Three Years After They Abandoned Me - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

Anna's gaze swept over the many things on the table and the floor, her eyes full of envy. She said, "Stella, we saw Henry when we came in just now. He bought all these for you, didn't he? He's so sweet to you."
Stella shot Anna an icy glare and snapped, "Jealous? Then why don't you go marry him yourself?"
Anna's face crumpled with hurt, her eyes welling up with tears. She thought, 'Of course I can't marry Henry. I have had a crush on Lionel for so long. But back then, he only had eyes for Stella.
'After three long years of waiting for Lionel to finally marry me, there is no way I would ever settle for Henry.'
Emily couldn't stand seeing Stella treat Anna like this and quickly came to Anna's defense. She said, "Stella, you know, it's not all Anna's fault. She didn't choose to be sick.
"As soon as she woke up last night, she called me right away and said she wanted to come see you first thing this morning. Look, she even bought you all these essentials you might need."
Stella refused to even glance at them, maintaining a stony silence.
Anna grabbed Stella's hand and said, "Stella, it's all my fault. Hit me, scold me, do whatever you want. Just don't give me the silent treatment. It hurts too much when you ignore me like this."
Without a word, Stella withdrew her hand. She said coldly, "Anna, Emily, do you even know what I need from you right now?"
Anna looked at Stella expectantly. She said, "Stella, just say the word and we'll do it right away."
Emily also nodded eagerly.
"Get out!" Stella snapped.
Anna and Emily's faces darkened. Anna looked on the verge of collapsing. Emily, unable to contain her fury, pointed at Stella and lashed out.
She snapped, "Stella, how could you be so heartless? Anna skipped breakfast this morning just to rush over and see you.
"She said that while she's still feeling okay, she wants to take care of you, to be the best sister she can, and cherish you. And this is how you repay her? You're being so ungrateful."
"Didn't you hear me? I told you to get out now," Stella snapped, her voice icy and unyielding.
Emily shot back, "Get out? Why should I? Your words are so nasty. I must have been blind to ever call you my friend. I never thought you'd turn out to be such an impossible person!"
Stella said nothing, her eyes locked on Emily with a chilling intensity.
Emily felt a twinge of unease, but still asserted righteously, "Am I wrong? If you weren't such a mess to begin with, would any of this have happened to you? Why hasn't it happened to any of us? You deserve it."
Stella's eyes reddened, and she suddenly burst into hysterics. She screamed, "Get out. Get the hell out right now. I mean now."
Seeing Stella about to get out of bed and lash out, Emily quickly shielded Anna with her body. She said, "If you want to hurt someone, then hurt me. But don't you dare touch Anna."
Stella suddenly tumbled off the bed. It startled Anna and Emily.
Anna instinctively moved to help Stella up, but Emily grabbed her arm, holding her back. Emily said, "Anna, don't go over there. She'll hurt you."
Anna protested, "But she's my sister. I can't just abandon her."
Emily sighed and said, "Forget it, Anna. Let's just go. If anything happens to her, you know she'll find a way to blame us."
Anna hesitated, still uneasy about leaving Stella. Emily kept pushing Anna insistently. In the end, the two of them walked out.
Since yesterday, Stella had fallen twice, leaving her in excruciating pain. She thought that leaving the small town would set her free, but even after coming home, her misery continued unabated.
She thought, 'Why am I so miserable? Why am I so damn unlucky? Couldn't life have shown me just a little more mercy?'
Stella struggled back onto the bed, using every ounce of her strength. As she did, her wounds split open again.
When the nurse came to apply medicine to Stella, she couldn't help but say, "What's going on with you? Stop moving around unnecessarily. If you keep this up, not even divine intervention could save you."
Stella remained silent.
After the nurse left, Stella pulled out her phone and called her lawyer. She asked, "Can you help me find a private investigator?"
The lawyer replied, "That's not a problem. But what kind of case are you looking into? If it's something from way back, just so you know, the fee could get pretty steep."
Stella replied, "It was about three years ago."
The lawyer said, "I'll put you in touch. You two can discuss the details directly."
Stella said, "Okay."
The private investigator's number quickly came through. Stella contacted him.
Stella said firmly, "I need you to look into my kidnapping three years ago. Money is no object. I'll pay whatever it takes."
The private investigator said, "Are you Stella Hayes? And you suspect your kidnapping back then was premeditated?"
Stella said, "Yes, it's no use reporting it to the police now. It's been too many years. They did file a report back then, but never found my kidnapper. Still, I think your investigation might have better chances."
The private investigator said, "Three years is quite some time, but fortunately, it's not too far in the past. That should make it relatively manageable to investigate."
A flicker of joy crossed Stella's face. She asked, "So, you're actually willing to take this job?"
The private investigator replied, "Once the job's done, my fee is 150 thousand."
Stella said, "I'll give you 300 thousand."
The private investigator said, "Deal."
Later that day, Eleanor visited Stella. After a brief stay, Stella had Mary escort Eleanor home.
Fiona arrived that afternoon, her face set in a disapproving scowl the moment she walked in. She snapped, "Stella, I admit your father shouldn't have hit you without understanding the situation.
"But what kind of nonsense did you spout in front of Eleanor? Are you so determined to turn this whole household upside down? Does it make you happy to see everyone miserable?
"Your brother used to say you only came back to seek revenge on all of us, and I refused to believe it. I always thought you were perfect. But look what you've done now."
Stella was about to speak, but after Fiona's relentless tirade, she lost all desire to say anything.
Fiona bellowed, "What's with your silence? You see our family thriving these past three years while you've suffered, and now you want to drag us all down to your miserable level?
"Stella, you're out of your mind. If you're sick, go get treatment. Why drag us all down with you? And Anna came to see you even though she was feeling awful, but you just screamed at her and sent her away.
"What do you want from us? What do you expect me to do?"
Stella shot Fiona a cold glance, unnervingly calm. She asked, "Are you quite finished?"
Fiona snapped, "What now? What else do you want?"
Stella said coldly, "Now that you've had your say, get out."
Fiona was livid. She thought, 'I am her mother. How dare she speak to her like this?' She sneered, "Fine. I was going to take care of you today, but since this is how you want it, I'm leaving right now.
"Don't expect me to lift a finger if you end up dying in this hospital." With that, she stood up to leave.
Stella let out a cold, cynical laugh. She said, "Take care of me? Have you ever cared for me? From the moment I was born, when you didn't have enough milk, you gave it all to Anna.
"It was okay if you fed me the formula. But you think taking care of both of us is too tiring, so you often forget to feed me.
"When I was sick, you wouldn't even give me medicine or take me to the doctor. You just left me lying there to suffer alone, as if it didn't matter whether I lived or died.
"At every parent-teacher conference, you and Andrew would split up, one for Anna, one for Max. Neither of you ever showed up for mine.
"I wanted to take extracurricular classes. I loved the piano. But you dismissed me, saying I had no talent and refused to let me learn. Meanwhile, you secretly signed Anna up for dance, piano, and all sorts of other classes.
"At every school sports day, you'd only show up for Anna's events and completely ignore mine. Even the allowance you gave her was always more than what I got. Have you forgotten all of this?"
A flicker of unease crossed Fiona's eyes. She turned to Stella and snapped, "What exactly are you saying? Are you trying to settle old scores with me now?"
Stella shot back, "Yes, I am settling scores with you. I could even understand all your favoritism, but the one thing I'll never understand is why you never saved me? Is it my fault I ended up like this?
"Am I the messed-up one? If only any of you had shown me a shred of care, I wouldn't have become this broken. How dare you blame me? What gives you the right?"
Fiona flushed with humiliation. She said, "Stella, how dare you talk to me like that? I'm your mother, after all. Have you forgotten all you've done? You even sued our whole family.
"No matter how we treated you, how dare you sue us?"