Now They Want My Forgiveness - Chapter 130: Chapter 130

Jordan's eyes went wide. He thought, 'Family—people with the same blood running through their veins. Maybe they don't have to love each other, but they shouldn't destroy each other either.
'Anna was eighteen back then. An adult. There must have been years of bad blood between them. Stella must have been a threat, or had something Anna would kill for.
'So Anna set this up. Not just to get her out of the way, but to erase her. And even if Stella survived, Anna would make sure she could never, ever come home.'
"Okay," Jordan said. "I'll find someone to dig into it. But are you really ready for whatever comes out?"
Stella gave a firm nod. "Back in that small town, thinking about this was all I did. I'm ready."
Jordan nodded back. He grabbed his phone and called his assistant, telling him to get someone on the case.
After hanging up the phone, Jordan looked at Stella and said, "I know you're not ready for a wedding yet, but I really want to throw you a proper birthday party this year. I want to make it a big deal."
Stella's first instinct was to say no. Back when she lived at home, her birthdays were always a shared "celebration" with Anna, where all the real attention and excitement were directed at her sister.
Every year, in front of all their guests, her family would make a show of giving Stella a gift. But the presents for Anna were always perfect, thoughtful, and expensive.
Stella had been a fool back then. She truly believed the story that she'd somehow leached Anna's health in the womb, making her weak. She'd told herself it was normal that everyone coddled Anna.
But it still hurt like hell. Now Stella knew better. All her quiet tolerance and endless patience had gotten her exactly nowhere.
Stella said, "Alright, let's do it. Make it a huge party. The bigger, the better. Take the money from my share of the profits. I want everyone to know."
Jordan got it immediately. "Consider it done. A guest list that size is good PR for the company anyway. And you're not paying for your own party.
"Your only job that night is to be the star. I've already booked you a team of stylists—the top tier. The kind A-listers have to book months in advance."
Stella looked at him, truly grateful. She knew, on some level, this was still about business, about their partnership. Anyway, he'd do all this for her. That was more than she could have asked for.
Stella called Eleanor. She knew her grandmother couldn't make it to her party, but she wanted to share the news about the grand birthday party Jordan was planning.
Eleanor said, "Your parents are throwing a grand birthday party for Anna, too. They even had the nerve to tell me they want you to come home. I know they sent Emily to you. But you know, I would never help them convince you.
"This whole birthday thing is just a desperate stunt to fix their reputation. But who are they kidding? Everyone's done with them."
"I can't let them torch the whole company," Stella replied. "I'm just biding my time. I'm gonna wait till they've blown through every penny, sold every last thing. Then I'll swoop in and take Hayes Group."
"Good," Eleanor said. "Make them pay for it, Stella. They've earned everything that's coming to them. God, I hope I'm still around to watch the show."
Stella managed a small smile. "I'll make it happen as fast as I can, Grandma."
Eleanor was dying to see Hayes Group safe in Stella's hands. Every day that passed, she worried those idiots would trash it beyond repair.
Jordan casually brought up that Stella should get a passport. "Just to make things smoother, in case I need to take you on a business trip," he said.
With some time to kill, Stella figured she'd start the process and went to the DMV to get a Real ID.
The DMV clerk typed her information into the system, then looked up at her. "Excuse me, Ms. Hayes? Someone filed a death certificate for you a few days ago. You've been erased from the system."