Chapter 189 The Cost of Control
The phone volume wasn’t low–Lillian heard everything.
Just hearing Patrick yelling at Susan because of Ste already put her in a bad mood.
Patrick rarely came to visit her in the hospital, In that house, he was clearly always on Ste’s side.
Now hearing him scream that the one targeting the Reed Group was the samepany that made e Ste’s studio rich?
That meant thepany was in serious trouble.
And it involved Ste<b>? </b>
So what now? Were they going to beg her? Try to bring her back into the Reed family?
No. That could never happen,
Especially with that man still in Rivermount, calling her repeatedly for money.
If Ste returned to the Reed family, there was no way she could keep everything hidden. She could not allow that. She absolutely could not let Stee back.
As her mind spiraled-
Patrick’s voice exploded through <b>the </b>phone. “I <b>don’t </b>care how you do it, you have to see Ste. Talk to her. Be nice. Fix this.” Susan’s breath caught in her throat.
<b>She </b>already knew things were bad at thepany. Jonathan hadn’t evene to the hospital in days.
She’d tried calling him, too.
Now hearing that everything tied back to Ste filled her with both panic <b>and </b>rage.
“Did you hear me?” <b>Patrick </b>growled when she didn’t respond.
His <b>voice </b><b>was </b>sharp, full of fury.
Susan took a deep breath. “Are y
you sure <b>this </b><b>is </b>all because of Ste<b>?</b>”
She bit out the words, her teeth clenched.
“<b>What</b>, <b>you </b>want to me her now?” Patrick snapped. “Susan, if you can’t even see the basics of what’s happening, this whole family <b>is going </b>down–<b>and </b>it’ll be on <b>you</b>,”
<b>Susan’s </b>heart jolted.
“If <b>you </b>don’t want this <bpany </b>to fall apart, if you still <b>care </b>about your reputation, then start by acting like a real mother.”
“I’m not joking <b>about </b>bankruptcy. We’re at the edge
He’d been running <b>around </b>non–stop trying <b>to </b><b>find </b>the source of thepany’s problems.
And while the <bpany </b>burned, the family <b>was </b>imploding–mother <b>and </b>daughter tearing each other <b>apart </b>
The more he thought about it, the more furious he became
441 <b>PM </b>
Chapter 189 The Cost of Control
Finished
Two things stuck in her mind:
First–Ste was connected to thepany’s crisis.
Second–Patrick wanted her to go <b>make </b>peace with Ste.
Make peace<b>! </b>
Easier said than done. Every time they met, sparks flew. They could barely be in the same room.
After everything that had happened, approaching Ste now was <b>just </b>asking to be humiliated.
She didn’t want to do it.
She called Jonathan. “Is it really <b>as </b>bad as your father says?”
Jonathan responded with a weary “Yeah”
He sounded exhausted–Susan had never heard him like this before.
Her heart clenched. “How did ite to this?”
“It’s bad. We’re in deep. If thatpany doesn’t back off, it’s going to get worse.”
<b>“</b>Thatpany–Ste’s client?”
“Yeah”
Susan was speechless.
Right under my nose? She was this powerful, and I didn’t even know?
“Could this just be a guess? Maybe Ste’s not actually involved.”
She didn’t want to believe it–because if it was true, then she’d have no choice but to do exactly what <b>Patrick </b>demanded.
And with how Ste treated her every time they met, Susan couldn’t bring herself to lower her head like that.
“It’s her,” Jonathan said, his voice low and rough.
Susan froze. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. That snake bit the hand that fed her.”
<b>Jonathan </b>was getting angrier by the second.
Susan’s already pale face turned ashen.
After the call, she returned <b>to </b>the hospital room and saw Lillian lying on the bed, ghostly pale.
Her hair had thinned out drastically–so much so, she couldn’t bring herself to look in the <b>mirror </b>these days.
They’d gone through several experts, and <b>each </b>gave the same answer: they needed Rianne and Eddie.
The chemo was relentless. Every session was agony.
“Lillian,” Susan said softly. “I need to <b>step </b><b>out </b>for a while.”
More than anything, she wanted to stay at her