Stella was in the middle of her phone call, her face contorting into an absolute mask of terror the exact second he materialized at the threshold.

"Shane... Shane?! How did you..." She instinctively shoved the phone behind her back, her voice shaking uncontrollably.

Shane stepped into the room stride by stride, his eyes bloodshot as he stared dead at her.

"I heard every single word."

"Stella Lyne, so you've been systematically fabricating lies to deceive me this entire time?! Being with me was nothing more than a calculated play for my capital?!"

Terrified by his volatile aura, Stella took a step back until her spine pressed against the freezing wall, desperately trying to construct a hollow defense, "No... It's not like that! Shane, let me explain!"

"The cell reception was terrible, you clearly misheard! How could I ever harbor such thoughts? I love you so passionately..."

"You love me?" Shane brutally cut her off, his laughter dripping with an absolute, tragic misery. "Love me to the point of plotting exactly how to roll up the last of my capital and run away the exact second I hit rock bottom?! Stella, did you truly have an exceptional time playing me for an absolute idiot?!"

"It's not like that! This is all Sienna's doing! She must be the one pulling the strings behind our backs! She simply can't bear to see us happy!" Stella cried out in a frantic panic. "She is the one who reduced us to this pathetic state! Shane, you have to believe me!"

Even at a desperate crossroad like this, she was still venomously deflecting blame onto Sienna!

Staring at her manipulative, deceptive face, Shane felt a profound wave of disgust turn his stomach.

"Enough!" he barked authoritatively. "Pack away those pathetic little tricks of yours!"

"From this exact second forth, every thread of sentiment between Shane Vance and Stella Lyne is thoroughly severed! Now, snatch up your belongings and get the hell out of my sight!"

With that, he pointed a freezing finger toward the exit, his eyes completely devoid of warmth.

Stella's eyes stretched wide in shock, but before she could utter another word, Shane impatiently and forcefully shoved her out of the room.

The door slammed shut with a heavy Bang. Recovering her senses, she gnashed her teeth in bitter resentment, her fingers tightening into a tight grip, "That wretched Sienna, this is all her fault! If it weren't for her, how could I have ever fallen into such a pathetic ruin?!"

The following day, Shane took Nate along to the gates of Sienna's estate, waiting there through long, agonizing hours.

He was meticulously parsing exactly how to pitch his words later, when he suddenly caught sight of Sienna stepping out, wearing designer sunglasses.

A surge of instant triumph rushed into Shane's chest, and he moved to speak up.

Yet Sienna merely furrowed her brows, turned back to issue a swift command to a nearby servant, and walked back inside without granting him a single backward glance.

In the next fraction of a second, several towering security guards filed out of the gates, adopting a harsh, uncompromising stance, "Pardon us, sir, but we must ask you to remove yourselves from the premises immediately!"

"Sienna! I have things to say to you!" Realizing the situation was sliding out of his control, Shane grew frantic, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"You bad woman! Get out here!" Nate mirrored his father's behavior, screaming defiantly.

Chapter 15

Sienna halted her footsteps, slowly turning her frame around as she slid off her sunglasses, her gaze pinning Nate with an absolute stillness.

Nate felt a sudden wave of intimidation under her piercing stare, but he stubbornly threw his chin up, demanding with an air of absolute entitlement, "What are you staring at! You are my mommy! By what authority do you choose to completely abandon me?!"

"Other kids' mommies always take care of them! All you know how to do is bully Daddy and me! You are the worst!"

Hearing this, a remarkably faint, cold sneer curled Sienna's lips.

"Mommy? Haven't you consistently validated that Stella as your 'Mommy Stella'? Since she is so exceptionally soft, gentle, and treats you with such devotion, why don't you go find her?"

"From the exact second you and I executed that agreement, I ceased to be your mother. Whether you live or die has absolutely zero connection to me."

"You!" Nate found himself completely choked for words. Enraged, he lunged forward, intending to use his fists to strike against Sienna, "You're lying! You bad woman! I'll hit you!"

Yet Shane forcefully yanked Nate back, barking a harsh reprimand, "Nate! Hold it right there! Who on earth authorized you to lay a hand on someone?!"

Stunned by the sudden outburst, and crushed under the weight of the accumulated grievances and volatile insecurities from these past days, Nate erupted into a piercing sob. He forcefully wrenched his hand from Shane’s grip, shouting, "Daddy, you're taking her side too! All of you are bullying me! I hate you both!"

With that, he turned and fled, crouching down by the distant roadside as he wept hysterically.

Shane compressed his lips, taking a deep breath before pitching his voice into a tone of absolute contrition, "Sienna, I am so sorry... Yesterday... Yesterday I completely and permanently severed ties with Stella. I am fully aware that in the past, I executed many things far too severely, completely neglecting your feelings..."

He paused briefly, carefully parsing Sienna's features, yet seeing her expression remain entirely immovable, a trace of mild resentment colored his words, "However... if you had simply chosen to be a bit more magnanimous back then, instead of calculating every minor insult, our relationship might not have escalated to such a desperate ruin today..."

"A bit more magnanimous?" Sienna snapped her freezing gaze directly onto his face, a profound wave of disgust turning her stomach.

In the very next fraction of a second, she raised her hand.

Slap!

A fierce, resounding slap cracked straight across Shane’s face.

"Shane Vance, you turn my stomach," Sienna's voice dropped into a bone-chilling frost. "My life is certainly not something a creature like you has the right to dictate!"

"Now, remove yourself and that precious son of yours from my sight this exact second!"

Clutched his burning cheek, a wave of intense humiliation instantly rushed into Shane's chest.

He had lived for so many years, yet when had he ever suffered such treatment?

Yet he ground his teeth, forcing himself to endure.

No! He absolutely could not surrender this opportunity!

Sienna constituted his solitary lifeline to rise from the ashes! As long as she changed her mind, every single ounce of humiliation he absorbed today would be entirely justified!

He desperately squeezed a subservient smile onto his face, consciously softening his voice to an imploring murmur, "Sienna... I know you are furious, and I absolutely deserve every slap and every curse... It's all my fault, I am an absolute bastard!"

"I am not begging for your immediate forgiveness, I only ask... I only ask that you grant me a single opportunity, just one! Let's start over, alright?"

"I swear, from this day forth, I will treat you with absolute devotion. My eyes and my heart will belong strictly to you. We can have another child, and I will meticulously compensate you for every single grievance you suffered..."

Sienna let out a dismissive, mocking laugh, "Shane Vance, do you genuinely lack the basic capability to comprehend human speech? Or do you truly believe that in your current, pathetic state, you are worthy of standing beside me?"

"Start over? Exactly what capital do you possess to start over with me? Your mountain of astronomical debt? Or that... completely repulsive face of yours?"

She lifted her hand, her polished finger lightly tapping against her temple as she stated with calculated disdain, "I suggest you check yourself into a hospital to evaluate your cognitive functions. After all, clinical delusion is a medical condition that requires immediate treatment."

Chapter 16

With that, Sienna offered the guards a casual wave.

The security detail stepped forward without delay, catching Shane ruthlessly by the arms and dumping him straight onto the roadside without a shred of remorse.

Shane watched them vanish behind the heavy gates, his heart sinking entirely into a bottomless abyss.

Returning to the low-end motel room, he was consumed by a crushing, soul-deep exhaustion.

Nate, being nothing more than a child, found his volatile emotions vanishing as quickly as they arrived. Furthermore, given his lingering psychological reliance on Stella, the exact second he stepped inside and found her absent, he pouted his lips, demanding, "Daddy, where is Mommy Stella? Exactly when is she coming back?"

"I was brutally bullied by that bad woman today, I need to tell Mommy Stella!"

Shane's mind was currently a chaotic mess of irritation. Hearing the child's whining, he waved his hand in a flash of intense frustration, "She is never coming back! Do not utter her name again!"