?Chapter 716:


    She quickly left the bedroom, closing the door softly behind her.


    In the hallway, she leaned against the wall and tried to steady her breathing. The day’s events had drained her, but she pushed herself toward the kitchen anyway.


    Sharon spotted Ste in the living room and pressed her lips together, choosing not to say anything.


    She knew now wasn’t the time to bring up William, because Ste wouldn’t want to hear his name, let alone talk about him.


    The best thing she could do was act like nothing unusual had happened.


    When Ste headed into the kitchen, Sharon offered to help, but Ste shook her head, saying, “When did youst cook? Let me take care of it. You just rest in the living room.”


    Before Sharon could respond, Ste had already slipped inside and closed the door behind her.


    Sharon let out a small sigh. Maybe giving her that space was exactly what she needed.


    Alone in the kitchen, Ste’s phone lit up on the counter. A new message. It was from an unknown number—or at least, that was what the screen showed. But she recognized those digits instantly. Marc.


    The message was short, but its impact was like a spark thrown into dry grass. Her whole body trembled.


    “Stel, be careful of ying with fire. If the Briggs family could harm your adoptive parents, William could easily get rid of that stranger staying with you.”


    Her fingers turned cold around the phone. Marc knew about Lance? And about her and Sharon digging into her adoptive parents’ deaths?


    How long had he been watching her?


    For a moment, all she could hear was the pounding in her ears. She forced herself to breathe, deleted the message, blocked the number, and acted like nothing had happened. Then she went back to chopping vegetables.


    At dinner, Lance was all smiles, praising nearly every dish.


    “Mr. Carter, you’re giving me too much credit,” Ste said with a smallugh. “They’re just simple meals.”


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    “That’s exactly why it’s impressive,” Lance replied warmly. “Making simple food taste this good isn’t easy. Your cooking really feels like home.”


    She smiled and thanked him.


    Before she knew it, four days had already passed since Lance came to stay.


    After the first day Sharon had apanied her, Ste gently told her not toe over every day. She didn’t want Sharon’s life thrown off bnce just to keep herpany.<fn6a9f> Chapters first released on FindN()vel</fn6a9f>


    It helped that Sharon had taken a good look at Lance and decided he didn’t seem like a bad guy. That eased her mind.


    Work at the research institute rolled along without issues, and the Neb project was moving forward nicely.


    Still, Ste’s thoughts weren’t always on her work. Ever since that heated argument, she hadn’t exchanged a single word with William.


    When they ended up in the same elevator or passed each other at the institute, both acted as though they’d agreed to keep their distance. No greetings, no small talk.


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