to pull his arm out of the doorway. Stella immediately tried to shut the door again. But Ethan was just as fast. He caught the door before it closed and forced his way in. She narrowed her eyes coldly. “I suggest you leave. Now.” Ethan sneered, “How the hell do you have the guts to act like this?” Only now did he realize—this woman was completely ruthless, with not a trace of softness in her.