Vengeance With My White Knight by Maya Kensington

Chapter 24

stephanie’s breath caught in her throat, her whole body tense. For a moment, she couldn’t calm down.

Her hands shook as she grabbed the phone. “Hello?”

“Miss Giovanni” The voice on the other end was unmistakable.

Stephanie’s face went blank, her eyes betraying the storm of emotions she was fighting to keep in check.

She forced herself to speak. “Yeah, it’s me.”

The guy went on, “Mr. Giovanni’s flight is arriving at Long Harbor at 8 PM tonight. He wants you to meet him at the airport.”

Stephanie’s heart skipped a beat.

She gripped the phone tighter, her palm sweating. “He… he’s coming to Long Harbor?”

The weight of this moment hit her all at once. He was finally coming, after all this time.

Just yesterday, she’d had swiped the wrong black card while shopping. She knew he’d find out, but she hadn’t expected it to blow up this fast.

The voice on the other end belonged to Elliot Grant, an assistant.

Polite, respectful on the surface–but everyone in Fiorenza feared him. Elliot had a way of making people shake in their boots.

And if Elliot could do that… well, Sebastian Giovanni? The man he assisted? He could do anything.

He was the man who’d raised Stephanie.

Elliot’s voice came again, cold as ever. “He also said you better have an explanation ready. Or…”

He didn’t need to finish. The silence said it all.

Stephanie shuddered.

She hung up, the motion casual, but inside, her mind was racing.

The afternoon felt like a blur. She couldn’t focus. Her thoughts kept drifting. Even during the meeting, she struggled to stay

present.

All she could think about was Sebastian.

He was the guy the Hart family was looking for–the one who raised her.

he didn’t just have power–he controlled everything. The legal world. The illegal world. He was the king

years ago, just before

matter anymore. She was lost in her thoughts until the end of the day.

the clock hit six, she stepped outside–and her phone started buzzing

distracted, she answered, “Hello?”

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13

Chapter 24

by Cathie’s voice came

arowed at the busy street, answering flatly. “You think I

joke with Carlins was

never fe in with them. Always the high expectations, the endless

coldnews in Stephanie’s voice, Catlin’s anger only flared up more.

me, Allison is your best friend, right?

out a shon, cold laugh. “Yeah,

a long silence on the other end. Catlin

so mad, her hands shook

deny it. But instead, the just owned it, no hesitation.

hard. It was clear now–Stephanie didn’t

to interrogate her, but Stephanie had just flat–out confirmed everything

gasped. “So, you admit

like she couldn’t be bothered. “What’s the big deal? With everything going on between Olivia and me,

way she pulled strings behind the scenes.

had no time for that kind of underhandedness. If she wanted something done, she’d do it

Stephanie’s bluntness, she almost couldn’t catch her breath.

even find the words to express her anger anymore. All she could

You want me to bring Allison back so she can treat

“Catlin” made Catlin freeze.

once–since Stephanie came back to the Hart family, she’d never once called her “Mom.” In fact,

stung. It wasn’t out of any kind of affection or familiarity.

a deliberate choice–Stephanie didn’t want to show her even the

herself, Catlin snapped, “I’m your mother.”

was cold as she shot back, “Do you really want

didn’t exist in Stephanie’s vocabulary. She had two options: call

eyes widened at how casually Stephanie spoke, like it didn’t

sitting in her chest all this time–heavy and painful–and now it

a few deep breaths, Catlin said, “Get Dr. Pierce back. I’ll

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on, 3 Mar