?Chapter 1439:


    “Ms. Russell went back upstairs right after seeing Miss Bailey.”


    Steven suspected that Ste might be in a bad mood at the moment. Since he’d onlye around to drop off something for William, there was no need for him to linger.


    “I won’t take up your time,” he said.


    As he left, he nced around. Charis was gone.


    He exhaled quietly, got in his car, and drove off.


    That evening, Ste came down for dinner and spotted something new on the table.


    “Tasha, where did thise from?” she asked, eyeing the rich, amber-colored broth. She hadn’t seen it during meals in the past few days.


    “I believe Mr. Briggs had Mr. Harrison drop it off. Said it’s for your health.”


    It looked far more appetizing than the stuff she’d been choking downtely.


    “Wait, Steven came by?” Ste was surprised. She hadn’t heard a thing from upstairs.


    Tasha nodded. “He arrived not long after Miss Bailey left.”


    Ste must have been in the bathroom then. No wonder she’d missed it.


    After dinner, she curled up on the couch and turned on the TV, her eyes drifting to her phone on the side table every now and then. Part of her was hoping Marc would call tonight.


    But as with every other night, the silence stretched on.


    By ten-thirty, her eyes were getting heavy. She turned off the TV and made her way upstairs. Just as she stepped into her room, her phone lit up and vibrated on the nightstand.


    She quickly picked it up. The excitement vanished as soon as she saw the caller ID.


    It wasn’t Marc.


    Step into a new journey on  .con


    Still, she answered. “Lance? What’s wrong?”


    After speaking with Josie, Lance had learned the restriction had been lifted—that Ste was now allowed to receive calls. He’d waited until William left town for business before daring to check in, just in case William somehow found out.


    “Nothing’s wrong,” he said gently. “I just wanted to hear how you’re doing.”


    Her heart softened. “I’m okay. William hasn’t been harshtely. He’s… actually been treating me decently.”


    Lance’s chest tightened. So she had been treated badly before.


    He let out a slow sigh, voice low. “You’ve really been through a lot.”


    Ste felt her eyes sting, but she quickly looked up to blink the tears back. “No, really, I’m fine.” She paused. “Lance, do you think Marc can win this project?”


    That was what mattered most right now.


    “The negotiations start at ten tomorrow morning. We’ll probably hear the results by afternoon,” Lance said. “But you believe in Marc, don’t you? Then trust he’ll bring back good news.”


    He hadbed through the project files himself. The Briggs Group had submitted a solid proposal—but Marc’s was better. All he needed was to present it right.


    Ste exhaled, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “That’s a relief.” She hesitated, then added, “At thest event, I met a client… someone connected to the Carter family.”


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