?Chapter 1459:


    Skepticism crossed Sharon’s face. “You’re kidding, right? Are you seriously suggesting he’s interested in you and only returned your twenty-five million but kept mine?”


    At that, their eyes met, and Sharon immediately yanked out her own phone. The string of digits in her ount bnce made her wonder if she was dreaming.


    “He actually didn’t take it?”


    Joy hit them first—after all, they’d just saved fifty million. But their smiles faded quickly.


    They both knew Rutherford was a businessman, and refusing payment might mean he had ulterior motives.


    Owing someone a favor was alwaysplicated, and neither Sharon nor Josie liked being in that position.


    As they settled into the car heading toward the vi, silence stretched between them until Sharon finally broke it. “Should we send the money back? Getting a house for free makes me uneasy.”


    Josie shared the same difort, but before they could initiate the transfer, Sharon’s phone buzzed with a text from Rutherford.


    “As a friend of Ste’s, I can’t do much, but please consider this house my contribution.”


    Sharon read the message aloud, then lifted her eyes to Josie’s face. “Should we still send it back?”


    Josie considered this for a long moment before shaking her head. “Since he’s doing it for Ste, let’s ept it.”


    To Rutherford, a hundred million probably didn’t mean much, but to Sharon and Josie, it represented their entire life savings.


    Sure, they could earn it back eventually, but fifty million didn’t exactly grow on trees.


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    Sharon typed out a quick thank-you message to Rutherford, then said, “All right, we’ll keep it.”


    Why make things moreplicated than they needed to be?


    Back at the vi, Ste stayed inside for a while before she started hearing cars passing outside, one after another. At first, she didn’t think much of it, but the noise kept growing, enginesing and going, far louder than usual.


    This was a vi district. It was normally quiet. Too quiet for this kind ofmotion.


    She went downstairs and asked, “Tasha, what’s going on outside?”


    Tasha peeked out the window. “Ms. Russell, looks like someone nearby is doing renovations. Is it too loud for you?”


    Ste nodded, then walked over to the door anyway, curiosity getting the better of her.


    Someone moving into the neighborhood?


    As soon as she leaned out, she froze.


    A sports car was parked outside. Sharon and Josie had just gotten out.


    They spotted her immediately and waved like nothing was out of the ordinary. “Stel! You’re home!”


    For a second, Ste honestly thought she was seeing things.


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